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carbon. Rendering nuclear power cost competitive and Oil Companies Invest in Carbon Removal". Do you think
politically acceptable will require addressing the human and it is possible to remove carbon, and yes do you think it will
institutional risk factors and long-term waste storage issues. have an effect on the climate?
Finally, I believe there is an imperative to transform the energy Carbon capture and storage will be absolutely essential for
industry from the commodity business that it is to the service integrated solutions, but there needs to be a business model
industry it should be - along the lines of the ICT revolution (or, more clearly, a revenue stream) for it. CCS does work and
we are witnessing - to enable the deep transformation that can contribute. Without CCS it would seem nigh impossible
will deliver quality of life. to stay within the 2°C carbon budget. Put a price on carbon.
Not 5 euros a tonne, not 40 dollars a ton, but a serious price
Q: We hear about climate change, the problem of CO2 that changes consumption and investment decisions. But be
emissions, the fossil energy is considered as the worst sure its application is broad, fair, and workable. In terms of
polluter. Is there really an alternative to oil-based energy? carbon removal, there is also discussion about attaching CCS
We live in a world where development is not measured in to biofuels, with a net negative carbon impact. Additional
per capita income. It's measured in terms of quality of life, topics for carbon removal are the use of wood in buildings, a
quality of water, quality of air, the whole environment in form of carbon storage, and substantial global reforestation.
which we live. But we are in the process of cooking our planet
-- that is undeniable - and there is a need for urgent action to Q: You seem to be everywhere these days. Recently you
address climate change. We have seen the news that the next organized a side event on the Smart City Summit where
great extinction event is underway, caused in large part by you talked about the high performance building initiative.
human-induced climate change. As the climate changes, we Could you please explain what it is all about?
will witness waters rising around the world, thereby creating I appreciate the thought, but I was not the organizer of the
refugees from all of the islands around the world and from Smart City Summit. UNECE colleagues from across the
all of the coastal communities where most people live. As the organization made wide-ranging contributions. The energy
oceans rise, those people will have to be relocated. Likewise division is pursuing our high performance buildings initiative
we can see the traumas and consequences of drought and and through that we were able to contribute to the Day of
increasingly violent and more frequent weather events. Cities at the meeting of our UN Commission in Geneva in
On the other hand, 80% of today's energy is fossil-based, April. Buildings are central to meeting the sustainability
and fossil energy underpins quality of life today. There is no challenge. In the developed world, buildings consume over
plausible scenario to 2050 in which fossil energy's share of 70% of the electric power generated and 40% of primary
total primary energy supply falls below 40%. The number of energy and are responsible for 40% of CO2 emissions from
countries and the number of people whose national incomes the energy services they require. In Europe, 75-90% of today's
and livelihoods depend on fossil energy is important, and we buildings will be in use in 2050. Developing countries will
cannot expect them to abandon their quality of life ambitions. need to accommodate 2.4 billion new urban residents by
The challenge we face is to meet global quality of life 2050. Renewable energy technology alone cannot meet these
aspirations at the same time as we address climate change. requirements, despite recent improvements. The energy
The challenges of sustainable development, including climate performance of buildings must be managed and the capability
change mitigation and adaptation, can be met. Put a serious to meet the challenge exists today - that is what our initiative
price on carbon. Pursue pragmatic policies that are rational is all about.
economically, social and environmentally. As we have noted The High Performance Buildings Initiative (HPBI) is
elsewhere, it is 10 past midnight and we are way late in really conceived to disseminate and deploy our Framework
reacting. Guidelines for Energy Efficiency Standards in Buildings
Is there an alternative to oil-based energy? Every technology worldwide. The initiative focuses on capacity development
has a role to play in a sustainable energy future. We will and impact in the field, developing:
continue to need heating, ventilating, cooling, mobility, 1. the intellectual, material and financial resources to
commercial and industrial processes - the whole gamut educate, advocate and advise for transformation to high
of energy services that today are in large part provided by performance buildings;
fossil energy. There is an absolute necessity to reduce the 2. the outreach required to create a worldwide urban shift to
environmental footprint of energy by improving supply-side truly sustainable buildings.
and demand-side efficiency and productivity, by deploying The ultimate objective is to improve health and quality
CCS, by pursuing low or no carbon technology, and by of life within the built environment while simultaneously
reconceiving energy markets. Rather than asking if there is decarbonizing building-related energy requirements, thus
an alternative to oil-based energy, I believe we will have more breaking the historic link between improved health, quality
success if we think in terms of a carbon budget and take the of life and atmospheric carbonization.
necessary steps to live within that budget while ensuring a HPBI comprises three pillars aimed at radical reduction
just transition that enables development. of the global carbon footprint of buildings and dramatic
improvement in the health and quality of life provided by
7th
Q: In a recent article in the New York Times, of April this buildings:
year, Clifford Krauss writes, "Blamed for Climate Change, 1. International Centres of Excellence that provide a)

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