Strengthening Capacities for Energy Efficiency in buildings in Latin America (CEELA)
By strengthening capacities and regulatory frameworks in energy efficient and thermally comfortable housing in Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and Peru the CEELA project will contribute to reduce CO2 emissions in the sector while at the same time improve the quality of life, resilience and health of building occupants including economically disadvantaged groups. CEELA builds on long standing Swiss experience in sustainable buildings and will nourish policy dialogue at national, regional and global level.
Country/region | Topic | Period | Budget |
---|---|---|---|
Andean Region Latin America |
Climate change and environment
Energy conservation & efficiency
Energy policy |
15.03.2019
- 31.10.2023 |
CHF 4’638’600
|
- Swiss Private Sector
-
Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation ENERGY
ENERGY
Sub-Sector according to the OECD Developement Assistance Commitiee categorisation Energy conservation and demand-side efficiency
Energy policy and administrative management
Cross-cutting topics The project also supports partner organisation improvements
Aid Type Mandate with fiduciary funds
Mandate without fiduciary fund
Project number 7F10220
Background |
Despite the past decades of economic growth in the region, five main problems have impeded the implementation of efficient construction principles in Latin America: (i) Low demand: so far, there are only few eco-efficient building projects with verifiable thermal comfort criteria; (ii) Limited academic and professional knowledge: only few universities offer sustainable construction programmes; (iii) Local market actors perceive efficient buildings as expensive: there are few attractive business models for sustainable construction; (iv) Norms and regulations are implemented slowly: there are only few instruments for regulating efficient construction at the local level which leads to a low adoption of efficient building codes; and (v) Locked financial resources: there are few financial incentives to promote efficient construction. CEELA will improve the conditions for solving these problems, based on the lessons learned in Switzerland over the past 40 years as well as on SDC’s successful projects in Latin America and the Building Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) in India. |
Objectives | CEELA contributes to reduce CO2 emissions in Latin America’s building sector and to improve the thermal comfort and quality of life of residents, and building users by strengthening multi-actor capacities for designing energy efficient and thermally comfortable (EETC) buildings, by applying appropriate technologies and solutions and by improving and advocating on exisiting norms and codes. |
Target groups |
Direct beneficiaries: (i) Architecture and engineering lecturers/professors, and students (ii) architectural and engineering professionals, (iii) construction workers and operational personnel, (iv) government officials in ministries and municipalities, (v) construction and real estate companies, (vi) industries that supply the materials and technology that promote energy efficiency. Final beneficiaries: building users will able to live/work study in buildings with improved thermal comfort. |
Medium-term outcomes |
Outcome 1 – Showcases: Latin American building sector professionals adopt Energy-Efficient and Thermally Comfortable (EETC) building design through replicable showcase buildings: Four pilot buildings are designed and implemented with an integrated design approach to achieve higher energy efficiency and thermal comfort, adapting international knowledge to local needs. Outcome 2 – Capacities and knowledge of building sector professionals and technicians created and strengthened: Professionals and technicians in the construction sector in Latin America have improved skills in energy efficient and thermally comfortable buildings, and have greater access to relevant information. Special attention will be given to promoting gender equality. Outcome 3 – Regulatory framework: Latin American decision makers have jointly elaborated recommendations to improve national and municipal regulatory frameworks and plans for implementing them: National authorities and actors committed to regulatory changes are sensitized and trained, and through participatory processes implementation plans to execute regulatory changes which promote efficient construction and thermal comfort are elaborated. |
Results |
Expected results: · Four successful and available models of · Recommendations and criteria to incorporate · Education system and capacity building in · Communication tool created to disseminate - Four implementation plans leading towards Results from previous phases: During the Inception Phase, the main problems related to the general application of the principles of efficient construction in Latin America have been identified, it has also been validated that the intervention of the CEELA project will contribute to Ecuador’s, Colombia’s, Mexico’s and Peru's progress in fulfilling national commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, by strengthening local regulations that are currently dysfunctional, increasing access to energy and thermally efficient construction financing and contributing to the change in socio-cultural paradigms in the construction sector (which only associate comfort to the upper classes). To this end, expressions of interest from public, private and academic actors have been collected. It has also been shown that actors in the region highly value the Swiss experience in energy-efficient construction, as well as SDC's long thematic experience in Latin America with its approach of combining multi-sector, multi-level and multi-actor knowledge management, as well as its regional and global strategic impact capacity. Synergies of work with SECO in Colombia were also identified. |
Directorate/federal office responsible |
SDC |
Credit area |
Development cooperation |
Project partners |
Contract partner Private sector |
Coordination with other projects and actors | (i) Platforms and organizations: Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction; International Energy Agency; World Green Building Council; International Finance Corporation; (ii) Projects: Building Energy Efficiency Project; Net zero energy project (NZEB) China, German French Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings; (iii) Stakeholders: Environment and Housing Ministries, municipalities, universities, technical colleges, construction and real estate companies. |
Budget | Current phase Swiss budget CHF 4’638’600 Swiss disbursement to date CHF 3’922’499 |
Project phases |
Phase
2
01.12.2023
- 31.05.2027
(Current phase)
Phase 1 15.03.2019 - 31.10.2023 (Completed) |