ASHRAE and Building Industry Organizations Assume Leadership Role in Global Decarbonization Efforts
Translations of the Written Statement:
French | German | Portuguese | Spanish | Swedish
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Karen Buckley Washington
Senior Public Relations Specialist
kbwashington@ashrae.org
ATLANTA (November 8, 2022) –ASHRAE, along with 24 of the world’s leading building industry organizations issued a statement to government representatives attending the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 27) pledging to assume a leadership role in decarbonization efforts in the built environment. The organizations are signatories of the Building Industry Steps Up to Address Climate Change – a statement to government representatives that are parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changes (UNFCCC), expressing a collective commitment to meeting 1.5°C Paris Agreement targets.
In a video presentation, 2022-23 ASHRAE President Farooq Mehboob, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, presented a roadmap for addressing climate change, reading directly from the statement.
“The buildings that we live and work in are responsible for approximately 40% of total global direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mehboob. “The built environment is therefore one of the leading drivers of climate change. Simultaneously, making changes to how and what we build is one of our most effective tools for mitigating and adapting to climate change and places a great responsibility on the built environment industry. This is a responsibility we earnestly accept.”
Signatories demonstrated their support of the statement.
“Collaboration across the buildings industry is critical to enable and accelerate progress on climate goals. This shared statement communicates to engineers around the globe that their work matters; and our collective commitment to leadership in decarbonizing the built environment engages them in the global effort to address the devasting impacts of climate change. USGBC is pleased to work with ASHRAE and other partner organizations to support the many engineers and building professionals on the front lines, making the case to their clients to push their designs to go further to decarbonize.”
- Peter Templeton, President and CEO, U.S. Green Building Council
“The weight of addressing and solving the climate crisis is not for one industry, nation, organization or movement to shoulder alone. The challenge is on all of us; but people need to be inspired by real-world examples of successful sustainable outcomes. Those of us in the building industry are in a prime position to provide those examples — showing the economic, social and environmental benefits of sustainable facility practices and policies. We have an incredible opportunity to change mindsets and lead imperative action by broadly reporting on measured performance results, which is what building professionals do every day.”
- Laurie A. Gilmer, P.E., CFM, FMP, SFP, LEED AP, chair of IFMA’s Global Board of Directors
Government leaders from around the world are convening for climate negotiations at COP27, November 6-18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. ASHRAE leadership will participate in a COP 27 Official Side Event on November 16 titled “Planning, Design and Development in the Global South: The ‘How To’ for People + Planet.” The event organizers are Architecture 2030, ASHRAE and the International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists (INWES).
To view President Mehboob’s video presentation of the statement, to read the statement in its entirety and to see a complete list of signatories, visit ashrae.org.
About ASHRAE
Founded in 1894, ASHRAE is a global professional society committed to serve humanity by advancing the arts and sciences of heating ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, and their allied fields.
As an industry leader in research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE and its members are dedicated to promoting a healthy and sustainable built environment for all, through strategic partnerships with organizations in the HVAC&R community and across related industries.
The Society is showcasing integrated building solutions and sustainability in action through the opening of the ASHRAE Global Headquarters building in metro-Atlanta, Georgia.
For more information and to stay up-to-date on ASHRAE, visit ashrae.org and connect on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
About OzonAction of the United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. As an Implementing Agency of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol, UNEP through OzonAction assists 147 developing countries to meet and sustain their compliance obligations under that treaty. Visit UNEP OzonAction page https://www.unenvironment.org/ozonaction/
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