Ministry Develops Road Map To Cut Building Emissions, Energy Costs

Amman, Sept. 14 (Petra) -- Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh on Monday chaired a meeting of the Public-Private Partnership Council for the energy sector to discuss the National Road Map for Buildings and Construction, which aims to reduce emissions from existing and new buildings.

The National Road Map for Buildings and Construction aims to stimulate climate action in the sector and support Jordan's transition toward a low-carbon future. It was developed under the Jordanian-German Energy Partnership, in cooperation with the German Energy Agency (dena), and seeks to support the transition toward more energy-efficient, low-emission buildings.

Kharabsheh underlined that green building presents a significant opportunity to reduce the energy bill in the buildings sector, stressing that energy efficiency should be an integral part of the planning, design, and construction stages.

He noted that applying green building codes and standards in the buildings sector is not currently mandatory, but could become a global requirement, underscoring the need for Jordan to prepare for such requirements, particularly in the industrial buildings sector.

Kharabsheh highlighted the importance of the national road map in establishing a clear framework for transitioning to more energy-efficient and lower-emission buildings, while capitalizing on opportunities in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and modern technologies. Such measures, he noted, would help reduce energy costs and enhance the competitiveness of economic sectors.

Lina Mubaideen, director of the Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Directorate, stated that the buildings and construction sector accounts for more than 40% of Jordan's total final energy consumption and more than 60% of electricity consumption, making it one of the sectors with the greatest impact on energy use and carbon emissions.

More than 70% of buildings in Jordan were constructed before energy-efficiency codes were adopted, Mubaideen said, creating significant potential for improvement through retrofitting existing buildings and applying the required codes and standards to new construction.

She pointed out that the ministry has launched three national energy-efficiency plans, in addition to the National Green Growth Plan, which seeks to reduce emissions. Jordan has also adopted green building and energy-efficiency codes and is gradually applying them to government projects and new buildings.

The development of the national road map is a key step toward establishing the policies and implementation frameworks needed to advance the buildings and construction sector, in line with national efforts to promote buildings that are more energy efficient, sustainable, and climate resilient, Mubaideen added.

She stressed that implementing the road map requires effective public-private partnerships, along with investment in modern technologies and innovative financing models to accelerate energy-efficiency projects and building retrofits, and reduce energy costs for citizens and businesses.

Mubaideen added that Jordan is developing an integrated framework to support the transition to buildings that are more energy efficient, sustainable, and resilient to the impacts of climate change through policy and legislative development and stronger partnerships with relevant stakeholders.

The meeting also discussed amendments to the 2017 instructions governing the licensing of energy auditing activities. The amendments aim to facilitate the licensing of first- and second-category energy auditing firms and enable a larger number of companies to obtain licenses.

//Petra// AJ

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