CIBSE was invited by the Chinese government to participate in a series of UK-China workshops on Decarbonisation and Adaptation Policy for Buildings and Infrastructure. The workshops were funded by the British Embassy in Beijing and the SuDBE Programme of Chongqing University and aimed to bring experts together to address some of the most pressing challenges in the field of decarbonisation and climate resilience.
The first workshop took place in London on the 11th December 2024 and the second one on 11-12 January 2025 in Chongqing, China. This collaborative initiative brought together UK and Chinese industry experts, policymakers, government officials and academics to present and discuss current policies within the sectors of buildings and infrastructure. The output of the two workshops is a report to both governments on various approaches to decarbonisation policy frameworks, as well as a roadmap outlining urgent research needs to support these frameworks.
The CIBSE technical team participated in both workshops presenting the Institution’s research and industry standards that support decarbonisation and resilience of the built environment. CIBSE’s Technical Director Dr Anastasia Mylona, Head of Net Zero Policy, Julie Godefroy and Research Manager, Zoe De Grussa covered a series of areas such as national policies such as Part O and the role of CIBSE guidance, such as TM59 and the future weather files, in future proofing buildings and their services to higher temperatures, as well as the role of the recently launched Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard (NZCBS) in driving industry decarbonisation efforts.
CIBSE representatives worked alongside Chinese and UK academics and government officials to exchange knowledge, expertise and insights on policies to drive decarbonisation and adaptation in the built environment. The workshops offered a unique opportunity to understand different policy approaches and start a collaboration between the two countries on climate resilience and decarbonisation.
The built environment is one of the greatest emitters of carbon and other greenhouse gases in both UK and China and yet policy on the decarbonisation and resilience of the sector is underdeveloped in both countries. As a result, current efforts are uncoordinated and ineffective to meet any national or global carbon reduction targets.
In China, the Green Buildings policy framework sets national standards that address: Safety and Durability, Health and Wellbeing, Occupant Satisfaction, Resource Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability. National policy is then adapted at regional level to address local climate, financial and social characteristics and resource availability and requirements.
China’s government officials highlighted that the country’s future focus is on financial incentives (developing green finance schemes to promote energy reduction and renewable energy generation), more national and regional regulation development and data gathering through monitoring strategies. Although until recently China’s construction sector focused mainly on new buildings and developments, they see future decarbonisation efforts focusing on the refurbishment of the existing stock and learning large scale retrofit strategies from the UK.
China’s top down approach, unlike the UK bottom up approach, provides a clear roadmap for achieving national targets. The UK government provides national policy such as Part L and Part O of the building regulations but there is no consistent framework on decarbonisation and resilience. Rather the industry is developing standards such as the NZCBS, to meet government targets such as Net Zero by 2050. The voluntary nature of such standards and lack of regulatory and financial incentives means that there is no clear road to the decarbonisation of the built environment.
Still, in the UK, carbon emissions have already peaked, and we are currently on a downward trajectory. In China, government policy is still working towards reaching peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Furthermore, while in the UK the building industry is already quantifying the embodied carbon of buildings (and lobbying for government to regulate it – Part Z), in China there is little consideration of embodied carbon in their carbon reduction strategies and main focus is on reducing operational carbon.
Ultimately, each policy approach has its positives and negatives with challenges in implementation, innovation, regional adaptation and incentivisation. Common goal connecting both countries is the decarbonisation of the sector while securing the building assets’ longevity and long-term resilience to climate risks.
CIBSE’s contribution to policy development in a crucially global context is emphasising the importance of international collaboration in achieving net-zero goals and improving the resilience of the built environment in the face of climate change. The partnership between the UK and China on this initiative reflects the growing recognition of the need for international collaboration and knowledge exchange in addressing climate challenges. With the support of the British Embassy and the expertise of world-class academics, industry professionals and policymakers, the workshops provided an essential platform to strengthen ties between the two countries and promote the exchange of best practices in decarbonisation and climate resilience in the years to come.
CIBSE’s ongoing involvement in shaping policy for a sustainable, net-zero future is a key part of the Institution’s global mission to lead and support the built environment in responding to the climate crisis.