Property industry challenged to build first ‘net zero’ building
08 May 2018
ACT Government: The
ACT property development
industry has today been challenged to build the ACT’s first ‘net zero’
emissions commercial or large scale residential building by Minister for
Climate Change and Sustainability Shane Rattenbury.
“Across the board we need to continue to raise the standard of
environmental performance in our
buildings. In this context, we need someone to step up and deliver
the ACT’s first ‘net zero’ emissions large scale building, which will be
an iconic achievement and a lasting legacy for our city,” Mr Rattenbury
said.
“The
ACT is already a leader when it comes to energy and we’re on track
to have 100% renewable electricity by 2020. But to reduce the ACT’s
greenhouse gas emissions to our target of net zero by mid-century, we
now need to focus on other sources of emissions, and the built
environment is a key area.
“Net zero buildings are highly efficient and consume less energy in
total than the amount of
renewable energy they produce. Recent research
commissioned by the
City of
Sydney also shows that in Australia today these buildings are
technically feasible and highly cost effective.
“In
Canberra, high density residential or commercial net zero buildings
would bring many benefits, including reducing our greenhouse
gas emissions, providing high-quality urban living and work spaces
and increasing density for a more liveable city.
“The Government is keen to ensure our planning system allows for these
types of best practice environmental developments in Canberra, which is
why we are also progressing a key Parliamentary Agreement item with the
Demonstration Housing project,” Mr Rattenbury concluded.
Research commissioned by the City of Sydney can be found here. It reveals that net zero buildings are cost effective just on the energy savings and avoided infrastructure costs, before even taking account of the broader benefits such as reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
--ENDS--
Source: ACT Government - www.cmd.act.gov.au
Contact: Lisa Gardner 0481 035 764
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