For the second year in a row, AIA sent delegates to United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), an annual conference that brings together government officials and nongovernmental organizations to raise policy ambition and collaborate on ways to combat the climate crisis. AIA’s 2022 President Dan Hart, FAIA, PE, Illya Azaroff, FAIA, Erica Cochran Hameen, Assoc. AIA, AIA senior leadership, and staff met with policymakers at all levels of government to stress the important role architects must play in climate action. COP provides access to engage in global climate action conversations at an intensity and scale that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
Building on AIA’s success at COP26, this year, AIA convened three notable events during the two-week conference. AIA hosted a roundtable with policymakers entitled “The Value of Architecture for Resilient and Healthy Zero-Carbon Communities,” at the America is All in Pavilion. Featuring Hart and Azaroff and moderated by AIA’s EVP/ CEO Lakisha Woods, the panel included Senator Whitehouse (D-RI), Senator Markey (D-MA), Mayor Simmons (Greenville, MS) and Councilmember King (Maui, HI). Combining the perspectives of design professionals, federal Senators, and local officials sparked a robust discussion about how architects can support urgent climate action initiatives nationwide.
Later in the conference, AIA hosted a dinner with U.S. Conference of Mayors, an important ongoing partner in climate action and resilience efforts across the country. Finally, Dr. Cochran Hameen represented AIA in an official UNFCCC side event, which took a cross-jurisdictional look at youth engagement in climate action. Partnering with Southern Connecticut State University, American Psychological Association, and CliMates, this session made clear that it will take many stakeholders, working together, to turn climate pledges into climate action.
It is critical that AIA continue to engage at future COPs to keep pushing for more international climate targets specific to the building sector. Buildings cannot be an afterthought in the fight against climate change.
In 2023, with the houses of the 118th US Congress controlled by different parties, the likelihood of seeing major legislation passed that either aligns with or conflicts with the American Institute of Architects’ advocacy policies is greatly reduced. But despite this, COTE Advocacy and AIA Federal relations will still have plenty to do:
- We should continue to give the major initiatives funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs act and the Inflation Reduction Act our full attention. As described in previous COTE Advocacy updates, how this money will be spent is largely in the hands of either Administration agencies such as Housing and Urban Development or the Department of Energy or state-level energy offices. The AIA’s work will be to assist these Federal agencies in crafting the enabling language that maximizes the effectiveness of the various energy efficiency subsidies and tax credits that will truly “move the needle” on greenhouse gas emission reductions form the building sector.
- Because much of this money will be spent by states, we should also focus on building clear connections between Federal advocacy and the work that is being done by our Chapters in every US State. Having AIA members represent the AIA and COTE Advocacy’s strategic goals in our state capitals serves everyone’s interests.
- The professionals on the AIA Federal relations team will no doubt be very busy building bridges to the new leadership of the House Committees that we must work most closely with. Energy and Natural Resources, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Environment and Public Works will all have new Chairs. This will be a great opportunity for us to advance the priorities of the American Institute of Architects as a set of values that are truly non-partisan.