A Study On Policy Improvement Of The Low-Carbon Buildings Development

This paper selected the construction industry of China as an object of study andconducted an in-depth research on its policy-oriented Low-Carbon path. Based on thedefinitions of ‘Low-Carbon’, Low-Carbon Buildings, Sustainable Development andPublic Policies, this study explains in detail the status quo of the country’s policies onLow-Carbon Building Development from three aspects, i.e. building standards inenergy saving technology, application of renewable energy in the field ofconstruction, and economic incentives. This paper pointed out that certain issues arecurrently occurred in China’s national Low-Carbon Building Policies, mainlyreflected in: the weak enforcement in policies and regulations, the inoperability ofpolicies, the inadequate promotion of policies, and the cognitive biases of executivestaffs. The main causes of these problems are: firstly, the immature of relative policies.There are only two pieces of laws for China’s construction industry, both of whichmerely macro-regulate the industry. Secondly, policies are lacking of practicaloperations, i.e. the policies themselves have ‘loopholes’ that can easily be exploitedby the executive party; objectives of policies are divorced from the reality, and theydo lack complimentary policies. Thirdly, the inadequate promotion of relative policiesand superficial enforcement, or only a fragment of a complete policy is enforced inthe implementation process. The fourth is regarding the cognitive bias amongexecutive staffs. The low quality of executors and their wrong ideological conceptsoften result in the failure of policy implementation. Learning from both domestic andforeign experience in Low-Carbon building development policies, it is recommendedto improve China’s Low-Carbon building policy system from the following sixaspects: firstly, improve the relative policy making and implementation process, sothat deviations that happen in the process of implementation can be corrected atanytime. Secondly, improve economic incentives to allow the full play of the leverageeffect of tax policies, the progress of financial allowance, and the guaranteeing effectof economic support. Thirdly, enhance the promotion and education of policies fromthe source. Government departments should promptly publish Low-Carbon policiesthrough various platforms. Fourthly, stimulate the policy implementation by the mainbody in order to entice users to purchase energy-efficient buildings. Fifthly, providetechnical support for policy implementation. Actively provide guidance ofLow-Carbon technologies, new materials and equipment in the application of Low-Carbon buildings. And the last, improve the quality of executive staffs. Focus onthe establishment of training mechanisms of Low-Carbon technical personnel, andacquire Low-Carbon technical and management talents needed for the development ofLow-Carbon building.