Abstract
This paper calculates the cost-effectiveness of CO2 emissions reduction in Brazilian buildings sector. The evaluation takes into account the implementation of three public policy mechanisms which the focus is the promotion of energy efficiency (EE). The mechanisms evaluated are minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), EE requirements in public procurement regulation, and building codes. The evaluation performed through marginal abatement cost curves (MACC) shows a wide range of cost-effective EE measures, i.e., EE technologies that represent negative abatement costs once the additional investments in EE are paid back through energy savings. The main specific findings are that (1) MEPS could be broader and reach the use of energy in standby mode and tubular fluorescent lamps and should be more stringent, mainly in the case of large air conditioning devices, and (2) there is a significant cost-effective potential of emissions reduction that could be captured through mechanisms not implemented yet in the country, as public procurement regulation and building codes. In general, the total impacts are very significant and could represent an energy saving potential of 795 TWh and emissions reduction of 74 million tons of CO2 over the period from the year 2014 to the year 2030.
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Notes
In the year 2005, the total emissions of CO2-equivalent in Brazil was 2.2 billion of tons, which represented approximately 4.5 % of global emissions in the same year. The sector “change in land use and forestry,” which includes the deforestation in the Amazon and other biomes (Cerrado, Caatinga, Pantanal, Pampas, and Atlantic forest) took part with 61 % of these emissions (MCT 2010).
Vine et al (2003) define public policy mechanisms as “initiatives that aim to overcome policy and program barriers that prevent the pursuit of cost-effective energy efficiency and load management activities and the achievement of national energy policy goals.”
Expert-based approaches are one means of deriving estimates of the expected costs and energy savings of a particular measure to be included in the marginal cost curves.
P means “Padrões,” that is the translation for standards in Brazilian-Portuguese language.
PROCEL is the Brazilian National Program of Electric Energy Conservation and its “PROCEL” label is a voluntary label which aims to offer a way to distinguish the most efficient products in a particular category. Originally focused on home appliances (refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, and air conditioners), the PROCEL label is now taking aim at labeling consumer electronic products such as set-top boxes, computer monitors, DVDs, and TVs.
It is the discounting rate applied in the National Energy Plan 2030 (EPE 2007).
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the support provided by FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation) in the context of the project entitled “The evaluation of energy efficiency and CO2 equivalent abatement potentials according to different technology dissemination policies: guidelines to public policy-makers” financed by (FAPESP) which is part of the FAPESP Research Program on Global Climate Change (RPGCC).
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Appendix Parameters and assumptions for appliances
Appendix Parameters and assumptions for appliances
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de Melo, C.A., de Martino Jannuzzi, G. Cost-effectiveness of CO2 emissions reduction through energy efficiency in Brazilian building sector. Energy Efficiency 8, 815–826 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-014-9322-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-014-9322-2