Tools for Energy Efficiency in Buildings

Without strong and ambitious policy support, the energy efficiency potential of cities is likely to remain largely untapped. Often cities have the opportunity to implement policies and programmes in the building sector that are complementary, more stringent or reflect greater ambition than national activities. For example, these city-level actions may relate to energy efficiency targets, standards and codes for buildings, deep renovation programmes, financial incentives for energy efficiency actions or other supporting policy instruments and projects (IEA 2016).

In order to maximize the effectiveness of energy efficiency actions, it is important for local policy-makers and stakeholder to utilize planning and policy tools available to cities in their policy development efforts.

Numerous analytical tools and resources in the field of buildings energy efficiency are available, ranging from global- and city-scale inventories and target-setting guidance to individual building energy performance assessments.