UIA 2050 Imperative Declaration (2014)
Littleha, via Wikimedia Commons
Adopted by: International Union of Architects (UIA), adopted at its World Congress in Durban; drafted and initiated by Architecture 2030 and carried to the Congress by the American Institute of Architects · Kind: Professional declaration · Scope: Universal · Adopted: 2014
Adopted unanimously at the International Union of Architects World Congress in Durban on 8 August 2014, the 2050 Imperative commits the architectural profession to promoting the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions from the built environment by 2050. Its case rests on two figures it states directly: urban areas account for over 70 per cent of global energy consumption and emissions, mostly from buildings, and an area equal to roughly 60 per cent of the world's total building stock is projected to be built and rebuilt in the following two decades. Its five commitments cover new buildings, retrofit of existing stock, research targets and equitable access to low-cost design knowledge.
In August 2014 the International Union of Architects, meeting for its World Congress in Durban, adopted a declaration committing the profession to the elimination of carbon dioxide emissions from the built environment by 2050. It was drafted and initiated by Architecture 2030, a United States non-profit, carried to the Congress by the American Institute of Architects, and guided through committee by the chief executive of the Australian Institute of Architects with the support of the union's president.
Its argument is built from recitals that place it in a lineage. It recalls the 1993 Chicago Declaration of Interdependence for a Sustainable Future, which recognised ecological interdependence with the whole natural environment. It supports what was then a proposed stand-alone Sustainable Development Goal to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. It anticipates the climate conference that would meet in Paris the following year. And it states the two figures on which the whole case turns: urban areas are responsible for over 70 per cent of global energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, mostly from buildings, and over the next two decades an area roughly equal to 60 per cent of the world's total building stock is projected to be built and rebuilt in urban areas. The declaration reads that projection not as a threat but as an opportunity, since a building sector that has to build that much anyway can be set on a path to zero.
Five commitments follow. Plan and design cities, towns, urban developments and new buildings to be carbon neutral, defined precisely as using no more energy over a year than they produce or import from renewable sources. Renovate and rehabilitate existing cities, towns and buildings to be carbon neutral while respecting cultural and heritage values. Where carbon neutrality is not feasible, design for high efficiency with the future capability to run entirely on renewables. Engage in research and set targets toward the 2050 goal. And advocate socially responsible architecture while delivering equitable access to the information and tools needed for low-carbon design, including no-cost and low-cost on-site systems such as passive heating and cooling, water catchment, solar hot water, daylighting and natural ventilation.
That fifth commitment is what distinguishes the declaration from a pure emissions pledge. It ties decarbonisation to equity of access, and its list of techniques is deliberately weighted toward the ones that do not require capital, which makes it readable by architects working where high-technology retrofit is not an option.
The signatory list is what made the moment notable. The union signed alongside the regional architect councils of Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Mediterranean, the Commonwealth Association of Architects, Docomomo, ICOMOS, the Foundation of Architects of Urgency, the Active House Alliance and the World Green Building Council, with UN-Habitat endorsing. Architecture 2030's press release of the same week states that member organisations representing over 1.3 million architects in 124 countries adopted it unanimously, and that all four regional architect councils signing one declaration together was unparalleled in the union's 65-year history.
None of it is binding. The declaration's own operative verb is to promote, not to do. It creates no legal obligation on any architect, firm or state, and it contains no reporting requirement, no measurement and no consequence for a member organisation that does nothing. It is a statement of collective position by a profession, and it should be read as one.
Key provisions · 13 provisions
Recital 1
The declaration recalls the 1993 Chicago Declaration of Interdependence for a Sustainable Future, which recognised ecological interdependence with the whole natural environment and committed architects to place environmental and social sustainability at the core of practice and professional responsibility.
lineage · interdependence · responsibility
Recital 2
It supports a stand-alone Sustainable Development Goal to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
sdgs · cities · resilience
Recital 4
Urban areas are responsible for over 70 per cent of global energy consumption and CO2 emissions, mostly from buildings, and over the next two decades an area roughly equal to 60 per cent of the world's total building stock is projected to be built and rebuilt in urban areas.
emissions · buildings · urbanisation · data
Recital 4
That building and rebuilding wave is an unprecedented opportunity to reduce fossil fuel CO2 emissions by setting the global building sector on a path to phase them out by 2050.
opportunity · 2050 · decarbonisation
Recital 5
Architects recognise a responsibility to influence ethical and socially responsible development worldwide, planning and designing sustainable, resilient, carbon-neutral and healthy built environments that protect natural resources and wildlife habitats, provide clean air and water and generate on-site renewable energy.
ethics · habitat · renewables · health
Recital 7
The UIA states it is acutely aware that failing to act now on climate change puts future generations, and those already affected by extreme weather, natural disasters and poverty, at great risk.
intergenerational · justice · risk
Commitment 1
Signatories commit to promote planning and designing cities, towns, urban developments and new buildings to be carbon neutral, using no more energy over a year than they produce or import from renewable sources.
carbon-neutral · new-build · definition
Commitment 2
Signatories commit to promote renovating and rehabilitating existing cities, towns, urban redevelopments and buildings to be carbon neutral while respecting cultural and heritage values.
retrofit · heritage · existing-stock
Commitment 3
Where carbon neutrality is not feasible or practical, signatories commit to promote highly efficient design with the capability to produce or import all energy from renewable sources in the future.
efficiency · renewables · feasibility
Commitment 4
Signatories commit to the principle of engaging in research and setting targets towards meeting the 2050 goal.
research · targets
Commitment 5
Signatories commit to advocate socially responsible architecture for the community and to deliver equitable access to the information and tools needed to design low or zero carbon built environments and no-cost or low-cost on-site renewable energy and natural resource systems such as passive heating and cooling, water catchment, solar hot water, daylighting and natural ventilation.
equity · access · passive-design · low-cost
Signatories
The declaration was signed by the UIA together with the regional architect councils of Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Mediterranean, plus the Commonwealth Association of Architects, Docomomo, ICOMOS, the Foundation of Architects of Urgency, the Active House Alliance and the World Green Building Council, with Architecture 2030 as supporting organisation, and was endorsed by UN-Habitat.
signatories · coalition · un-habitat
Reported context, not declaration text
The Architecture 2030 press release of 14 August 2014 states that member organisations representing over 1.3 million architects in 124 countries adopted the declaration unanimously, and that all four regional architect councils signing one declaration together was unparalleled in the UIA's 65-year history.
scale · unanimity · secondary-source