At its world congress last week in Durban, South Africa, the International Union of Architects (UIA) unanimously adopted a 2050 Imperative that commits the profession to eliminating carbon dioxide emissions in the built environment by 2050. The organization represents 1.3 million architects from 124 countries. The declaration notes that urban areas produce 70% of global emissions, mostly from buildings. “Over the next two decades, an area roughly equal to 60% of the world’s building stock will be built and rebuilt in urban areas,” it states, and “this provides an unprecedented opportunity to reduce fossil fuel CO2 emissions to zero by 2050.”
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