PEEB: a tool for transforming the building sector

PEEB was launched jointly by the French and German governments. It is put into action by three agencies: Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME). Financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the European Commission has scaled up the PEEB to a multi-program partnership.

OBJECTIVES

PEEB uses a proactive approach to support project owners with construction or renovation projects, and its objectives are threefold:

• Give impetus to change in national regulatory frameworks
• Share good practices in energy efficiency
• Stimulate investment in energy-efficient buildings

PEEB provides expertise in construction and renovation projects for a wide range of buildings including social housing, student housing, schools and universities, hospitals, public and administrative buildings, cultural heritage buildings, offices, and buildings in the textile and pharmaceutical industries.

It can finance a wide range of services on short notice. These include energy audits; carbon-footprint assessments; project-management assistance; environmental, social, and gender studies; climate-risk analyses; asbestos-removal plans; energy-efficiency training; and sectoral guidelines.

The financing of feasibility studies and projects, combined with support for public policies, helps to develop regulatory frameworks and disseminate best practices. The ultimate aim is to encourage the scaling up of energy-efficient construction.

PEEB combines technical support for professionals in the building sector with capacity building for public-sector players in the field of energy efficiency.

Advice and expertise

PEEB helps partner countries to improve their public policies and regulatory frameworks targeting energy efficiency in buildings. It promotes capacity building in energy efficiency among professionals in the public and private sectors, and it supports the dissemination of best practices.

Financing

PEEB mobilizes innovative financing solutions to encourage the sector’s stakeholders to build or renovate buildings that consume less energy, provide improved heating comfort, and which are in greater harmony with the environment.

Partner countries

PEEB was initially limited to 5 partner countries (Mexico, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, and Vietnam) but is now active in some 30 countries.

Further reading : Charting the path to decarbonization and resilience - Insights from the development banks workshop for the buildings sector

PEEB Cool’s ambition is to help countries transform their building and construction sector. To do so, it promotes the design, construction, and operation of resilient and energy-efficient buildings.

PEEB Cool is implemented thanks to financing from the Green Climate Fund, AFD, the French Facility for Global Environment, and the German government’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate action (BMWK). PEEB uses a unique combination of two types of support (technical/financial and institutional) to scale up ambitious projects for energy efficiency and resilience and to achieve long-lasting transformation in the building sector.

Financing

• €176 million in concessional loans
• €44 million for technical assistanc

Partner countries

This innovative program combines technical assistance and financial support for 11 countries on 4 continents: Albania, Argentina, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia.

See also the press release: PEEB Cool kicks off to boost energy-efficient, climate-resilient buildings in 11 countries

PEEB Cool strives to promote and develop passive construction methods, local eco-materials and architecture to provide for the natural cooling of buildings. It also works to strengthen the resilience of countries to extreme weather events, energy shortages, and economic crises.

Mediterranean countries are especially exposed to the effects of rising temperatures. That’s why they must adapt their buildings and limit the impact of global warming on their populations.

PEEB Med supports seven countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean in transforming their building and construction sectors.

Objectives

PEEB Med contributes to a sustainable transformation of the building sector via two levers:

•    More far-reaching regulations on public procurement

•    Capacity building for professionals in the construction sector

This program is co-financed by the European Union and supports local stakeholders in raising awareness and developing sustainable expertise at the national and regional levels. It helps prepare concrete investments and share experiences between Mediterranean countries.

Partner countries

Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, Tunisia

Further reading : Building for Health  - PEEB Med’s support to healthcare infrastructure

PEEB Med combines technical support and investment grants to cover the additional cost of energy-efficiency measures. The aim is to reduce costs and the perception of investment risk, thereby encouraging stakeholders to build and invest in energy-efficient buildings.

PEEB Med uses technical assistance to support eligible construction and renovation projects in their design and implementation phases. It also implements capacity-building actions for project stakeholders.

An investment grant then helps facilitate the construction of energy-efficient measures, by partially covering the additional costs generated by energy-efficiency measures. The grant percentage depends on the building’s target performance.   

This program fosters synergies and shares knowledge from the Mitigation Enabling Energy Transition in the Mediterranean Region (meetMED II) project, which is also supported by the European Union in the same countries.

In 2020, buildings’ energy consumption accounted for 23% of total energy consumption in ASEAN countries. Without improvements in energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energies, energy consumption of buildings in the region is expected to rise by about 60% by 2030 and 120% by 2040.

Objectives

PEEB ASEAN supports partner countries in the building sector transformation process, with the goal of reducing the energy intensity of the ASEAN countries by 32% by 2025 and achieving the “Net Zero Emissions” target.

Partners countries

Through the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE), the program will benefit 10 countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Financing and financial tools

AFD has provided €5 million in financing for PEEB ASEAN, including the following:

• A grant of €2 million to finance institutional support activities implemented by the ASEAN Centre for Energy
• A technical assistance facility of €1.5 million for project preparation
• An investment grant of €1.5 million for projects financed by AFD Group and its partners

Institutional support

This component is implemented by the ASEAN Centre for Energy, with the aim of creating a framework to encourage energy efficiency in buildings in the region. It has four modes of action:

• Making recommendations to work for change in public policies and regulatory frameworks
• Developing a regional digital hub to share information and raise awareness among energy stakeholders
• Providing capacity building for high-level political decision-makers on energy efficiency in buildings
• Implementing tailor-made activities based on the needs of countries identified during the feasibility study

Investment grant and technical assistance

• PEEB ASEAN supports projects at each phase of their advancement, such as feasibility studies, architectural design, construction supervision, and impact assessment. These projects are carried out by AFD Group (AFD, Proparco, Expertise France) or by its partners, in synergy with its activities and PEEB’s objectives.
• PEEB ASEAN mobilizes international technical experts to strengthen the capacities of partners in designing and implementing building projects that are high performing in terms of energy and the environment. It can provide investment grants to supplement financing from AFD or Proparco, to help make energy performance and bioclimatic design be considered for projects and then implemented.

Further reading: PEEB Asean grant signed

In the Overseas France territories, which face particular climate challenges, AFD and ADEME have started a PEEB variant to support stakeholders in the construction sector. PEEB Overseas France is designed for individual municipalities, administrative groups of municipalities that share powers and levy their own taxes (EPCIs), Overseas France communities with special status, associations, local public companies (with Sem, Spl, or SemOp status), public institutions (schools and libraries) and State services.

Objectives

This variant, called “PEEB Overseas”, provides engineering support to public contracting authorities and AFD and ADEME engineers. Its objective is to improve the energy and environmental performance of building construction and renovation projects.



Since 2022, thanks to a budget of €1.7 million, nearly 36 support applications have been approved for various stakeholders. These include municipalities and communities in Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, Guadeloupe and in French Guiana, non-profits in the medico-social sector in French Polynesia, and hospitals in Mayotte and Réunion. This financing is expected to be renewed in may 2024.

Since 2022, the PEEB Overseas program has been assisting the French Overseas Territories with their renovation and construction projects. With a budget of €3 million, 41 support projects have already been approved for local authorities, associations and public facilities (including hospitals and schools) in regions such as Guadeloupe, Réunion and French Polynesia. Among these initiatives, 21 projects have already been finalized, demonstrating the concrete and sustainable impact of the program. One example is the Réunion University Hospital Center.

PEEB finances and rapidly mobilizes technical expertise covering a wide range of services adapted to project advancement and the needs of project owners. These services include:

• Energy assessments and audits (using ADEME methodologies)
• Dynamic thermal simulations
• Carbon footprint assessments
• Incorporation of energy and environmental issues into tender documents
• Plan revision
• Costing of measures in energy efficiency and renewable energy production
• Support for building certification
• Environmental, social and gender studies
• Seismic, para-cyclonic and flood analyses
• Training courses and workshops for building professionals