Energy efficiency and conservation are crucial for the Maldives to mitigate climate change risks and achieve energy security. Maldives has a high dependence on fossil fuels to meet all of its domestic energy demand, and the use of fossil fuels has resulted in huge greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its associated climate change risks. Maldives is also vulnerable to global oil price shocks due to dependence on imported fossil fuels. This Guideline mainstreams energy efficiency in building design practices to achieve a substantial reduction of energy consumption from buildings.
Actions include encouraging energy efficiency both at the construction stage and during the lifetime of the building, e.g. by climate-sensitive design which takes account of the orientation and surrounding features to control wind effects while optimising sunlight, daylight, and solar gain benefits.

