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We have the tools
to track embodied carbon in buildings. The proposed scoping plan
moves embodied carbon into Category 5 “Areas for future
consideration”. We  need to address how we manage the
reduction of embodied carbon in buildings now!


By 2050 the world's population is predicted
to be at 10 billion, 55% of this population will live in cities. The global
building stock is expected to double in size. 


39 % of global CO2 Emissions are created
from real estate and the construction sector. 28%  from
building operations, and 11% are from  the construction of
buildings.




We are just transitioning out of a two year
pandemic. We all witnessed the increased physical consequences of a
changing climate. The wild fires in
California in 2020 destroyed over 10,000 structures and cost over
$12 billion in damages.


The majority of a
building’s total embodied carbon is released upfront in the
product stage at the beginning of a building’s life. Unlike
with operational carbon, there is no chance to decrease embodied
carbon with updates in efficiency after the building is
constructed. There is an urgent need to address embodied carbon now
to meet short-term and long-term climate targets.
Embodied carbon will be responsible for almost half of
total new construction emissions between now and 2050, according to
Architecture 2030. We need to get a grip on the embodied carbon now
if we want to meet the climate targets by the year
2050.
The rest of the United States and the world look to
California’s leadership. It is critical that CARB supports
this leadership and addresses the reduction of embodied carbon in
buildings NOW.
 
Simone Barth on behalf of the AIA California