Another year hurtles towards a close and another COP passes by with barely a ripple of interest to disturb the rising sea levels.
Admittedly COP29 had a tough challenge on its hand competing with some of the bigger stories clogging up the news agenda.
The new intake of "ummm...who?" celebrity (sic) contestants entering the jungle, the mass exodus of people from X/Twitter and of course Gary Lineker leaving Match of the Day were all likely to squeeze out saving the planet from the top of the news headlines.
I jest, somewhat, especially with the news coming from America on the next President and his choice of Cabinet Members.
However, the lack of major announcements and coverage of COP29 does signal the on-going level of interest, or indeed disinterest, in the environment and net zero. The stars really do need to align for it to push its way up the news agenda.
There were also some surprises in terms of the sustainability ‘priorities list’
Paul Groves Group Editor for Specification
A major push
For the UK's part, Prime Minister Kier Starmer did announce a major new push on the Government's climate goals. It drew some support from those paying attention.
Tackling the climate crisis is essential to our national energy security, economic growth, and our efforts to protect current and future generations, the UK government said as it unveiled the UK’s new climate goals at the COP29 Summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
To support the industry the government has announced a significant investment programme in homegrown British energy – including renewables, carbon capture and storage, nuclear and hydrogen.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “Britain is back in the business of climate leadership, with an ambitious new target that will protect our environment, deliver energy security and restore our global climate reputation.”
Honestly, he really did!
Clear delivery of strong policy
Simon McWhirter, Deputy Chief Executive of UKGBC, said: “Increased ambition is important, but it must be accompanied by strong policy and clear delivery plans to make much-needed progress. The announcement of the UK’s commitment to reduce emissions by 81% on 1990 levels by 2035 through its new nationally determined contribution (NDC) at COP29 is welcome. Ramping up our climate ambitions on the international stage is necessary – it’s the real world delivery that’s been woefully absent in recent years.
“The new 81% NDC emissions reduction target is in line with the recommendation made by the government’s official advisers, the Climate Change Committee, but must be accompanied with a detailed delivery plan and a sense of urgency to get us back on track for existing commitments. Strong policy, funding, and fiscal levers will be vital to seize this critical opportunity and set the bar for global climate action.
“With more than a quarter of carbon emissions coming from the built environment, this sector can play a key role in achieving these ambitious goals. The UN Buildings Breakthrough initiative, launched at COP28, recognised this potential, with a mandate to make near-zero-emission and resilient buildings the new normal by 2030. Our sector is central to much-needed action – and we can steal the march on these targets.”
Sustainability research
It was also timely, therefore, that the latest industry sustainability research findings were released.
NBS (powered by Hubexo) revealed further findings from its ‘Sustainable Futures’ report – the research found that despite motivation from most construction professionals to deliver sustainable outcomes, less than half manage to achieve them within a project.
When identifying the main barriers to success, two-thirds stated that the cost of achieving sustainability was the main cause (63%) and that a lack of client demand (50%) was a major driver. Another concern was the view that sustainable products are being ‘value engineered’ out, suggesting a suspicion around value for money – 41% said this was a barrier. 36% also stated that lack of government policy and regulation was an issue.
Interestingly, there were some differences of opinion when it came to responsibility and project roles, depending on the audience in question. For architects, lack of government regulation is a particular barrier.
There were also some surprises in terms of the sustainability ‘priorities list’. ‘Embodied carbon’ ranked fourth, with ‘Net zero operational carbon’ taking the top spot. However, this is likely due to legislation covering operational efficiency but not embodied carbon. When asked to rank the importance of the life cycle analysis stages from environmental product declarations, embodied carbon took first place.
The report also touched on the role manufacturers play in helping architects achieve low-carbon outcomes. Nine in ten (93%) agreed that a robust specification is important for achieving sustainable outcomes. Within that, nearly all architects (94%) agree that manufacturers should supply digital information on the green credentials of their products to boost their chances of specification.
Dr Lee Jones, Head of Sustainability at Hubexo, the global construction tech firm NBS is part of, said: “Climate change is a global issue of utmost importance, and construction has a major role to play.
“Our research has identified the most common perceived barriers to progress, but arguably the largest barrier is our industry as a whole. It’s down to all of us to implement the solutions.”
Paul Groves is Group Editor for Specification
