Architecture 2030 is calling on all architects, engineers, planners, and individuals involved in the building sector worldwide to design all new projects, renovations, landscapes, cityscapes, and infrastructure to be zero carbon starting now.
According to the IPCC’s sixth assessment report, as of January 1, 2020, the remaining global carbon budget for a good probability (67% chance or better) of avoiding more than 1.5°C warming is 340-400 Gt CO2 (AR6 budget).
Architecture 2030’s namesake target year to achieve carbon-neutral buildings is now deemed too late by CEO and founder Edward Mazria and COO Vincent Martinez.
The U.S. building sector has not increased its energy consumption since 2005 even though we have added over 50 billion square feet (4.7 billion square metres) to our building stock, and today CO2 emissions in the entire sector continue to decline and are down 30% from 2005 levels.
As the leader of the international entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change, Architecture 2030 calls on the UNFCCC Secretariat to provide updated accurate targets on its websites and in its communications of the emissions reductions and timelines necessary to achieve the 1.5˚C global warming threshold.
In the U.S., economic growth and building construction have decoupled from building sector energy use and CO2 emissions – an unprecedented achievement in modern U.S. history. This decoupling appears to be actualizing globally as well.
Introducing Achieving Zero: a “how-to” framework and a set of tools to enable cities and sub-national governments (state, provincial, and regional) to achieve crucial emissions reduction targets in the building sector.