Buildings produce 25% of Australia’s emissions. What will it take to make them ‘green’ – and who’ll pay?

In signing the Paris Climate Agreement, the Australian government committed to a global goal of zero net emissions by 2050. Australia’s promised reductions to 2030, on a per person and emissions intensity basis, exceed even the targets set by the United States, Japan, Canada, South Korea and the European Union.

Across our growing cities more and more
 buildings are going up, as are their emissions.

But are we on the right track to achieve our 2030 target of 26-28% below 2005 levels? With one of the highest population growth rates in the developed world, this represents at least a 50% reduction in emissions per person over the next dozen years.

Read the piece from The Conversation - “Buildings produce 25% of Australia’s emissions. What will it take to make them ‘green’ – and who’ll pay?”

All eyes on the signing, ratification and implementation of Paris agreement

Now that the Paris Climate Change Agreement has been clinched, all eyes are on the signing, ratification and implementation of the agreement. Key to its effective implementation are the national climate action plans submitted by countries ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference last December.

The plans specifically of developing countries can and must be supported by mechanisms such as the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) to effectively allow the world to transition to a low-carbon and resilient economy.

One hundred and sixty one national climate action plans, also known as intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), have so far been submitted by governments across the world. In these contributions, covering 95 per cent of all nations, each country provides its own vision for low-emission and climate-resilient development.

Read the NAMA News story - “Moving ahead with NAMAs in the context of Paris Agreement.”