Green Buildings Could Slash CO2 Emissions

NATIONAL NEWS - Basic changes in building design and construction could slash greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent in North America, said a joint Canada-US-Mexico report Thursday. The report, "Green Building in North America: Opportunities and Challenges," was released by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation at an environmental trade fair in this western Canadian city. Politicians and businesses on the continent have focused on the role of transportation and the oil and gas sector in climate change and ignored buildings.

Westeinde a Canadian developer chairs an advisory group for the commission, which has the mandate of environmental cooperation under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The report recommended that engineers and architects abandon old, proven designs in favor of emerging building technologies, and also called for urban planning with increased population density and access to public transit.

It touted basic measures such as thicker insulation and more energy efficient windows, minimizing energy-intensive heating and air-conditioning and avoiding use of some synthetic building materials that cause indoor air pollution by releasing volatile compounds. The report noted that North America's buildings release more than 2,200 megatons of carbon dioxide each year, some 35 percent of the continent's total.

But the industry has a long way to go. Less than four percent of new buildings meet stringent new environmental, health and energy-saving goals under the continent's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard. Many of the ideas in the report, from urban design to boosting insulation, are not new. "What's different with this report is there is science behind it," said Westeinde.

Evidence for the possible energy savings is contained in technical background papers based on laboratory tests, and show that the targets in the report are achievable, he said.