To limit climate change sounds simple: we need to stabilise and then reduce the concentration of harmful greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. To achieve this we need to dramatically reduce GHG emissions and, increasingly, remove them from the atmosphere to close the emissions gap.
But for most building assets, either new build or retrofit, we are unable to fully close the gap and are left with a residual, and possibly considerable, GHG output. What should we be doing as a sector to remove these emissions or should we be embracing offsetting to deal with the issue? Or is offsetting cheating?
the Edge will be discussing the principles of offsetting at an invited debate and will be addressing:
· How much decarbonisation can we achieve and where are we ‘stuck’?
· Why carbon offsetting should never be used to meet decarbonisation targets.
· What are the current offsetting mechanisms?
· Should offsetting be regulated?
· How can a community / locality based approach be deployed?
· What is the state of play with permanent greenhouse gas removals?
· How do we move forward from a focus on decarbonisation to GHG removals and a climate positive built and natural environment?
Chair: Alex Benstead, UK Green Building Council
Speakers:
Professor Paul Ekins, UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources
Lily Ginsberg-Keig, BeZero Carbon
Eli Mitchell-Larson, Co-founder, Carbon Gap & co-author Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsets
Estelle Dehon KC, Cornerstone Barristers
Venue: FCBS, 20 Tottenham Street, London W1T 4RC & Online
Timing: 11th September 2024, 18.00 – 19.30
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