Carbon Neutrality in the Building Sector of the Global South—A Review of Barriers and Transformations

Abstract

This work provides a review of economic, technical, sociocultural, political, and technological barriers that impede carbon neutrality in the building sector of countries in the Global South. These barriers include limitations in public and professional awareness, knowledge, and skills in the construction industry, the lack of ambitious energy codes and green building rating systems, the lack of green financing schemes and investment, costs of materials and technology, and limitations in regulations. Finally, this article recommends five transformations to address the critical barriers and enable net-zero emission status in the building sector of countries in the Global South. These transformations include environmental data collection, stringent building energy codes, and green building system certifications, lifecycle-based thinking and circular design, education enhancement and workforce development, and net-zero emission business practices.

Systematic Review on the Barriers and Challenges of Organisations in Delivering New Net Zero Emissions Buildings

“…While the building and construction industry continues to struggle to achieve the net zero emissions targets, our review of the literature found a very limited number of review articles on the challenges related to the carbon neutrality transition in the building and construction industry. Some review papers limited their scope to a particular geographical region, such as developing countries, the global south [16], and China [17]. Some others discussed only one aspect of net zero emissions building, such as energy efficiency [18], renewable energy generation [19], etc., or had a holistic view of the barriers without concentrating on any specific stage of the building lifecycle or stakeholder groups that experience them [16,20].…”

“…Some review papers limited their scope to a particular geographical region, such as developing countries, the global south [16], and China [17]. Some others discussed only one aspect of net zero emissions building, such as energy efficiency [18], renewable energy generation [19], etc., or had a holistic view of the barriers without concentrating on any specific stage of the building lifecycle or stakeholder groups that experience them [16,20]. No recent review article was found to focus on the barriers and challenges that organisations face in the delivery of new net zero emissions buildings from initiation till the end of the construction stage.…”