A Survey of the Status and Challenges of Green Building Development in Various Countries

Yinqi Zhang,Daniel M Kammen,He Wang,Weijun Gao,Nan Zhou,Xiaoyu Ying,Fan Wang

doi:10.3390/su11195385

Abstract

Since the energy crisis in the 1960s, crucial research and activities were spurred to improve energy efficiency and decrease environmental pollution. To deal with the various problems the construction industry are facing, the concept of green buildings (GBs) has been gradually shaped and put forward all over the world, and green building rating systems (GBRSs) have been developed. The concept of GBs covers a wide range of elements, and its definition is constantly updated as the construction industry develops. This paper compares the development of backgrounds and statuses of green building development in various countries. It also presents an overview of the green building development situation within these countries, summarizing two influences for GB development: one external and the other internal. External factors include GB development policy support, economic benefits, and certification schemes. Internal factors are the development and application of GB technology, the level of building management, and how users interact with the GB technology. Currently, 49 worldwide green building standards and application have been sorted out, including 18 standard expert appraisal systems. Moreover, it discusses the research results and lessons learned from green building projects in different countries and summarizes their achievements and challenges. To correctly understand and use green building technology, it is essential to improve the policy and incentive system, improve the professional quality and technical ability of employees and accredited consultants, constantly develop and update the evaluation system, strengthen technological innovation, and integrate design and management. This paper aims to draw a clear roadmap for national standard development, policy formulation, and construction design companies, provide solutions to remove the obstacles, and suggest research direction for future studies.

Highlights

Today’s global issues like climate change, energy shortages, increasing environmental pollution, rising population, and rapid urbanization present tremendous challenges to the sustainable development of human society [1]
Green building is subject to continuous development of new technologies, integrated management of building operation, consistent standards of certification systems, and proper adjustment of policies, all of which have a significant impact on green buildings (GBs) development
The method applied in this paper was to group the impact factor into two aspects: (1) external factors, including policy support, economic benefits, and certification schemes of GBs; and (2) the internal factors, associated with the development and application of GB technology, the level of building management, and how users interact with the GB technology

Summary

Introduction

Today’s global issues like climate change, energy shortages, increasing environmental pollution, rising population, and rapid urbanization present tremendous challenges to the sustainable development of human society [1]. The rise in global average temperature is expected to be about 4.5 ◦F by 2050 from the CO2 increase alone [3]. According to World Population Prospects 2017, during the 13 years from 2005, the world’s population had added about one billion newborns, and world population would reach 9.8 billion in 2050 [5]. This increasing population and galloping urbanization are accelerating the demand for energy [1] that will reach 900 EJ primary energy use in 2050 [6]

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Methods

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Conclusion