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Construction Reporter’s Environmental Writer Tami Brunk interviewed Ed Mazria of Architecture 2030’s “2050 Imperative” and the significance of the first-ever unanimous vote for adoption at the International Union of Architects meeting at the World Congress in Durban, South Africa, this past August, 2014.
Tami Brunk: Why did Architecture 2030 Develop the Imperative?
Ed Mazria: We helped draft the imperative because urban areas are responsible for over 70% of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions, mostly from buildings,” Mazria says. “Over the next two decades, an area roughly equal to 60% of the total building stock of the world is projected to be built and rebuilt in urban areas worldwide.
This provides an unprecedented opportunity to reduce fossil fuel CO2 emissions by setting the global building sector on a path to phase out CO2 emissions by 2050. We’re already making progress on reducing the emissions from buildings in the US and elsewhere in the world, but not taking advantage of this opportunity could see the global temperature increase to irreversible levels.
Tami Brunk: What is the significance of the UIA adopting the Imperative?
Ed Mazria: When organizations representing 1.3 million architects in 125 countries sign on to the imperative it sends a clear message that the building sector is prepared to play an important role in working to mitigate the risks of climate change. It also makes it easier for countries to negotiate carbon reduction deals, knowing that a large number of the people who will have to meet those reduction targets are committed to the challenge and have a plan for how to achieve them.
The American Insitute of Architects brought the Imperative to Durban, and the Australian Institute of Architects guided it through a number of committees and introduced it onto the floor. The unanimous adoption is unprecedented in the history of the UIA.
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