استراتژی های ترویج پذیرش فناوری سبز در کشورهای در حال توسعه: مورد غنا Strategies to promote green building technologies adoption in developing countries: The case of Ghana

1. Introduction Through its consumption of large amounts of energy and natural resources, the construction industry exerts significant impacts on the climate and environment. Consuming various forms of energy plays a key role in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are also the leading cause of global warming and climate change (Karunathilake et al., 2017). In line 38 with this, because the construction industry consumes more than 40% of the total global energy, it also accounts for more than 40% of the total global GHG emissions (International 40 Energy Agency (IEA), 2013a, b). Besides, the construction industry has been tagged as a “resource-intensive industry” (Shi et al., 2017, p. 615) responsible for consuming 40% of the raw materials (stone, sand, and gravel), 16% of the water, and 25% of the timber in the world annually (Arena and De Rosa, 2003). With regard to impact on human health, construction activities produce considerable quantities of dust, noise, solid waste, smoke, and wastewater (Shen et al., 2017a). In the current situation, it has been predicted that, unless cost-effective technologies and best practices – in addition to radical lifestyle and behavioral changes – are promoted and accepted worldwide, the global energy demand of the construction industry and the associated emissions of GHGs will be more than double by 2050 (IEA, 2014; Berardi, 2017). As such, green building has been well received by many governments and promoted as a strategy for reducing the negative effects of the construction industry on the environment (Shen et al., 2017b). Green building is the practice of developing buildings in a resource efficient and environmentally friendly manner (US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 2016). According to the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) (2017), “a green building is a building that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment”. Moreover, not only do green buildings preserve precious natural resources, but they also improve human quality of life (WorldGBC, 2017). Green building technologies (GBTs) have an essential role in the development of green buildings. They are those 60 technologies, such as passive solar technology, green roof technology, and energy-efficient HVAC systems, employed in building design and construction to improve overall sustainability performance (Zhang et al., 2011a; Ahmad et al., 2016).