Countdown to COP26: Gary Clark & Robin Nicholson

An annual carbon budget

Gary Clark, regional leader of science and technology at HOK

We need to see a “code red” annual carbon budget implemented for UK buildings that aligns with the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) global budget of 500 billion tonnes of emissions over the next 30 years.

If we go above this figure, then we will overshoot the 1.5ºC temperature increase and face inevitable catastrophic climate events.

Based on this, the estimated annual budget for UK buildings is 67 million tonnes of carbon a year for the next 30 years.

Assuming a linear regression, we must meet this target by 2035 to align ourselves with the global IPCC budget. This would equate to cutting 55% of our current building emissions, including for our 45 million existing buildings.

How can this can be delivered?

First, we need everyone to sign up to the RIBA 2030 climate challenge targets.

To ensure that this happens, the government must enshrine these targets in planning and building regulations to align with its legally binding net zero commitments.

What this means is that if a developer cannot achieve net zero targets, then they will have to reduce what is built or pay for offsetting.

This will make refurbishment a more attractive option, since two-thirds of embodied carbon emissions come from within the foundations and superstructure.

Compulsory energy audits by bathroom and kitchen fitters

Robin Nicholson, fellow at Cullinan Studio

我们许多人面临的最大挑战之一是如何以一种对环境负责的方式改善我们的家园。你从哪里开始?你会问谁?

We know that we can easily get a shiny new kitchen or bathroom from a specialist or builders merchant such as Travis Perkins or B&Q. This will often involve someone doing a survey then producing CAD drawings and a simulation. Installation will involve multiple trades and will almost certainly alter the internal environment and energy demand.

但是邀请一个陌生人到我们家里来告诉我们怎么做才能让家里的温度和湿度更舒适，并节约能源，这听起来既可怕又昂贵。新厨房更容易解决，但这无助于解决我们的能源问题。

Done properly, an energy audit would create a pathway for upgrading your home, just as Parity Projects offers to local authorities (parityprojects.com/services/pathways).

So why don’t we require all kitchen and bathrooms suppliers and installers to provide, within a slightly increased overall cost, a condition survey of the whole house and a strategy to enable it to become net zero in manageable stages.

额外成本应该是微不足道的，实施也不应是强制性的，但它应确保新厨房或浴室不会阻碍到2030年所需的改变——或使糟糕的情况变得更糟。

建筑商将能够提供必要的材料，并应准备与供应商分担费用。至少，改造美国房屋的大规模进程已经开始。