2021: The Year of Climate Change Action

The United Nations and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have defined that to fundamentally address the climate emergency, a 7.6% reduction in carbon emissions per year until 2030 must be carried out with immediate effect. The UK construction industry contributes 40% of the UK's carbon emissions and therefore this aim has been embedded into the RIBA 2030 Challenge, which was launched in late 2019.  Gary will stress the importance of why the entire construction industry should take RIBA’s 2030 Climate Challenge of designing and constructing net zero buildings now. Sharing a preview of; RIBA’s Plan of Work 2020, Suite of RIBA Sustainability Guidance, RIBA Sustainable Outcomes, Sustainability Overlay and RIBA Plan for Use, and will highlight the key steps and actions that the construction industry needs to make to deliver this net zero sustainable future now. With the UK hosting the UN Climate Change Summit COP26 in Glasgow in November 2021, Gary will advocate that we are at the point of no return and how as an industry, we must act now.