Updated trajectory identifies new challenges and opportunities

The ECMC – a forum for the Commonwealth, Australian states and territories, and New Zealand to work together on key reforms in the energy and climate change sectors – met in Sydney on August 15 to discuss delivering better consumer outcomes, addressing potential east coast gas shortfall risks, growth in data centres, and ensuring a secure and resilient energy system.

Revised trajectory

One of the key agenda items was an update to the Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings. The trajectory is a roadmap for the built environment to help Australia achieve its emissions reduction targets, and to provide resilient, safe, sustainable and productive spaces for all building occupants

It was first agreed upon in 2019. Since then, significant new opportunities and challenges have emerged. The update identifies eight current and emerging drivers of change:

• Increased net zero ambition from Australian governments, most of which have now set targets for achieving net zero
• Energy efficiency
• Fuel switching and electrification
• Demand flexibility to shift load from peak periods, better coordinating electricity supply with demand
• Embodied carbon emissions, which will become the major source of built environment emissions as the electricity grid decarbonises
• Resilient building design, with a focus on extreme heat and cold
• Refrigerant leakage from onsite heating, cooling and refrigeration systems, which makes up around a third of the built environment’s scope 1 emissions and significantly degrades equipment efficiency.

The trajectory includes a comprehensive work plan for new and existing residential and commercial buildings. It identifies enabling mechanisms, to provide the foundations for improvement; targeted building policies, to overcome specific market barriers; and supporting measures, to assist with least cost transition.

You can read the updated Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings via the energy.gov.au website.

Photo by Maxime Francis

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