The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has joined forces with the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) to deliver on the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and tackle climate change.
The Advancing Net Zero project will see the WorldGBC and green building councils in countries with some of the fastest growth trajectories for construction launch national ‘net zero’ building certification and training programs.
GBCA joins GBCs from Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden, and other not-for-profit organisations, in committing to national net zero or carbon zero certification.
GBCA CEO, Romilly Madew, said the pledge to ensure global warming remains below the critical two degrees Celsius mark must be followed with real-world action.
“Our built environment presents some of the cheapest and fastest opportunities to reduce our emissions – and we can do this with proven and readily-available technologies," she said.
“The property and construction industry understands how to deliver low-carbon assets – all those Green Star ratings are positive proof. Our next challenge is to move beyond ‘low carbon’ to ‘no carbon’.
“Last year, we committed to recognise buildings, fitouts, and communities that achieve ‘net zero’, or even deliver positive outcomes in terms of energy, carbon or water."
Over the past six months, the GBCA has been working with NABERS and the Department of the Environment to adapt the Australian Government’s Carbon Neutral Standard for buildings and precincts.
"This is the next step to bring our work and commitments to the international stage," she said.
“Our participation in the Advancing Net Zero project reinforces Australia’s international sustainability leadership, and strengthens international collaboration as we work towards a zero carbon future worldwide."
In addition to the recognition of net zero and carbon positive buildings, the GBCA is also developing a new curriculum to educate professionals on the design and delivery of net zero buildings.
The launch of Advancing Net Zero reconfirms the commitment of the WorldGBC, its 74 GBCs and 27,000 member companies, to reduce CO2 emissions from the buildings sector by 84 gigatonnes by 2050.
The WorldGBC’s long-term targets include:
New buildings and major renovations to be net zero in 2030, no buildings are built below net zero standards beyond 2030
100% of buildings are net zero by 2050
75,000 professionals are trained on net zero building by 2030, and 300,000 professionals by 2050
All GBCs which operate certification schemes have net zero rating tools in place by 2030.
Announcing the project at the Business and Climate Summit in London, WorldGBC CEO, Terri Wills, said the goal is to keep global warming to within 1.5˚C to 2˚C, which will depend on advancing net zero buildings.
"Net zero buildings will be a defining contribution in our efforts to tackle climate change," Wills added.