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Building Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
News Release from: Devon Sustainable Building Initiative (DSBI) | Subject: Need for greener
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 16 November 2006
Urgent need for greener buildings
Climate change warnings highlight the urgent need for greener buildings according to the Devon Sustainable Building Initiative.
The stark warnings in the Stern Review about the massive cost of failing to tackle climate change highlights the urgent need for greener buildings according to the Devon Sustainable Building Initiative (DSBI), a not for profit organisation which exists to promote and enable more sustainable building Commissioned by the Treasury and the Cabinet Office and headed by former World Bank Chief Economist Sir Nicholas Stern, the Review concludes it will cost far less to tackle climate change than to do nothing because of the economic damage that would be result from the impacts of climate change
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 21 Mar 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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Sir Nicholas calculates that tackling climate change will cost around 1% of global GDP by 2050, whereas failing to act would cost between 5-20% of global GDP.
"The construction and occupation of buildings currently accounts for over a third of the UK's greenhouse emissions," said Director of the Devon Sustainable Building Initiative Gareth Walton.
"If we are going to successfully tackle climate change then we have to construct buildings that are considerably greener than most of those we are building at the moment." "This means we have to build zero or very low carbon buildings," continued Walton.
"Unfortunately some developers argue that building sustainably is too expensive".
"Today's report clearly shows that is untrue".
In the South West the Regional Assembly has recently included a policy for all new developments over 10 houses to be zero carbon in its draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), putting the South West amongst the leading regions in tackling climate change.
Under the new planning system the RSS is the definitive planning document for each region.
The draft South West RSS will be undergoing an Examination-in-Public by a planning inspector next year before being adopted.
"Having been faced by developers who are strongly opposed to attempts to encourage them to build greener buildings it's clear that regulation from Government is necessary to ensure we take the action that Sir Nicholas demonstrates is required," Walton said.
"Hopefully this report will compel the Government to support the South West Regional Assembly's zero carbon policy and to regulate to require the greener buildings we urgently need".
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