AIA LA’s 1.5C Symposium on Climate Change 2024

Elaborative comments to the EPA Low-Embodied Carbon Initiatives submissions by Bill Caplan, author of Thwart Climate Change Now: Reducing Embodied Carbon Brick by Brick

Climate action funding in the Inflation Reduction Act (I.R.A.) is a giant leap for humankind. However, we need small steps from each of us to prevent it from faltering. The wheels of government turn slowly, as do enacting legislation and building infrastructure. It’s up to all of us to stabilize emissions in the meantime—

3 interesting questions on AIA Committee on The Environment (COTE) forum about the potential impact from the world’s 1.3 million architects:

One architect expressed that architects are "not" in a position to impact embodied carbon significantly over the next ten years by championing specific materials for their projects. He stated that “More important is our advocacy with our elected leaders and governments: significant changes in the amount of embodied carbon in the built environment will only come through government regulation, i.e. changes to the building codes . . .”

Webinar:

Nearly, 40% of all, energy-related emissions worldwide arise from the construction, and operation of buildings. The built environment is our largest source of energy-related Climate Changing emissions. Everyone connected with the design, construction or development of buildings or infrastructure can help. Consequences from what we build today, from the next project, will persist for the next 50 to one-hundred years or more. Protecting our most valuable resource.

The sheer number of small buildings worldwide illuminates an opportunity to control the destiny of carbon emissions through the practice of informed design – a rather striking opportunity. Not only do residential dwellings comprise the largest share of small buildings, residences constitute the largest number of ‘all’ buildings worldwide.