CIBSE President, Adrian Catchpole to address two key themes of embodied carbon and climate resilience in his address to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP28.
Catchpole will emphasise the need for a step change in the way carbon emissions are calculated in buildings, calling for a focus on embodied carbon, and pointing to CIBSE’s work on the TM65 embodied carbon calculation methodology for building services, launching a local addendum for UAE during COP28.
TM65 is the first step to promoting transparency in the supply chain and is the only methodology for calculating embodied carbon in building services equipment (when Environmental Product Declarations are not available). Catchpole will advocate strongly for the methodology to enable engineers and manufacturers to produce comparable carbon metrics using consistent rules.
Whilst TM65 was developed initially for the UK market, due to the global lack of embodied carbon data on building services equipment CIBSE has seen significant international interest to adapt and adopt TM65 in other regions. CIBSE has published a guide to adapting TM65 to local use (TM65LA) and has worked with various regions to produce local versions for Australia and New Zealand, and North America, with the UAE/MENA version launching in December.
The other theme of climate resilience will address the need to shift focus beyond decarbonisation to the world’s resistance to climate change. As industry leaders in this field, we need to maintain focus on net zero targets, whilst reviewing the impact of our work and our industry’s ability to adapt to those changes.
Catchpole will be participating in a panel event, within the COP28 Blue Zone - the central area for world leaders attending the summit - on the impact of decarbonisation on fostering good health and wellbeing in green cities.
During his visit to the UAE the CIBSE President will also be visiting Heriot-Watt and Birmingham Universities, where he will also highlight the need for ensuring a skilled and competent workforce.
CIBSE is working closely with its members, industry and government to inform and improve performance standards, enabling the sharing of knowledge and innovation with the wider industry and delivering training and research. From January 2024 CIBSE has mandated CPD on sustainability and building safety, requiring all corporate members to complete at least one CPD activity on each.
The new CIBSE STEM Ambassador programme, launched this year, connects professionals to schools and colleges, and aims to inspire students with insights into building services, encouraging the next generation of engineers who, will ultimately deliver the net zero agenda and secure their own inheritance.
COP28 takes place in Dubai, UAE from 30 November to 12 December. Follow the latest updates from the CIBSE President’s journey on LinkedIn.