Emissions from Brazil’s building sector have been falling in recent years, dropping by 24% 2015-2020.1 Electricity made up a 61% share of buildings’ final energy demand in 2019. The share of biomass and natural gas were similar, accounting for 18% each.
To ensure Brazil’s building sector is 1.5°C aligned, direct CO₂ emissions would need to reach zero by 2025-2037.
Due to climatic conditions in Brazil, the percentage of energy used for heating is relatively low, but is counterbalanced by large cooling energy demands.1 Brazil has some measures in place to promote energy efficiency in public and private buildings but still needs to implement policies with concrete measures beyond voluntary certifications or standards for new buildings and renovations.
The main energy efficiency labelling policy and standards are covered by Law 10.295 in the framework of the Brazilian Labelling Plan (PBE), which includes: refrigerators, lighting, ovens, water heaters and others.3
4 Gütschow, J., Jeffery, L., Gieseke, R. & Günther, A. The PRIMAP-hist national historical emissions time series (1850-2017). V.2.1. GFZ Data Services (2019) doi:10.5880/PIK.2019.018.
5 Silva Junior, C. H. L. et al. The Brazilian Amazon deforestation rate in 2020 is the greatest of the decade. Nat Ecol Evol 5, 144–145 (2021).
13 Searchinger, T., Waite, R., Hanson, C. & Ranganathan, J. Creating a sustainable food future: A menu of solutions to feed nearly 10 billion people by 2050. World Resources Report (2019).