Do you work within the built environment? Are you concerned about Climate Action and not convinced the world’s nations will deliver on time?

COP 26 will have the first-ever “Buildings & Cities” Day on November 11^th.

We will be posting more about that soon! Meanwhile, here is the Day-Before Appetizer:

MTBA Associates Architecture*Urbanism*Conservation is proud to be a 1.5°C COP26 Communiqué signatory, along with our colleagues at the Climate Heritage Network. We will be watching our side event at COP26 – “65% by 2030 / ZERO by 2040: Top Global Firms and Organizations Lead With 1.5°C Climate Actions” — hosted by Architecture 2030 with ASHRAE, on November 10 at 15:00-16:15 GMT (7am PST and 10am EST). Join us!

In this presentation, we will reference the firms & orgs who have signed on. Architecture 2030 Senior Fellow and close MTBA colleague Carl Elefante will introduce and speak on site from Glasgow (see his report on COP Week One in the “Read More” section below), Arch2030 CEO and MTBA colleague Ed Mazria will present virtually, and we’ll have representatives from the American Institute of Architects, ASHRAE, RIBA, Climate Heritage Network, IFLA, Australian Institute of Architects and others making statements in support of this Communiqué and about their actions and commitments. 

Please join us for the live webcast …. Perhaps this will inspire YOU to become a signatory as well!

If you are inclined, add this event to your calendar (and invite your team to do the same). More info about Communiqué is also available at the Arch2030  website. 

TO READ MORE:

The Climate Heritage Network is now a proud signatory of the 1.5C COP26 Communique, led by Architecture2030 and supported by many leaders in the design and construction industry, which calls on world leaders to limit global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C (the lower boundary set by the Paris Agreement) and offers the built environment as a climate solution. As a signing organization, the CHN has its own page, which was carefully crafted by members from WG3 and the Steering Committee to advocate for responsible stewardship of built heritage as a climate solution. This initiative both offers another path for CHN to build ties to the construction industry and to spotlight built heritage as a key aspect of this discussion. The CHN also has its own Climate Manifesto to which MTBA is a signatory.

Background:

Government and business leaders from around the world are right now converging at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow (until November 12) to discuss the continued cooperation among nations to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and the threat of climate change. The built environment is responsible for more than 40% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, and as such, those that design, build and regulate the construction of buildings hold tremendous power and potential to reduce a significant portion of the world’s carbon emissions. To ensure global warming does not exceed 1.5^oC and to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, scientists tell us that we must reduce carbon emissions from all sectors, including the built environment, 50% – 65% by 2030 and fully decarbonize by 2040. 

A growing number of  the world’s largest architecture, landscape architecture, planning, engineering and construction firms and organizations have committed to this goal and are signing their names to the 1.5^oC COP26 Communiqué – a call to action to government leaders to step up their commitments to reduce carbon emissions to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5^oC target.

Topline messages:

• The window of opportunity is closing to take decisive action to limit global warming and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
• According to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), unless there are immediate, rapid, and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to 1.5^oC will be beyond reach.
• Existing Buildings are the largest source of the world’s carbon emissions globally and account for approximately 40% of total emissions, and when accounting for the embodied carbon of building interiors, systems and associated infrastructure, that percentage is substantially higher. Decarbonizing the built environment is therefore essential if we are not to exceed the 1.5^oC target.  
• Leading building industry groups from around the world are committing to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5^oC target, and are challenging governments to do the same through the 1.5^oC COP26 Communiqué.
• The signatory groups to the Communiqué include more than 60 large and influential international architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, planning and construction firms, collectively responsible for more than $300 billion in annual construction, along with two dozen organizations representing more than one million building industry professionals worldwide.
• The building industry is leading on climate issues; it’s time for governments to do the same.
• The time for action is now. As nations meet at COP26, they have the opportunity to commit to higher emissions reductions goals that align with the 1.5⁰C target. Do not settle for the laggard later goals for decarbonizing targets – the harm that will be done will require even more resources to correct and we will increase our risk of even greater global climate catastrophe.
  • Building reuse is climate action: reuse, rehabilitate, retrofit, reimagine, revitalize now!

COP26 Report from Architecture 2030’s Senior Fellow and COP delegate Carl Elefante FAIA: “As Week 1 of COP26 drew to a close, both participants and observers were already assessing its totality. Have expectations been met? Are governments making actionable commitments? Are those commitments sufficiently ambitious? Have non-government actors played their part? Are the partnerships being forged strong enough to take on the enormous challenges we face? Many are hungry for catharsis, an electrifying flashpoint at which future generations can look back and say: “At Glasgow, that’s when the world rallied to end the climate catastrophe.” Deep in my heart, I too yearn for a moment of triumph. And yet, it feels rather too Shakespearean. Was the Paris Summit the battle of Agincourt? Or is it Glasgow? Frankly, neither. The battle and warfare metaphors do not fit. We are waging peace here in Glasgow, a real peace, a lasting peace, a just peace. Deliverance from the climate crisis may be better served by quieter transformations. Another week of COP remains, to discuss and debate, to clarify and extend understanding, to reinforce relationships and establish new ones. Afterwards, the greatest COP impact will occur if we all return to our homes, workplaces, and communities changed and prepared to serve as change agents. In my field, our field, we know what to do and how to do it. Our commitment is to be the change every day, on every project, in every action. Catharsis or not, COP26 has gotten us moving forward together. That matters most.”

Updates on Critical COP Outcomes The best of media reports from WEEK ONE: More than 40 countries have agreed to phase out their use of coal-fired power the dirtiest fuel source in a boost to UK hopes of a deal to “keep 1.5C alive”. Protesters pour into the streets of Glasgow, more than 100,000 march. COP26 coalition worth $130 trillion vows to put climate at heart of finance. A critique of the pledge here.

Featured Image: Climate Heritage Network