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Delivering a Low Carbon Economy
Keith Clarke
Chairman
Construction Industry Council
From this… Corporate
Social
Responsibility
How many dead polar bears does
it take to change a light bulb?
If you haven’t replaced all your
incandescent bulbs with Compact
Fluorescents, you’re contributing to
Global Warming and driving Polar Bears
toward extinction. Ban the Bulb!
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Climate change
• What is the evidence?
•
In 1750 the Earth’s atmosphere had 280
parts per million of CO2
•
By 2005 the levels had increased to 379
ppm of CO2 and the Earth’s temperature
had risen by 0.76 degrees.
•
By 2100, the Earth’s temperature may rise
by 2-4.5 degrees and sea levels may rise
by 0.18 to 0.59 metres.
• HUMAN CAUSE IS UNEQUIVOCAL
•Source: International Panel on Climate Change
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… a realisation of danger
To this
2°C ?
And this
… A fundamental part of the
economy
Green stimulus spending (USD billion)
Breakdown of U.S.
Green stimulus
spending
Energy
efficiency
32%
Renewables
23%
Low
Carbon
5%
Rail
9%
Grid
11%
Water waste
14%
Source HSBC 2009
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Look who’s talking now…
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Some issues remain…
• SAFETY in construction
• HEALTH of site workers
• DIVERSITY in professionals
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Carbon Budget
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Strategic decision making
•Reviewing strategic investment
decisions on the basis of carbon?
•When would carbon intensity
over-ride cost?
•Can we guide capital investment
and operational budgets?
– Capital premium for long-term low
energy consumption?
– Pay-back periods and discount rates?
Bahrain World Trade Center,
opened in 2008
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20:20 hindsight would be great
• What are the risks?
• Climate change uncertainty means uncertainty
for any design specification
• Legal action if infrastructure fails?
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Code evolvement
Zero new carbon homes by 2016
Zero carbon new non-domestic buildings by 2019
Can codes change fast enough?
• Skills development, knowledge transfer, tools
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Can we predict what will happen?
• Shorter design life?
• Infrastructure / buildings, e.g. London 2012 Games
has 100+ non-permanent structures
• Standards & materials will change?
• Recyclable / reusable
• Built Environment professionals need to be ≥3
years ahead of society
• In old money that’s ≥6 years…
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Engineers can solve the challenges
of carbon reduction
•"If you really want to change the
world - choose a career in
engineering.
And I mean real engineering,
not financial engineering”
Rt. Hon. Lord Mandelson, 24 Nov 2008
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