Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030

Research group has plan to make buildings more efficient


By SHAWN DELL JOYCE

This thermal image of a commercial building shows how 50 percent of the building’s energy is wasted by leaks and inefficiency. Photo: Creators News Service

Buildings are responsible for approximately half of U.S. energy consumption and carbon emissions annually and are growing faster than any other sector, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Forty-three percent of U.S. carbon emissions and 76 percent of U.S. electricity consumption happen in buildings, through heating, cooling, lighting, hot water and appliances.

Twenty-four of the largest and most influential architecture, engineering and development firms based in the U.S., which are responsible for a combined $100 billion in building construction annually, have joined forces with Architecture 2030, a leading nonprofit research organization. The building sector leaders are calling on Congress to pass the building energy reduction targets in Section 241 of the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009 and incorporate timelines to reach carbon-neutral buildings by 2030.

"We—the building sector community—are on the front lines on this one. We have a big job ahead of us, and we need Congress to begin putting into place the code regulations and support necessary to help us get the job done," said Ralph Hawkins, who is chairman and CEO of HKS Architects.

The building sector leaders have set targets of a 50 percent energy reduction in all new and renovated buildings today, incrementally increasing to carbon-neutral in 2030. These 24 firms are part of a powerful and burgeoning movement within the business community to push hard for changes that address energy consumption and climate change while opening new markets. On Sept. 22, 2009, 500 corporate executives from firms in about 50 countries issued the "Copenhagen CommuniquŽ," which calls for climate negotiators to finalize a new international climate treaty by the end of the year.

According to Edward Mazria, who is the executive director of Architecture 2030, "In order for the U.S. to take an effective leadership role on energy and climate change, we must address our building sector, and Senate building energy code legislation, coupled with the 2030 Challenge timelines, will make that possible."

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The climate crisis needs heroes, and Architecture 2030 believes that hero has taken the form of states, local governments and professional organizations. "They have taken the lead on addressing this crisis," Mazria said. Already, more than half of our states (27) are developing climate action plans, and 839 U.S. cities have signed the Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement. Also, three regional greenhouse gas initiatives have been established, and the 2030 Challenge has been adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties, American Institute of Architects, U.S. Green Building Council and others. And the federal government has adopted the 2030 Challenge targets for all new and renovated federal buildings.

Here are a few ways to meet the 2030 Challenge in your town:

· Local governments can amend their codes, as long as they meet or exceed state standards. Ask your town board or council to incorporate the code equivalents, which can be found online at http://www.architecture2030.org, or the Architecture 2030 Energy Ordinance, which was approved unanimously by the council of Santa Barbara, Calif., the first city to officially incorporate the 2030 Challenge into its building energy code. The text is available at http://www.energy.ca.gov.

· If you're building a new home or building, make it 50 percent more efficient than current building codes require. Check http://www.EnergyStar.gov to find out how and who can help you in your area.

· Invest in more efficient appliances and building equipment. Look for the Energy Star rating, and buy the most efficient appliances on the market. Replace all incandescent lighting with compact fluorescent or light-emitting diode task lights. Having a commercial energy audit will pay for itself in energy savings.

· Offset your building's energy use by purchasing an equal amount of wind energy to be fed into the electric grid. This is more cost-efficient than having your own wind turbine, in most cases.




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