Synapse: This Week's News for LA’s Best Buildings

At COP26, Experts Urge Commercial Real Estate to be More Sustainable to Reach Crucial Climate-Action Goals

As people return to office buildings, they might not realize they are entering commercial real estate, which is responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions.

At COP26, a three-part panel will highlight what the commercial-real-estate industry is doing to be more efficient, where it is investing, how tenants help drive demand for more sustainable buildings, and solutions that should be prioritized for implementation.

25 Cities Demonstrate How Major Climate Wins Are Possible

Despite the numerous environmental obstacles thrown up by the previous administration, many U.S. cities have not only persevered in their efforts to combat climate change but they have made major strides forward, thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies and its groundbreaking American Cities Climate Challenge program.

Created in 2018, the Climate Challenge, in partnership with NRDC, provided 25 cities with powerful resources to boost their efforts to tackle the climate crisis. Cities account for an overwhelmingly large percentage of global carbon emissions, primarily through transportation and buildings—sectors where mayors can enact real change.

Weatherization Works in 2021

In August 2021, the Weatherization Assistance Program celebrated its 45th birthday. In light of our current climate crisis and the numerous technological advances made in recent years, it is natural to question the relevance of the Weatherization Assistance Program to our current dilemma. Wasn’t it created in large part to help low-income Americans cope with the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s?

Carbon Might Be Your Company’s Biggest Financial Liability

Through some combination of government intervention and the development of carbon trading markets, it seems inevitable that a price will eventually be put on carbon around the world. Underscoring this, a carbon price has been proposed as part of several bills before Congress, but other mechanisms like a cap on emissions in a sector or geography would achieve the same effect. Economic models and the experience of the EU Emissions Trading System suggests that a price could likely be between $50 and $100 per ton of CO2 in the near term and rise from there. At $100 per ton that would represent five percent of the global economy. Five percent of the global economy is a huge number. But where does this liability sit? With the world’s corporations.

Image by Gary Yeowell via Getty Images