Setting incentives for emission reductions in developing countries : the case of social housing in Colombia : final report

Colombia faces a number of challenges including growing electricity demand, increasing hydroelectric uncertainty as a result of changes in the el Niño weather phenomenon, and a growing need for social housing in metropolitan areas driven by accelerating urbanisation. At the same time, Colombia actively implementing its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. These include measures to improve energy efficiency in the residential sector overall. Some of which will also have a positive effect on energy efficiency in social housing. Policies for renewable electricity, building codes, and appliance energy performance standards all play a role in these efforts. However, these policies are not currently putting Colombia on a path towards the decarbonisation of the building sector that is needed to reach the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. Through Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, countries can cooperate in NDC implementation to allow for higher climate ambition. This can offer opportunities for interventions in the building sector. Given the dynamic nature of the sector and number of actors, ensuring environmental integrity through an overall sectoral approach to Article 6 transfers is likely to be challenging especially in terms of additionality, baseline setting, and monitoring reporting and verification. However, there may be an opportunity to construct Net Zero Energy Buildings though an Article 6 pilot in the social housing sector, which would reduce energy consumption, reduce emissions, reduce energy poverty, reduce energy consumption subsidy payments, and improve public health and energy security. Such a pilot could, together with a larger policy roadmap towards increasingly stringent energy efficiency standards, help put the Colombian building sector on a path towards decarbonisation and alignment with the Paris Agreement.