Towards a Sustainable Future

Latin American countries implement regulations to improve energy efficiency in housing in the face of climate change. The objective of this study was to evaluate the thermal performance and mandatory policies for energy efficiency in buildings in Mexico throughout the 21st century. This study developed a methodology with indicators of climate change mitigation and thermal comfort, applied to social housing. A numerical analysis was conducted considering two envelope improvement scenarios and their projections for 2024, 2050 and 2100. The results indicate a reduction of about 4 °C in the operative temperature by improving the envelope compared to the reference case. The proposed methodology represents a tool to evaluate energy policies and anticipate their effectiveness in the short, medium and long term, facilitating the design of new and used housing, as well as the implementation of strategies for a sustainable and equitable future.