LPA has joined organizations worldwide in calling world leaders and governments to take greater action to reduce global carbon emissions in the fight against climate change.
Signatories of the COP 26 1.5°C Climate Actions Communiqué are asking governments to ramp up their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and 2030 emissions reduction targets to limit planetary warming in line with the remaining 1.5° C carbon budget set by the Paris Agreement. Participants include companies and organizations responsible for planning, constructing, designing and developing the built environment.
“We’re committed to taking serious action against climate change,” LPA CEO Wendy Rogers says. “As part of this international initiative of firms, big and small, we hope to lead by example and empower others to make a meaningful difference in working toward carbon neutrality.”
The Communiqué is an initiative of Architecture 2030 – a nonprofit with a mission to rapidly transform the built environment from the major emitter of greenhouse gases to a central solution to the climate emergency.
The signed Communiqué will be delivered and presented at the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference (COP 26), which will bring together more than 190 world leaders with negotiators, government representatives and businesses focused on accelerating action on the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This year’s COP 26 summit will take place Oct. 31 – Nov. 12 in Glasgow, Scotland.
By showing the level of action that’s possible in an industry responsible for approximately 40% of emissions, COP 26 Communiqué signatories aim to embolden others to do the same. The goal is the reduce CO2 emissions 65% by 2030 and to zero by 2040.
“At LPA, sustainability is a priority for every project, regardless of size or budget,” Rogers says. “It’s that type of behavior that we hope becomes more contagious so we can collectively make a greater difference in reducing emissions, nationally and globally.”
The COP 26 Communiqué is an invitation-only group of organizations, firms and sub-national governments committed to the 2030 Challenge of reducing energy use in the built environment. LPA and other signatories are leaders in constructing zero carbon buildings, minimizing energy demands of existing buildings, reducing embodied carbon in materials and construction, and implementing climate adaptation practices in urban environments.
LPA was the largest architecture firm in the country to meet the American Institute of Architects (AIA) 2030 Commitment target for the past two years by averaging more than a 70% reduction in predicted energy use energy use in new projects.
The Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 parties at COP 21 in Paris in 2015. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. At COP 26, countries will present updated plans for reducing emissions.
