Studio Gang joins “more than 60 of the largest and most influential international architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, planning, and construction firms, collectively responsible for over $300 billion in annual construction” in signing the 1.5oC COP26 Communiqué, an open letter to sovereign governments demonstrating the firms’ and organizations’ commitment to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5oC carbon budget and demanding governments do the same. Authored by Architecture 2030, the Communiqué challenges government leaders headed to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to step up their emissions reduction targets for the built environment.
“Buildings are the largest source of the world’s carbon emissions globally and account for approximately 40% of total emissions. When accounting for the embodied carbon of building interiors, systems, and associated infrastructure, that percentage is substantially higher. Decarbonizing the built environment is therefore essential to not exceeding the 1.5oC target.”
“The history of architecture illustrates the kind of relationships we’ve desired with each other, and our environment, in the past. The 1.5oC COP26 Communiqué announces—loud and clear—what we want and expect that relationship to be going forward. To achieve zero-carbon buildings and planet-friendly cities, we must mobilize political decision makers, professionals, and industry in ambitious, collaborative actions. Architecture 2030 can help empower us to get there.”
— Jeanne Gang