Category: Climate Change
Hopeful in 2022 during this make-or-break year on climate change
Post / January 6, 2022
We are optimists, and a new year offers opportunities for inspiration and hope. Our current challenges seem unrelenting. But even as we battle several emergencies all at once, we see bright spots of opportunity for necessary and significant progress to...
The Future of Building Decarbonization Starts Now
Post / July 8, 2021
With buildings currently representing 39% of U.S. carbon emissions from operational and embodied sources, jurisdictions look toward advanced building codes and policies as critical and urgent strategies for meeting their climate goals. Despite overwhelming support from public bodies, recent efforts...
This Earth Day, Every World Leader Should Be Talking About Education
Post / April 19, 2021
On his first day in office, President Biden recommitted the United States to the Paris Agreement, an international effort to address the climate emergency. In rejoining the Paris Agreement, the United States must define and commit to delivering greenhouse gas...
Buildings’ Impact on Pandemics
Post / February 26, 2021
As the people across the globe respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, a concerted effort has been made to keep occupants safe as office buildings reopen, an endeavor that can inherently use more energy from carbon-intensive generation resources exacerbating climate change...
Could coronavirus be a wake up call for climate action?
Post / May 8, 2020
We are living through an unprecedented global health crisis that has upended our daily routines and halted the economy in a matter of weeks. Rebounding from the loss of lives and the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus across the...
Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti Leading the Way to Decarbonization with Municipal Buildings
Post / February 11, 2020
Less than year after Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a Green New Deal for the city of Los Angeles, he is building on that leadership with a new Executive Directive that will help kick-start the decarbonization movement by accelerating the transformation...
Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Goals Converge at the Built Environment
Post / April 17, 2019
With mounting evidence that immediate and aggressive action is necessary to address climate change, combined with a lack of leadership on this issue by the federal government, state and local governments are taking meaningful actions to adopt, honor, and meet...
A Small Window of Opportunity to Make Huge Gains in Climate Action
Post / March 19, 2019
Cities face unrelenting demands on policy priorities. Affordable housing, transportation, economic development, climate action, and other pressing issues compete for limited resources and funds. Now is a moment in time, however, when the opportunity to make significant progress toward carbon...
Local Governments Can Lead by Example in Climate Action, Starting with the Buildings They Own
Post / February 27, 2019
For communities across the United States that are committed to implementing policies and practices that advance the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, buildings represent a golden opportunity to lead by example. Overall, about 20% of the nation’s building floorspace...
2019 is the Year of Energy Codes
Post / January 14, 2019
If there’s a defining theme for the building sector in 2019, it’s energy codes. Actions to update the rules that cities and states set to determine how effectively new residential and commercial buildings use energy are progressing on several fronts...