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Alberta has joined most other provinces by adopting updated energy efficiency requirements to cut greenhouse gas emissions from new buildings.

Buildings in the province put out 19 megatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2014 — about seven per cent of Alberta’s total, Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee said Tuesday.

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“It may sound small, but that number has a big impact on the planet,” she told a news conference held at a narrow-lot skinny house under construction in Glenora.

The new rules, which take effect Nov. 1, will update or change codes for building, energy, electrical, elevators, gas, pressure vessels and private sewers.

They include energy-efficiency requirements for windows, lighting, insulation, heating and air conditioning. The rules will also apply to apartments, office towers, shops and industrial projects.

The changes would boost construction costs for a typical home by about $5,000 compared to one built under the current code, but most contractors already meet higher standards, said Donna Moore, chief executive of the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Home Builders Association.