Panama. The nearly 200 glass skyscrapers that make up the "skyline" of the Panamanian capital are not an example of energy efficiency because during their construction, in most cases, the meteorological conditions of the country have not been taken into account, the Government of Panama acknowledged today.
"Panama City has grown extraordinarily in recent years. We have a lot of glass towers, which are very beautiful, very modern, but they are not necessarily the most efficient in the world," Panamanian Energy Secretary Victor Urrutia admitted on Tuesday to the media and that were collected by the EFE agency.
And they are not efficient because, according to Urrutia during the inauguration of the First Sustainable Energy Week held in the Panamanian capital, the crystals that have been used cause, among other things, a greenhouse effect inside the buildings and enhance the use of air conditioning.
"This is a very hot country and we work a lot with air conditioning, it is a very important part of our energy consumption and we have to become aware of it in order to continue living in peace with the planet," said the official.
According to a study by the NGO World Resources Institute, urban buildings consume 32% of the total energy demanded by the world and are responsible for 25% of carbon emissions.
To mitigate this loss in the Panamanian capital, the Ministry of Energy is preparing a "building code" that will be presented to the Presidential Cabinet "in the short term" and about which Urrutia did not give more details.
"We do not want to change the way architects think, what we want is that they incorporate energy variables into their design and that it adapts to the real conditions of this country. You can make glass buildings with better glass or perhaps better use shade elements," the official added.
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