WASHINGTON, DC — The U.S. Green Building Council led a delegation of sustainable building professionals to Capitol Hill today to push for climate change legislation as part of World Green Building Day.
Congressional Advocacy Day, the U.S. component of the effort, came as the United Nations General Assembly met in New York, where Climate Week is under way.
Events and high-level talks focusing on climate change are accelerating in the run-up to the climate agreement negotiations scheduled at the UN Climate Change Conference in December in Copenhagen.
"As the built environment accounts for 40 percent of global carbon emissions, the green building movement has an unprecedented opportunity to make a major contribution to both national and international carbon reduction targets," USGBC President, CEO and Founding Chair Rick Fedrizzi said in a statement.
In the U.S., buildings account for 39 percent of CO2 emissions, 40 percent of energy consumption, 13 percent of water consumption and 15 percent of the Gross Domestic Product annually, according to the USGBC.
The meetings with policymakers in the U.S. were part of a concerted push by the World Green Building Council and its members to call attention to the role that the built environment plays in affecting climate change.
In the United Kingdom today, the UK Green Building Council and industry representatives were on hand at a House of Commons reception for the "Call to Action" by green building advocates.
The day's activities including the signing of "Buildings and Climate Change Industry Call to Action" and the "Framework for a Common Carbon Metric" documents by the USGBC and other green building councils.
Image CC licensed by Flickr user kevindooley.