Melbourne builds a future with zero emissions

A coalition of the world's biggest cities, five banks, one former president and companies and groups that modernise ageing buildings has pledged to invest billions of dollars to cut urban energy use and releases of greenhouse gases, according to an article published today in the New York Times.

Under a plan developed through the William J Clinton Foundation, participating banks would provide up to $1 billion each in loans that cities or private landlords would use to upgrade energy-hungry heating, cooling and lighting systems in older buildings.

The loans and interest would be paid back with savings accrued through reduced energy costs. Typically, such upgrades can cut energy costs from 20-50%.

Energy use in buildings accounts for about a third of global releases of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

The first targets under the initiative would be municipal buildings in the participating cities, which are: Bangkok, Berlin, Chicago, Houston, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Toronto.

The project is aimed at propelling energy-saving investments that otherwise tend not to happen even when long-term financial benefits are clear because cities or property owners lack access to capital.

In another first, the new Council House 2 (CH2) building in Melbourne is setting new international standards for ecologically sustainable commercial construction by using 70% less water and 85% less energy than conventional office buildings.

The building was awarded six green stars by the Green Building Council of Australia, representing world leadership in office building design.

Under sweeping changes to legislation and national building codes, Beyond Zero Emissions is calling for all newly approved commercial office and retail buildings to be of six green star standard or better within two years, leading to 10 star, fully autonomous building targets by 2016.

There are numerous groundbreaking sustainable features in the CH2 building. Windows are automatically controlled to open at night to cool the building; a facade of louvres is used to track the movement of the sun on the western side. A water mining plant in the basement uses a membrane to filter sewer water, reducing the need for mains water and associated energy costs to pump water from Eastern Victoria.