The United Nations Climate Change Conference began yesterday. The world is watching to see if this meeting will be more fruitful than some of those past, and to see what President Obama is prepared to say. One thing he did say on Sept. 22nd, 2009 was: “Our generation’s response to this challenge will be judged by history, for if we fail to meet it – boldly, swiftly, and together – we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe.” You can follow the US participation in the conference at http://www.cop15.state.gov/
An exciting announcement, made during the Phoenix Greenbuild conference last month, should be a lively topic of discussion. The world’s leading green building organizations have teamed together to adopt a common global language for the measurement of the carbon footprint of buildings. These organizations are the UN Sustainable Buildings and Climate Initiative (UNEP SBCI), the World Green Building Council, and the Sustainable Building Alliance, which includes USGBC, BREEAM (UK), UNESCO, and several others.
Today there is a side event hosted by the International Union of Architects called “Sustainability by Design” which focuses on architectural strategies to reduce the man-made carbon footrprint. Other side events include permaculture, smart grid, sustainable and low carbon development, renewable energy, bridging the water and climate change agenda, sustainable living, food security, climate neutral cities, and “place-based” decarbonization strategies. The conference runs through Dec. 18th. You can follow the full conference at http://en.cop15.dk