According to the IPCC, net emissions must be reduced to zero in order to stabilize global temperatures. Any scenario that does not involve a reduction to zero, according to the research, will fail to prevent climate change. Because even little changes in the amount of CO2, methane, and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere cause the Earth to react so strongly, emissions of these gases must be reduced until the entire system is returned to balance. All man-made greenhouse gases must be removed from the atmosphere through reduction efforts after natural and manufactured sinks, bringing the Earth’s net climatic balance to zero. Humanity would be carbon neutral in this manner, and global temperatures would stabilize.

Heat waves, droughts, catastrophic flooding, and wildfires are shattering world records and inflicting devastation across Europe, North America, China, and India, which account for 58 percent of global CO2 emissions. This interests me since architects and designers play such an important and distinct role in developing and influencing the built environment across the world. Right now, they have the choice of designing and building to a zero-carbon standard. Building operations account for approximately 40% of total global CO2 emissions. If the world wants to stay below the 1.5 degree Celsius carbon limit set forth in the 2015 Paris Agreement, we must set an example and decrease CO2 emissions in the built environment by 65 percent by 2030, with zero emissions by 2040.

I’d want to learn more about zero-carbon design. Architects, engineers, and other building industry professionals continue to follow current code standards. All new structures, major restorations, and developments should be planned to use no onsite fossil fuels (gas, oil, or propane) and be fully powered by on-site and/or new off-site renewable energy. As a consequence, more renewables will be able to assist decarbonize the power business and, as a result, the present building stock. Because of the creative and construction community, we now have the knowledge, standards, techniques, and technology to build zero-carbon buildings in all climates across the world.

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.