###### Abstract
Thus, the specified previous predictions indicated that, despite the enhancement in the building energy performance, no individual passive strategies might completely neutralize the increasing of cooling and heating energy usage, suggesting the combination of passive strategies to counteract the effects of climate change. Some typical measures prescribed in bioclimatic codes and energy-efficient regulations have been considered in these studies, however, to reduce energy use for cooling/ heating demands, additional measures must be considered, especially those that act as a climate-responsive design strategy. When designing new buildings to face climate change, the traditional strategies, such as construction elements of the envelope, building geometry, and orientation, may not be sufficient to achieve adequate levels of energy consumption and thermal performance. Thus, alternative bioclimatic passive techniques are also important measures to be considered during the design phase. For hot regions, _thermal mass for cooling_ is an alternative measure to accumulate and retain heat during the day and return it to the exterior environment at night, acting as a climate-responsive design strategy. This behavior reduces the indoor air temperature fluctuations and maximizes the thermal lag of heat transfer of the walls, which oscillate in a damped manner [15; 16; 17]. Thus, this bioclimatic measure may reduce the use of active air conditioning systems during hot days, potentially saving energy and improving thermal comfort in an indoor environment [8]. In a hilly site, building walls may be designed to be in contact with the earth, increasing its thermal mass properties. In the \"elevational\" bermed design, the house's main elevation or face, usually with a south-facing wall in cold regions and with a north-facing wall in hot climatic zones, remains unexposed, while the rest may be bermed by the earth. This type of construction, named earth sheltered building, are defined as structures built with the use of earth mass against building walls working as external thermal mass to the wall, which reduces heat loss and maintains a steady indoor air temperature throughout the seasons [18]. When the earth is in contact with building walls, it acts as a reservoir, storing the heat in vast spaces inside the soil and modulating indoor air temperatures at different meteorological conditions [19]. For this reason, the bermed type of construction may contribute to resilience to the urban heat island phenomenon, and constitutes an alternative measure to adapt buildings to the impacts of climate change, one of the most important global concerns at present. Thus, this research strategy is aligned to the principles of sustainable development goals (SDGs) to promote the 2030 agenda, especially the SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy) and SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), which should guide the production of sustainable and efficient buildings [20]. Besides, this passive measure, understood as a measure that does not use the energy once implemented in the building, may help designers and builders to attend the premises of bioclimatic architecture and thus achieve the fulfillment of sustainable performance requirements established by the building'scertifications systems, especially concerning energy efficiency and application of climate-responsive design [21]. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the potential thermal and energy impact of implementing bermed earth-sheltered walls as a passive cooling strategy for a residential building's bedrooms, located in a region with a tropical climate to face climate change effects. The study helps to deepen the knowledge of this potential climate-responsive strategy as an adaptation measure for building to be deployed in the regions with hot climate conditions, where future scenario projections of climate change have indicated the increase of hot days frequency, which will induce changes in building energy demand due to the increase of air conditioning systems used for cooling [22; 23].