World leaders and energy experts met throughout the month of November in Sharm el-Shiekh, Egypt, for COP27 – the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference.
The conference failed to produce a significant climate agreement to cut carbon emissions, according to the Guardian, and the world is still “on the brink of climate catastrophe.”
There was some good news, however, as the conference produced a “damage and loss” agreement to pool funds for poorer countries most affected by climate change.
But the goal for the conference had been to keep the inevitable global temperature increase only to 1.5 degrees C -- that is, to negotiate a world-wide agreement to create emissions reductions strategies that would prevent greater than a 1.5-degree Celsius rise in temperature. There is now a 50-50 chance of the 1.5 C temperature rise in the next five years, according to the BBC, and we’ll almost certainly see a 1.5 C rise by 2031.
Facility managers have a huge role to play in keeping emissions low, as buildings represent a huge share of carbon emissions. This FacilitiesNet story explains how facility managers are on the front lines of the fight against climate change.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
