Earth Day 2021

Written By George Kontaroudis

April 22 was Earth Day, which this year was a particularly significant occasion in the US: the Biden administration held a global climate summit during which all attending countries pledged to further cut their carbon emissions. The US itself made an impressive pledge, committing to slash emissions between 50% and 52% based on 2005 levels by 2030. It is yet to be seen whether or not this bold move will allow the US to gain back its credibility in climate action after withdrawing twice from global climate treaties in the past, namely, the 2015 Paris Agreement and the 1997 Kyoto protocol. 

The most encouraging aspect of this latest development is that it provides an opportunity for the US to prove that it can in fact lead in climate action with actual work. The American Jobs Plan, introduced by the Biden administration, includes areas of investment in infrastructure, clean energy, research and development, workforce development, and has a housing and buildings component. If this bill passes and is successfully implemented, that would be good evidence that the US has finally gotten serious about addressing the problem.

The building sector, an area that contributes to about 40% of global CO2 emissions, would be significantly impacted by regulatory changes in The American Jobs Plan. It sets ambitious targets for our sector, but there is no need to invent new ways of building to meet these goals. For quite some time now, we have had the knowledge and tools to design and construct buildings that consume 75% less in energy compared with comparable conventional buildings and 90% less than existing buildings. The most tried and true approach is the Passivehouse standard. And as Zach Semke put it on a post on the Passivehouse Accelerator, Passivehouse plus minimizing embodied carbon in buildings with full electrification and 100% clean energy equate to Climate Action and we, the Passivehouse professionals are here to help.

The International Passivehouse Institute released the below video on Earth Day with the title “Efficiency: The first renewable” showcasing buildings from around the world.  

Efficiency: The First Renewable Energy #EfficiencyFirst

Lastly, I was honored to have the chance to give another presentation on the Climate Mobilization Act with the Building Energy Exchange. I have talked about this piece of legislation on a previous post, and I strongly believe that it can serve as a landmark for other municipalities to follow suit. I’m sure I will be writing about it here again before long.

George Kontaroudis
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