main
agenda
panel debate
Debate: Carbon Critical Design
panel call for urgent action to tackle climate change
the way we live our lives must change, drastically and
The scale of the challenge
urgently, if we are to prevent climate change becoming
O’Riordan: all is not lost. Climate change is on every single
catastrophic. this has been the message for some time from
agenda you can think about, but we’re not really doing enough
most of the scientific community, and designers and
about it. We’re coming to realise that the world can’t take the
engineers now have a crucial role to play in moving society hammering we’re giving it. the earth lost all this carbon 350
from worthy discussion to action.
million years ago and now we’re breathing that carbon back at
at present, carbon is not a core consideration when
a rate of something like 10 billion tonnes a year, when the earth
capital projects are evaluated, designed and procured.
never wanted it in the first place.
We need to work out how this can be achieved – and
Clarke: If we’re to meet the targets set for carbon reduction we
need to be designing projects fundamentally differently
quickly. It was from this starting point that atkins assembled
within months. the rate of change of learning that will be
70 sustainability experts from its own staff, industry,
needed is at best challenging and certainly terrifying.
government and academia. the event was an urgent call to
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take up the challenge of delivering workable solutions
for a carbon critical economy.
professor tim O’Riordan, an active member of the
Sustainable development Commission, began the session
with the message that, despite the scale of the problem, it
was not insurmountable.
However, architects, engineers and planners are only just
beginning to define the question, and the journey will be
beset with difficult decisions and potentially costly mistakes.
there was unanimous agreement that being bold was the
only way in which the industry could start moving together
in a co-ordinated way.
On the panel
Keith Clarke – Chief executive, atkins
Professor Phil Jones – University of Cardiff
Professor Tim O’Riordan – University of east anglia
Dr Andy Southern – transport planning, atkins
Simon Hancock – building Services, atkins
Joey Tabone – the prince’s Foundation for the built environment
What they saiD...
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