Notes from the Carbon Positive Teach-In

Written By George Kontaroudis

The key result of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference was to limit global warming to “well below” 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels with an aspiration of 1.5°C. The conference negotiated the Paris Agreement which 165 countries signed. The IPCC issued its now famous 1.5°C report on 2018 acknowledging that we are now at 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likelihood of reaching 1.5°C by 2030 which should be the limit to avoid catastrophic impacts on the ecosystem and livelihoods of billions of people. This report will inform the next UN Conference which has been postponed to 2021 and will take place in Glasgow.

c1.jpg

There are many climate models that could project what our global CO2 budget is to stay within the targets set in Paris but a safe estimate is that we have approximately 340GtO2 left to emit in the atmosphere which means that we need to phase out CO2 from our industry, transportation, agriculture and buildings by 2040.

c2.jpg

Architecture 2030 held the Carbon Positive 1.5°C global Teach-In last week with more sessions coming up in the weeks to come with the specific goal to spread the knowledge on what we need to do as architects to contribute positively towards the 1.5C goal and created a new commitment. According to the IPCC buildings account for 32% of total global final energy use. In addition, new building materials and construction account to 11% of global CO2 emissions. The good news is that we collectively as a profession have the knowledge and the tools to create buildings that contribute as little as possible to climate change.

c3.jpg

It’s astonishing that although the US GDP has risen by 26.2% since 2005, building energy use has dropped by 1.8% and Building sector CO2 emissions by 21%. This is probably not enough, but it is a good indicator that it is achievable. With rating systems such as LEED, BREEAM, Passivehouse, Energy Star, HERS and tools like Tally, Athena, CoveTool, EC3, EDGE, Sefaira we can model a building’s energy performance and calculate the embodied carbon in its construction, thus make a difference.

In addition, an article that caught my attention this week discusses how the pandemic is providing a shift in sustainable design as the fundamental concern over human health is increasing in tandem to preserving the environment. I also saw a great article on Passivehouse on Treehugger as well as a very interesting report from the Rocky Mountain Institute on the adverse health effects of gas stoves.

George Kontaroudis
Previous

“Gritty, determined, stubborn optimism”
Next

Architecture in Turbulent Times