ARCHITECTURAL RECORD | Continuing Education
Carbon Crackdown
By Joann Gonchar
These days, you would be hard-pressed to find an architect who hasn't heard that buildings are responsible for nearly 40 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, which trap the heat in the atmosphere and warm the earth. Some may still assume that operating energy is the sole source of these greenhouse gases. But a significant chunk, 11 percent of annual emissions, are due to construction and all the processes that lead up to it-including manufacturing materials into products and transporting them to the site. This CO2 is sent into the atmosphere well before someone puts the key in the door and switches on the lights for the first time.
A community of design professionals has been working hard to sound the alarm about these "up-front" or, as they are more commonly known, "embodied" emissions. With the world's building stock expected to double by 2060, they are making the point that it is critical to rein in these greenhouse gases if we want to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid climate calamity. And, fortunately, their warnings are gaining urgent attention.
https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/14489-continuing-education-carbon-crackdown
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Kira Gould
Principal
Kira Gould CONNECT
Oakland CA
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