There was a suggestion that to cut greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by more than 80% by 2050, the government needs incentives that can draw private participation. To do so, private participation must be encouraged in the zero energy building (ZEB) certification system and the green remodeling program, but government support to reduce the burden of initial investment expense is currently lacking.
According to "Status and implications of carbon neutrality in domestic buildings," which the KDB Future Strategy Research Institute Industrial Technology Research Center released on the 7th, the government presented institutional sector-specific guidelines under the "2050 Carbon Neutrality Scenario," aiming to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Last year, the buildings institutional sector ranked fourth (6.3%) in Korea's greenhouse gas emissions after industry (41.3%), power generation (31.6%), and transport (14.1%). Through the creation of green buildings, the government plans to reduce building greenhouse gas emissions in 2050 by 85.8% compared with last year.
To create green buildings, the government presented the "zero energy building (ZEB) certification system" and the "green remodeling program" as core policies. A zero energy building is a green building that minimizes energy load and uses renewable energy. Since 2017, it has operated the ZEB certification system and has granted incentives such as floor area ratio relaxations (11–15%) and tax benefits (15–20%) depending on certification level.
The system measures a building's energy self-sufficiency rate and primary energy use to evaluate energy efficiency and certify levels. Since 2020, the public institutional sector has been required to obtain ZEB level 4 or higher when constructing new buildings of a certain size (1,000㎡) or more. However, the private institutional sector is based on voluntary participation.
The green remodeling program has converted existing buildings into green buildings by improving energy performance and efficiency, and it has been promoted since 2013. It directly supports construction costs related to energy savings in public buildings and indirectly supports private buildings by covering loan interest expense for energy-saving construction.
However, with high interest rates dampening private participation, new support—other than for existing loans—ended at the end of 2023. There is currently no green remodeling program for the private sector. Related expense was not reflected in the government's budget proposal for next year submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).
There are calls for the government to expand related budgets, including paying construction subsidies, to vitalize green buildings.
Lee Su-jin, a research fellow at the KDB Future Strategy Research Institute Industrial Technology Research Center, said, "ZEB and green remodeling require considerable investment expense, which acts as a burden on project entities and leads to lower participation," and added, "In the public institutional sector, the government can raise participation through budget securing and policies, but there are limits to mandating the private institutional sector, so additional measures are needed."