Papua New Guinea Final

8/14/2019 Papua New Guinea Final

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BuildingEnergyCodesReportforPapuaNewGuinea

June2009PreparedbytheBuildingCodesAssistanceProject


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June2009 BuildingEnergyCodesReportforPapuaNewGuinea

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SummaryPapuaNewGuineaisasmalleconomywithveryfew

strictlyimplementedbuildingenergycodes.

Projectionsofaneartermshiftinenergystatus,

fromanetexportertoanetimporter,plusconcerns

overglobalclimatechangeandcostsofenergy,

generally,pointtotheopportunitiesthatenergy

efficiencyandconservationprovideforPapuaNew

Guinea.Ascurrentenergyresourcesarebeingdepleted,implementingenergyefficientpracticesand

investinginrenewableformsofenergyprovidethekeytoasustainablefutureforthisandeverynation.

EconomyBackgroundLocatedjustnorthofAustraliaandrepresentingtheeasternhalfofNewGuinea,isthesmallisland

economyofPapuaNewGuinea. In1975,PapuaNewGuineagainedindependencefromAustraliaandto

thisdaymaintainsaparliamentarydemocracyandacommonwealthrealm. QueenElizabethIIholds

thepositionofHeadofState,alargelyceremonialtitleinaneconomywheretrueexecutivepowerand

nationalleadershipiswieldedbyPrimeMinisterMichaelSomareandcabinetmembers.i

PapuaNewGuineahasapopulationofoversixmillionpeople;themajorityismalesbetweentheages

1564yearsold. Theeconomydoesnothaveacentrallyfocusedreligionandiscomprisedofnumerous

religiousgroups,includingbutnotlimitedtoRomanCatholics,EvangelicalLutherans,andAnglicans.The

economy

maintains

a

low

literacy

rate

and

unemployment

reaches

80

percent

in

urban

areas.

Life

expectancyandthestandardoflivingarebothrelativelylow.

EconomicOverviewTheeconomicstatusofPapuaNewGuineahasshiftedoverthepast20yearstoagloballycompetitive,

industrialized,freetrademarket. Subsequently,percapitaGDPandincomerateshaverisen,whilethe

incomegap(GiniIndex)haswidened.Asof2008,theeconomymaintainedapercapitaGDPof$27,900,

anoverallunemploymentrateof4percent,andaGiniIndexof36.2(1997). Asof2008,theeconomy

fellintoarecession,asdidmanyotherglobalmarkets. Thegovernmenthassincetakenmeasuresto

decreasetheeffectsoftherecessionandjumpstarttheeconomy.

Asasmalleconomy,PapuaNewGuineadoesnotcontributesignificantlytoglobalgreenhousegas

emissions,buthasnonethelesshassignedandratifiedtheKyotoProtocol. AsanonAnnexIPartytothe

KyotoProtocol,theeconomyisnotrequiredtomaintaintargetfiguresofemissions. Asof2004,Papua

NewGuineareleased2.4milliontonesofCO2emissions,equivalentto.04tonnesofCO2emissionsper

capita.ii

EnergyAssessment


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Consumingapproximately0.072QuadrillionBtuofprimaryenergyin2006,theeconomyreliesonoilto

meetthebulkoftheirenergydemands.iiiPapuaNewGuineaproduces42,100bbl/day(2008)ofoil,

whileconsumingonly29,050bbl/day(2006),andthusisanetexporterofoil.iv WhilePapuaNew

Guineaiscurrentlyabletoexportmoreoilthanitimports,depletingoilresourcesandagrowing

demandforoilmeansthatPapuaNewGuineawillnolongerbeanetexporterofoil.Itisprojectedthat

by2015itwillbecomeanationdependentonoilimports. Ifrenewableenergysourcesarenot

developed,theeconomywillnolongerbeselfsustainableinenergyproduction.v Analysisofrenewable

energypotentialindicatesthatsolarenergywouldbethemostefficientsourceofrenewableenergyfor

theisland,pointingtowardsthesouthernregionandoffshoresitesastheprimelocationsforsuch

resources. Inaddition,energyefficiencyitselfcanbeconsideredavaluableresourcebyloweringthe

overallneedforenergy.

ClimatePapuaNewGuineamaintainsatropicalclimatewithheavyamountsofrainfall.Inthelowland/island

areas,the

mean

temperature

is

around

27

o

C/80o

Fwith

uniform

humidity,

and

in

the

highland

areas

the

meantemperaturehits4oC/39oFatnightand32oC/89oFduringtheday,withhumidityrangingfrom65

80percent.

ScopeofBuildingEnergyCodes/StandardsPapuaNewGuineahasadoptedbuildingcodesbasedonthoseinAustralia. AsofMay1,2009,Australia

enactedthe2009BuildingCodeofAustralia(BCA2009),developedandmaintainedbytheAustralian

BuildingCodesBoard(ABCB). InAustralia,thisperformancebasedcodeisamendedandupdated

annuallyevery

May

1stvi.

The

codes

cover

structure,

fire

resistance,

services,

equipment,

energy

efficiency,andcertainaspectsofhealthandamenities.Asasmallislandeconomywithaconstantthreat

ofrisingwaterlevelsandearthquakes,adoptingAustralianbuildingcodeshelpsPapuaNewGuineato

enforcetheconstructionofsafe,structurallysoundbuildingsandhomes. Researchwasunableto

ascertaintheleveltowhichPapuaNewGuineaenforcesthecode.

BackgroundPriortotheadoptionofAustraliasbuildingcodes,PapuaNewGuineareliedontheBuildingActof1971.

TheAct,whichhassincebeenamendedin2005toincludeupdatedrestrictions,wascreatedtocontrol

andregulatebuildingsinthePapuaNewGuinearegion,andtoprovidesafe,hygienicstructuresthat

couldwithstandacertaindegreeofdamage,suchasthatcausedbyearthquakesorfires. TheAct

providesthatbuildingsmustmeetdesignatedrequirements,showproofofpermits,andpass

inspectionvii. Sincethislegislationwasadopted,PapuaNewGuineaexperiencedaconstructionboom

whichbeganin2005,duringwhichtheeconomyhostedtheBuildingwithAustralia2005event. Atthe

event,Australianbuildersweregiventheopportunitytoshowcasebuildingtechniquesandproductsto


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thepublicandkeystakeholdersinPapuaNewGuinea. Landdevelopmentwasalsoencouragedatthis

event.viii

In2005,PapuaNewGuineasbuildingcodeswerelabeledoutdatedbythedirectoroftheNational

DisasterCentreinPapuaNewGuinea.Afterthe2005buildingboom,PapuaNewGuineabegantoadopt

andimplement

the

Australian

BCA

stricter

codes

that

could

help

the

economy

achieve

avariety

of

objectivesincludinggreatersafetyandcomfort.ix Asnotedabove,sincePapuaNewGuineasBCA

adoptionisrelativelynew,thedegreeofenforcementandcomplianceisunknown. Sourcessaythat

implementationofcodesinPapuaNewGuineaiscurrentlyfarlessstringentthanthatofAustralia.

TechnicalRequirementsTheenergyefficiencyrequirementsfortheBCAconcentrateonthebuildingenvelopeandinsulation,

broadersystemsincludinglighting,heating,ventilating,andairconditioning(HVAC),waterheating,

metering,andoverallbuildingperformance,operation,andmaintenancex.Asnotedabove,thedegree

towhichPapuaNewGuineafollowsanyofthesecodes,andwhichcodesareimplemented,iscurrently

unknown.

BCAPRecommendationsPapuaNewGuineahastakenstepstowardenergyefficiencythroughtheadoptionofAustraliasbuilding

codesandsigningtheKyotoProtocol. Sincetheeconomymaintainsasmallpopulation,andhasa

relativelymodeststandardofliving,itisresponsibleforonlyasmallfractionofglobalgreenhousegas

emissions.Nonetheless,PapuaNewGuineashouldbeconsciousandvigilantabouttheeffectsof

greenhousegases

on

their

environment

due

to

their

vulnerability

to

the

impacts

of

climate

disruption.

Asofthe1980s,coastlinecommunitiesinPapuaNewGuineahavebegunnotingdistinctrisesinseas

levels,andsubsequentimpactstosoilandwaterquality. Theeconomyisexperiencingdepletionofits

primaryenergysource,oil,andneedstotransitiontorenewableenergysourceswhileimprovingenergy

efficiency. AdoptingAustraliasenergycodesisanimportantfirststepforPapuaNewGuinea.Nowcodesmustbeeffectivelyimplementedandrefinedtoensuretheyaddresstheclimateandenergy

objectivesofthenation.

Thegovernmenthasintroducedthe NationalEnergyPolicyStatementandGuidelinesdocument(PNG),

whichoutlinesavisionforafutureeconomythatwillbefarmoreenergyconscious. Animportant

meansfor

achieving

this

vision

is

enforcement

of

the

BCA

and

developing

and

implementing

code

that

includesconsiderationofrenewableenergysupplies.xi

Inadditiontoenergyefficientbuildingcodes,AustraliamaintainstheGreenStarprogram avoluntary

environmentalratingschemesupportedbytheGreenBuildingCouncilofAustralia.GreenStarprovides

ameansforevaluatingtheenvironmentaldesignandperformanceofbuildings. Creatingasimilar

programinPapuaNewGuineaoradoptingGreenStaritselfwouldhelpmeetenergyefficiencygoalsand

expandthesepracticesintheeconomy.


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Mandatingstrictenergycodesisacriticalsteptowardsloweringenergyconsumptionandreducing

dependenceonpetroleum,butcustomizingAustraliasbuildingcodestobettersupportPapuaNew

Guineasspecificclimateisalsoimportant.PapuaNewGuineasclimatediffersgreatlyfromAustralias,

whichlacksmonsoonseasonsandhighheatindexes. ThenorthernregionofAustraliamaintainsthe

greatestdegreeofsimilaritytothatofPapuaNewGuineaintermsoftemperatureandhumidity.By

adoptingclimatespecificprovisions,theeconomywillensuremoreeffectiveenergycodes. Such

provisionswouldlikelybereflectedinthebuildingenvelope,airconditioningandventilationsystems,

andwaterheatingsystems.

ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Papua_New_GuineaiiHumanDevelopmentReports.PapuaNewGuinea.

http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_PNG.htmliiiEnergyInformationAssociation. PapuaNewGuineaEnergyProfile.

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=PPiv

CIAWorldFactbook.vAPECEnergyDemandandSupplyOutlook2006.

http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:rt0wzkAdjmAJ:www.ieej.or.jp/aperc/2006pdf/Outlook2006//ER_Pupua_Ne

w_Guinea.pdf+papua+new+guinea+%2B+net+importer+or+oil+by+2015&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firef

oxaviAustralianBuildingCodesBoard.AbouttheBuildingCode.http://www.abcb.gov.au/go/thebca/aboutbca

viiPapuaNewGuineaConsolidatedLegislation.BuildingActof1971.

http://www.paclii.org/pg/legis/consol_act/ba197191/viii

AustralianTradeCommission.OpportunitiesbuildinPapuaNewGuineaforAustraliasConstructionIndustry.

http://www.austrade.gov.au/OpportunitiesbuildinPapuaNewGuineaforAustraliasconstruction

industry/default.aspxix

Questionnaire

for

ISDR.

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:yTJ0NZZnWl4J:www.unisdr.org/eng/mdgs

drr/nationalreports/PapuaNewGuinea

report.pdf+Nation+Disaster+Centre+in+Papua+New+Guinea+%2B+outdated+codes&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&

client=firefoxaxId.

xiRenewableEnergy&EnergyEfficiencyPartnership.PolicyDBDetails:IndependentStateofPapuaNewGuinea.

http://www.reeep.org/index.php?id=9353&text=policydb&special=viewitem&cid=71

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Papua New Guinea Final