Building Magazine reported August 23 that the mayors of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, along with 16 other cities around the world, had signed on to a Net Zero Carbon Buildings Declaration, a pledge to ensure all buildings in the cities, old or new, will meet net-zero carbon standards by 2050.
The story explains that Net Zero Buildings use energy ultra-efficiently and meet any remaining energy needs from renewable sources. The commitment includes a pledge to work together with state and regional governments and the private sector to drive such a transformation, and calls on national governments for equal action. The pledge is part of the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Building Commitment for Businesses, Cities, States and Regions.
The pledge commits the participants to evaluate the current energy demand and carbon emissions from their municipal buildings, develop a suite of supporting incentives and programmes, report annually on progress to the target, establish a roadmap to the goal.