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Nowadays, the methodology aiming to achieve carbon neutrality and net zero energy on a large scale is known. Despite this, few specialists are mastering this technology globally. What new scenarios. applied at the neighbourhood scale. generate a significant reduction in the rate of CO2 emissions and energy demand? In addition, a lack of massive, regular, and consistent data on carbon emissions and energy consumption has made it significantly difficult to understand the origins of climate change at the building and neighbourhood scales. This work has, as its main goal, the assessment of different strategies that facilitate reduction in the concentration of CO2 and lower energy demands at the district level. The life cycle assessment of a new district has been carried out over 100 years during the four stages of the life cycle of the neighbourhood (construction, operation, demolition and end of life). The results showed that up to 93% of greenhouse gas (GHG) was produced during the operational stage. The energy demand due to transport and waste management represented 60% of the total energy demand of the district during the operational stage. There is still a possibility to maintain air temperature growth around 1.5 °C in the next decade by means of the following: Global warming + 100% of heavy renovation of all buildings + 100% of electric car − renewable energy. This strategy would facilitate a reduction of over 92% of the CO2 produced at the district level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy consumption reduces sby 91.1% in 2030, by applying major renovation and PV. • Heavy renovation inside residential buildings proved to be more effective in reducing the energy consumption; • The implementation of the mobility scenarios will lead to a reduction by 2030 of 33.26% of energy. One of the major objectives of the European Union by 2030 is to reduce energy consumption at the building level. Aware of this fact, the main goal of this study is to propose some strategies more adapted to the temperate climate aiming to modernize the existing residential districts towards zero energy and low carbon emissions by 2030. A total of 454,994 dwellings (terraced houses; semi-detached houses; detached houses and apartments) were investigated for this purpose. These are spread over 5 provinces in the Walloon region in Belgium and grouped into 5 types of the neighbourhood (isolated rural, peripheral rural, peri -urban, suburban and in urban neighbourhoods). The technique of reducing energy consumption in the buildings studied in this research is centred on the implementation of scenarios related to climate, renovation, transport and renewable energy. In addition, several energy optimization models are being tested for this purpose. The results showed that the objective "near-zero energy neighbourhood" can be achieved in temperate zones. In fact, current energy consumption is reduced up to 91% by simultaneously applying a heavy renovation of residential buildings, renewable energy and green mobility. By applying the heavy renovation (100%) on these residence buildings, the heating energy decreases from 230.6 to 23.7 kWh/m2 in the terraced houses; from 239.7 to 24.6 kWh/m2 in the semi-detached house; and, from 202.1 to 20.8 kWh/m2 in the detached house. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The building's Life cycle cost ranges between 9% and 15% for energy cost. • In standard residential in Madagascar, each kilowatt of energy produces 0.4 kg of CO2. • Energy consumption is estimated around of 39 kWh/m2 in the eight countries. Nowadays, one of the current concerns of the United Nations and the European Union is to offer more reliable mechanisms aimed at reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions on a building scale. The new required recommendations can be applied to all countries of the world. The main objective of this study is to evaluate, analyse and compare the indoor air condition (comfort rate and CO 2 concentration), and energy consumption, prevailing in a family building built in eight cities (Douala, Kinshasa, Abidjan, Lagos, Pretoria, Dakar, Antananarivo and Addis Ababa), located in eight countries (Cameroon, DRC, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Madagascar and Ethiopia) in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, this study assesses the total cost of the life cycle of a new building over a period of 50 years in each country. Parameter simulations and optimizations are carried out over three periods (current, 2030 and 2050) with Design Builder software renowned in this area. The results showed that the comfort potential is around 10–21% higher in the residential buildings located at altitude compare to those ones in coastal regions. The thermal comfort range is found between 20 °C and 29 °C in these different cities. The preferred thermal environment in altitude regions, where it makes cold, should be "slightly warm", corresponding to around 1 °C above the neutral temperature, in order to satisfy the majority of the building occupant. In addition, the preferred thermal environment in coastal regions, where it makes warm, should be "slightly cold", corresponding to around 1 °C below the neutral temperature, in order to satisfy the majority of the occupants of the building. Finally, the building's Life cycle cost (LCC) ranges between 25% and 35% for construction cost; from 30%to 40%, for operation cost; between 2% and 3% for maintenance cost; between 9% and 15% for energy cost on the whole LCC in Sub-Saharan-Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have used passive strategies, such as the implementation of thermal insulation and the use of phase change materials (PCM), in several studies, but some problems have not yet been solved. It is the case of showing the real effect of external shading combined with thermal insulation and phase change materials to improve the thermal performance and energy efficiency of office buildings in tropical coastal areas. Another pending problem to be solved is to define the impact produced by passive strategies on the performance of workers in office buildings in coastal zones. It is with a view to answering all these questions that this study was envisaged with the main objective of evaluating, analyzing, comparing, and discussing the effect of thermal insulation and phase change materials on thermal comfort and energy demand in coastal areas of hot and humid tropical climates located in the island of Madagascar. In this sense, hourly climate data for the past 30 years have served as the basis for assessing environmental conditions of future climate. It was found that the PCMs have a more significant effect on the coastal zone of hot climates than humid tropical climates. The results of the statistical analyses showed that the application of passive strategies stabilizes indoor air temperatures to between 23 °C and 28 °C in the offices, which is the recommended comfort range in these regions. In the coastal regions of Madagascar, up to 30% of cooling energy is expected to be reduced by combining the introduction of thermal insulation and PCM materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In the context of sustainable development, the environmental aspects of urban areas are taken into account by correlating them with their energy consumption. The purpose of this research is to collect and analyze the energy consumption data due to the transport in Belgium, and more precisely in the Liege province. But, also to make forecasts of these same consumptions to the horizon 2030–2050. The methodology chosen allow to model and improve the energy consumption for city-wide transports and to forecast the evolution of city energy consumption to simulate the effects of certain urban development strategies. We focus here on the city of Liege which we will compare the different data of energy consumption with those of other cities. The analysis of the impacts of mobility on energy consumption and greenhouse gas was based on seven scenarios established through several surveys and researches. The results showed that the daily mobility of inhabitants has a significant effect on CO 2 emission and energy consumption. It is necessary to act in the long term by encouraging public transport such as vehicles with low energy consumption. The energy consumption in transportation sector can decrease up-to 19%, by reducing between 10% and 20%, of displacement by private car, and an increase up to 60%, both combined displacement by bike (for the distances small than 12 km), and walking (distances small than 1 km). Highlights • Energy consumption due to transportation is the highest during the working days. • Energy will decrease upto 40%, in 2050 by using of the car to the benefit of the train/metro. • Energy consumption is expected to increase between 419 kWh and 1509 kWh from 2030 to 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • 34.6–50.2% increase in cooling energy demand by 2060. • Set around of 0.05 m, the thermal insulation thickness has a significant effect. • Energy consumption depends on the building type. Abstract This research was conducted in order to assess the impact that climate change has on the demands for heating and cooling energy in hospitals in six cities located in six countries in the Indian Ocean region. Three scenarios (B1, A1B, and A2) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were applied in the undertaking of this work. The hourly outdoor data relating to air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, radiation, and atmospheric pressure recorded over the last 30 years were used as inputs by Meteonorm software to enable the forecasting. The averages obtained in all the 18 models used in the IPCC report 2007 were included in the Meteonorm software and applied for assessing the future climate. The Energy-Plus software was used for assessing the thermal performance of hospitals under natural ventilation, then the energy demand during five periods (past, current, 2030, 2060, and 2090). Thermal insulation was utilized as a passive strategy for reducing cooling and heating energy consumption in the hospitals. Results showed that the use of an envelope of thermal insulation in hospitals was one of the solutions that allowed a reduction in the energy consumption for cooling and heating while increasing the thermal comfort within the hospital. Moreover, by 2090, the ventilation system was recommended in all these hospitals for improving the quality of indoor air, since the heat rate was very high. In the cases of the six islands in the Indian Ocean, each of them represented by one city, the annual energy demand for cooling will increase between 17.1 and 25.4% by 2030; 34.6 and 50.2% by 2060; and 60.8 and 95.1% by 2090. With the use of passive design as a strategy, the annual mean thermal performance of hospitals is predicted to increase to 184% by 2060, while 40% of the cost of cooling energy will be saved. Despite this, the outdoor climate will be 5% harsher in Victoria than in other cities by the year 2090. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Traditional buildings are more comfortable during the two seasons. [•] In modern habitats, inhabitants want “more air”. [•] More than 80% energy used came from biomass and oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Heavy retrofit allows to reduce up to 95 % of CO 2 concentration emission. • Over 70 % of the total carbon emissions worldwide is produce by the developed countries. • Embodied carbon represents the 27.9 % of total CO 2 produce during operational phase. The building sector has become a major source of worldwide carbon emissions and energy consumption because of rapid population growth and a continuous environmental strain caused by humanity. A lack of consistent data on life-cycle carbon emissions and energy demand at the neighbourhood level has made it difficult to understand the origins of climate change at this scale. A sensitivity analysis brought clarity concerning the extent of environmental impacts on future climate evolution. From this perspective, the authors aimed to evaluate, analyse, compare, and provides recommendations to reduce carbon emissions, as well as the energy required by three types of neighbourhoods (urban, rural, and sustainable) located in and adapted to all countries worldwide. The most important parameters affecting carbon emission and energy consumption were analysed, including the energy mix of countries, local building materials and climate, technological solutions utilised, daily mobility, and occupied spaces. The results indicated that the highest levels of carbon dioxide emissions were produced by countries with prosperous economies, such as China, the United States, India, Germany, and Poland, because of high concentrations of coal in their energy mixes. Modernising cities through the construction of new eco-districts and increasing the use of new techniques for substantial renovations of outdated buildings worldwide could mitigate the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by neighbourhoods 53–97 % by 2050. Moreover, by combining substantial building renovations with the installation of photovoltaic panels on roofs, the objective of 'zero carbon' at the neighbourhood level could be achievable by 2050 in rural neighbourhoods. Radical changes in the judicious choice of construction materials and use of green energy production represent targeted opportunities to resolve the future climate dilemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) aims to establish a guideline that requires all new buildings to comply with nearly zero-energy buildings (NZEB) by 2030. This decision involves new technologies based on concepts that meet international standards. This research aims to review the literature on 'net zero-energy building' and analyses the possibility of applying this research on nine statistically representative neighbourhoods of the building stock'in Belgium, depending on the built density. All the areas, grouped into four categories (urban, peri-urban, suburban, and rural neighbourhoods), were used for current energy consumption analysis and to evaluate prospective scenarios based on four major challenges, namely climate change, building renovations, photovoltaic panels, and sustainable mobility. In addition, a new approach combining several scenarios to further improve energy needs at the neighbourhood scale is also highlighted. The nine different types of neighbourhoods studied are commonly found in different countries across the EU. The average reduction in energy consumption of neighbourhoods (buildings + daily mobility) in 2040 (compared to reference year 2012) will likely reach 5.69% attributable to a 20% reduction in distances travelled, 6.48% to climate change, 12.95% to the current annual buildings renovation rate, 18.76%–100% electric cars, 22.26% for doubling the current buildings renovation rate, 31.62% and 63.25% to a light or heavy renovation of the entire building stock, respectively. Moreover, installing 20 m2 of solar panels on the rooftops of each residential building would produce renewable energy equivalent to 6.53% of the current global energy consumption. Finally, the results show that more than 90% of current energy consumption can be reduced at the neighbourhood scale (buildings + daily mobility) by combining a heavy renovation of all the buildings, electric vehicles, and photovoltaic panels. This scenario allows reaching the 'nearly zero-energy' target at the neighbourhood scale. • The 90% of energy consumption can be reduced by combining a heavy renovation, electric vehicles, and photovoltaic panels. • Photovoltaic panel yield is higher in rural than urban neighbourhoods. • Electric vehicles reduce up to 20% of energy consumption in neighbourhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor comfort, energy demand, carbon emissions and the cost of maintaining a building vary according to the structure of the building and the behaviour of its occupants. The main goal of this research is to analyse the bioclimatic potential of different Malagasy climatic zones. In addition, this study analyses and compares energy consumption and carbon emissions in six building categories commonly found in Sub Sahara African cities designed to be placed in thirteen cities unequally distributed in the six climatic regions in Madagascar. To reach this objective, hourly weather data for the last thirty years were analysed for two seasons. At the same time, the adaptive comfort model defined by the ASHRAE 55 served as a reference for the evaluation of different passive design potentials. The results showed that in the sub-Saharan or hot zone, the range of comfort varies according to with the geographical position and that the number of hours of thermal comfort and acceptability is in the majority of the cases outside the range recommended in the international standards (CIBSE, ASHRAE and ISO). Finally, it was concluded that Madagascar Island, such as other countries, should build their own standard due to the average demand for cooling energy increases every year up to 3.4% in the coastal towns and more than 80% of carbon emissions can be reduced in hospitals in Madagascar, as well as in Sub-Saharan Africa, by increasing the maintenance cost between 7% and 10% of the total life cycle cost of a building. In Madagascar Island, the building Life cycle cost ranges from 12% to 14% for the construction cost, 0–1% for the renovation cost, 36%–73% for the energy cost, 2%–3% for the maintenance cost on the whole LCC. • Cooling energy demand increases up to 3.4% per year in the coastal towns. • Life cycle cost ranges from 36% to 73% for the energy cost. • The neutral temperature is expected to reach up to 30 °C, in 2050 in the residential buildings. • The emission rate in the hospitals can be up to 98.7% higher than the one of residences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to determine the most impactful and important source of environmental change at the neighborhood level. The study of multiple scenarios allows us to determine the influence of several parameters on the results of the life cycle analysis of the neighborhood. We are looking at quantifying the impact of orientation, storm water management, density, mobility and the use of renewable energies on the environmental balance sheet of a neighborhood, based on eleven environmental indicators. An eco-neighborhood, located in Belgium, has been selected as the modeling site. The results show that the management of mobility is the parameter that can reduce the impact the most, in terms of greenhouse effect, odor, damage to biodiversity and health. With the adaptation of photovoltaic panels on the site, the production exceeds the consumption all through the year, except for the months of December and January, when the installation covers 45% and 75% of the consumption, respectively. Increasing the built density of the neighborhood by roof stacking allows the different environmental impacts, calculated per inhabitant, to be homogeneously minimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]