Energy security, environmental and livability concerns drive government policy on green building technologies, but eventually cost and affordability determine the extent and pace of adoption, according to a new report released by Boston-based Lux Research.
‘Buildings are the spine of the increasingly urban world we find ourselves in, now containing over 50 percent of the global human population,’ says Aditya Ranade, lead author of ‘Policy's Dramatic Impact on Green Buildings: The Global Hotspots’ and an analyst at Lux Research. ‘Buildings use 40 percent of the world's energy and account for 40 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions. Policy measures, along with ability to pay, payback periods and addressable market size, should determine a firm's decision on which countries to invest precious market development funds in.’
Lux Research analysts examined 21 nations to assess how policy drivers create an opportunity for specific green building technologies. Lux Research determines that countries with high per capita incomes tend to be early adopters of expensive technologies and emerging technologies. These nations – such as the U.S., Singapore, South Korea, Germany and Australia – also create attractive policy regimes for green buildings.
Furthermore, fast-growing nations are ahead in the green building field on account of their need to contain ever-increasing energy costs and simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But oil-rich nations such as Brazil were found to lag in policies to promote green buildings.
