Architecture
INDUSTRY
DECARBONISATION PLAN
2025–50: Advocacy Summary
CLIMATE ACTION, NOW
Climate change is accelerating, and we need immediate, ambitious action to counter its impacts.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has made the stakes clear: without drastic cuts to emissions, we risk dire consequences for our planet. While Australia has committed to a general 43% reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2030, current global pledges simply aren’t enough to hit net-zero by 2050, meaning it’s time for nations to step up and lean in.
The built environment presents a major opportunity — and responsibility — to lead the charge. The sector is ready as the required technologies already exist and are commercially available today. But, more ambitious sector-specific targets and actions are essential to drive the necessary innovation.
The Institute believes decarbonisation within our built environment can be achieved in five parts:
- Updating the NCC 2025 to implement mandatory measurement of embodied carbon in accordance with NABERS.
- Updating the NCC 2028 to achieve buildings that are all-electric, highly efficient, grid-responsive, effectively net-zero operational carbon and reduce upfront carbon in all new buildings and major renovations by 40% by 2030.
- Government procurement of buildings to require grid-responsive, net-zero operational emissions and reduce upfront carbon by 20% using NABERS methodology from 2025.
- Funding NABERS and NatHERS to extend operational and embodied carbon ratings across all building types.
- Investment in transforming skills, practices, and supply chains to keep pace with a rapidly evolving industry and maintain investment confidence.
PLANNING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
The International Energy Agency has warned us: we’re off track for net-zero by 2050, with emissions still rising. The time for incremental change is over — to meet the 2050 target for all buildings to be zero carbon, every new building needs to be all electric, highly efficient and ready to be powered by a renewable grid. – International Energy Agency, 2023 Breakthrough Agenda Report.
The International Energy Agency, 2023 Breakthrough Agenda Report further states that “to achieve net-zero by 2050, all new buildings need to be net-zero (operational energy) from 2030. A significant leap from less than 5% of new buildings today.”
We have the tools to decarbonise, let’s use them
The Commonwealth Government’s Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings and the Climate Change Authority’s Net-Zero Built Environment Sector Pathway point in the right direction:
“The built environment sector has a clear and potentially rapid decarbonisation pathway, with the required technologies being almost all commercially available now. A net-zero built environment would have high energy performance, be well-adapted to climate change impacts, and be highly liveable.”
We commend the Building Ministers Forum for pushing operational and embodied carbon measurement. But, without aligning the National Construction Code (NCC) with the necessary trajectory to zero emissions, we risk missing our targets and stifling innovation.
