U.N. Report Connects Buildings and Climate Change

A report from the United Nations Environment Programme, titled “Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities,” details connections between the building industry and efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions. According to the report, which focuses primarily on Europe, more rigorous energy efficiency standards there could result in a reduction of one-fifth of the continent’s energy use and 50 million tons (45 million tonnes) of carbon dioxide by 2010. The report emphasizes policy, regulation, and education as the primary means of pursuing green building efforts and recommends a global benchmark that could be used to develop national and regional green building standards. The report is available for download at www.unepsbci.org.