Archinect - News

RIBA joins international Climate Emergency Declaration

2019-07-03T14:50:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has agreed to join a global declaration acknowledging the existence of an environmental and climate emergency.

In recent months, New York City, the Vatican, the city of Vancouver, and the government of Ireland, among some 700 additional jurisdictions and governments, have joined the call for "an immediate emergency mobilization to restore a safe climate" around the world.

In a statement announcing the declaration, RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said, “The climate emergency is the biggest challenge facing our planet and our profession," adding, "The implementation of a five-year action plan we have committed to today will ensure we are able to benchmark change and evaluate the actions that make most impact.”

RIBA's announcement comes as the organization works to implement its Ethics and Sustainable Development Commission action plan, a framework that aims to support the United Nations's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The A...

What the Paris Agreement means for architecture

2015-12-18T13:23:00-05:00

Last weekend in the outskirts of Paris, the rap of a green-tipped gavel announced an historically-unprecedented international climate agreement. A sense of accomplishment suffused the crowds gathered locally and the official statements broadcast globally – President Obama called the deal “a turning point for the world” – but it followed some real moments of tension, as years worth of planning for the COP21 nearly came undone in the face of disputed verbiage and policy.

Now, with the details announced, debate continues over the merits of the “Paris Agreement.” But first it should be noted that it won’t be official until at least 55 of the 195 pledge countries have ratified it, with the 55 ratifiers in turn accounting for at least 55% of global emissions. This pretty much necessitates ratification by the US government, whose Congress is currently run by the Republican party, a majority of whom refute mainstream scientific consensus and deny the existence of anthropogenic climate chang...