CIBSE’s Wyatt calls for renewed urgency on climate change

Following new research data from Hawaii that shows an acceleration in the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the chairman of the CIBSE Carbon Task Group, Terry Wyatt, said: “Climate change is a reality and these new findings suggest that the increase in global temperature is itself having the effect of increasing the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere over and above that produced by human activity. Although it will take several years’ findings to confirm the trend, it could mean that our future scenarios for climate change will have to be reassessed.

“The government and society at large should approach the challenge of reducing carbon emissions with renewed urgency. CIBSE members are already doing their bit in reducing carbon emissions from buildings but they cannot succeed alone.”

Buildings contribute nearly 50% of man-made carbon dioxide emissions and building services engineers are playing a key role in designing and operating energy-efficient, sustainable buildings. It is CIBSE policy to promote an approach to design, operation and maintenance that minimises the contribution of buildings to global warming.