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Published on February 6, 2008

The seminar will introduce a building retrofit programme to address climate change induced by human activities.

The project is a joint initiative of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI).

"It is estimated that approximately 60 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in cities are caused by buildings," said Christopher Seeley, Bangkok coordinator of the William J Clinton Foundation's Climate Initiative.

"Building retrofitting to improve energy efficiency will reduce those emissions and can easily help building owners save between 20-30 per cent on their power bills."

The seminar will focus on mechanisms, delivery models and partnerships developed by this joint effort to help the private sector to reduce their everyday impact on the environment.

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin will provide the keynote address while the event will also feature key speakers from the BMA, UNEP, the CCI, Chulalongkorn University and case studies from local industry leaders.

In May last year during the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in New York, Apirak met with former US President Bill Clinton and agreed for Bangkok to be among the first 15 global mega-cities to participate in the CCI new programme to retrofit existing buildings to make them consume less energy and cut their carbon emissions.

"More than half of the energy consumption in cities is in buildings where light bulbs generate more heat than light and air conditioners are run for hours without anyone using them," Clinton said in May. "Building retrofits will reduce energy use in existing buildings by 25 to 50 per cent."

Other cities that joined the programme were London, Berlin, Chicago, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Karachi, Melbourne, Toronto, Houston, New York, Seoul, Mexico City, Rome and Sao Paulo.

The Clinton Foundation will coordinate auditing of municipal and large buildings in these cities and identify structures or systems that need to be replaced to make them consume less energy.

Deputy Bangkok Governor Bannasopit Mekvichai said the BMA's headquarters and district offices in the capital would be among the first to implement the retrofit programme. She said electricity bills for these buildings alone cost a few million baht each month.

CCI's Seeley said buildings to be targeted next include shopping centres, hospitals, commercial offices, hotels, schools and universities and any other large energy consumers.

Energy service companies will also join the seminar on Saturday to share expertise and experience on improving energy efficiency. He said more information would be available at the BMA at chalikan@gmail.com 

The Nation