PART L OF THE BUILDING REGULATIONS

摘要

As the Government increasingly acknowledges the importance of sustainable development, more stringent controls will be required of developers to secure energy efficiency through building design. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 was followed by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD - January 2003), the Energy White Paper (February 2003) and the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (April 2004) - this means commitment for the Government. What were the aspirations of environmentalists just a few years ago will be soon felt as real requirements on designers, developers and contractors at a practical level. When 40 percent of Europe's energy is used by buildings and over 40 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions come from that source, the importance of the EPBD is clear. The Government is committed under the Kyoto Protocol to an overall improvement in emissions by 12 percent based on 1990 levels by 2010, whilst the European Union is looking to member states to achieve an efficiency improvement in the carbon performance of buildings of 22 percent as part of similar requirements. In light of this, the Government has sought to exceed the European target with an improvement in building efficiency of 25 percent. With these imperatives upon them, the Government is compelled to act in relation to the energy performance of buildings from the very inception of the design process.