Colombia. The Colombian capital, Bogotá, announced the second phase of the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Accelerator Program (BEA) through which it will receive technical and economic support for the effective implementation of Resolution 549/15 (Guide for Savings in Water and Energy in Buildings of the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory), which will facilitate compliance with the percentages of water and energy savings in new buildings in the city.
With the effective implementation of this standard, all new buildings in the city will save 20% in energy and 30% in water. Likewise, 2.84 million new homes by 2050 in Bogotá will be able to cover their demand for water and energy efficiently and their users will benefit from a 25% reduction in utility costs.
"In order to seal our commitment, the new Territorial Planning Plan (POT) proposes as one of its three main policies, that of Eco-efficiency, which seeks a more efficient ecological footprint and a more resilient city. This sustainable construction initiative is possible from a dense, compact and nearby city, where new developments are multipurpose, people can move more easily on foot, by bicycle or public transport and less and less CO2 emissions are generated, "said Andrés Ortiz, District Planning Secretary.
The secretary stressed that the city will benefit from the reduction of 32% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions - GHG with respect to the baseline of emissions from buildings, the significant improvement of the environmental quality of the city and, therefore, of the quality of life of Bogota residents. Likewise, the impact on the city's water sources such as moors and wetlands will be reduced.
In this way, it is expected that, through the BEA Program, the city will contribute to the fulfillment of the international commitment to reduce GHG emissions associated with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Likewise, the harmonization with the already existing Public Policy of Ecourbanism and Construction (PPECS) and the Territorial Planning Plan (POT) link the BEA Program as the leading strategy of the city in the Eco-efficiency Policy. This is how this policy is sought to materialize in the POT through three strategies:
Articulation of the main ecological structure with the public space.
Climate change and risk management.
Balance between dense, compact and close growth and renewal processes.
"Mitigating the impact that human beings and buildings have on the environment will help us on the way to guarantee sustainable environmental, social and economic development," said Juan Camilo González, Manager of the North City Project of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá.
Opportunity to replicate it in other cities of the country
The BEA Bogotá Program will also help other cities to comply with national regulations, represented in Resolution 549/15 and link to the "Sustainable Energy for All" initiative of the United Nations. This public-private coalition collaborates with sub-national, national governments, the private sector and civil society in the implementation of policies and programs to improve the quality of buildings and their efficiency in their life cycle.
In its first two years, the BEA Program reached 253 cities with resources and obtained 47 commitments in energy efficiency in buildings from 32 cities and 17 countries. Bogotá is today a leading city in the implementation of this program.
Source: District Planning Secretariat.
