1,000 signatures reached
To: The Buildings Ministers Meeting
Net Zero Emissions for all new building developments now
The federal government has no concrete plans of how to get to net zero and so, as our elected representatives, we call upon you to use your influence at both the federal and state levels:
1) At the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) via your planning minister to ensure that the National Code is changed to mandate net zero emissions;.
2) Adopt State amendments to the code that mandate net zero for new homes built within your State.
1) At the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) via your planning minister to ensure that the National Code is changed to mandate net zero emissions;.
2) Adopt State amendments to the code that mandate net zero for new homes built within your State.
Why is this important?
Australia’s track record of reducing global warming is lamentable. Governments now have a genuine opportunity to demonstrate, to the people and to the world, that they are serious. Mandating net zero homes could be easy win-win that will provide jobs, emission reduction as well as healthy, comfortable homes. Let’s stop the endless debating - the time for action is now.
We have the opportunity, right now, to reduce Australia’s annual CO2 emissions by up to 20%. That is the amount our homes and the appliances in them contribute to global warming. They don’t need to.
The National Construction Code, which sets the minimum standards for new homes in Australia, is under review. But the changes on the table are nowhere near tough enough.
We have the know-how and the technologies to totally eliminate these emissions, at the same time providing jobs and comfortable, healthy homes that are cheap to run. The small additional construction costs will be recovered many times in close-to-zero energy costs and lower mortgage rates, not to mention higher resale values. So why don’t we do it?
Under the current proposal, each new home will still be allowed to cause 5 tonnes of carbon emissions every year of its life. To recoup this, you’d have to plant 3000 new trees. Now multiply this with the annual construction of 144,000 homes (and rising). That’s 432 million trees this year alone.
Let’s show the world we’re serious!
The most recent report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows we can avoid climate catastrophe, but only through immediate, deep and sustained emissions reductions.
We can do this easily and simply by changing our building code to mandate that new houses are built to be Net Zero. This is the most critical decade in the history of mankind.
NOW is the time to mandate net zero emissions in our National Construction Code. We call on our State and territory governments to do the right thing for Australia and for future generations.
We have the opportunity, right now, to reduce Australia’s annual CO2 emissions by up to 20%. That is the amount our homes and the appliances in them contribute to global warming. They don’t need to.
The National Construction Code, which sets the minimum standards for new homes in Australia, is under review. But the changes on the table are nowhere near tough enough.
We have the know-how and the technologies to totally eliminate these emissions, at the same time providing jobs and comfortable, healthy homes that are cheap to run. The small additional construction costs will be recovered many times in close-to-zero energy costs and lower mortgage rates, not to mention higher resale values. So why don’t we do it?
Under the current proposal, each new home will still be allowed to cause 5 tonnes of carbon emissions every year of its life. To recoup this, you’d have to plant 3000 new trees. Now multiply this with the annual construction of 144,000 homes (and rising). That’s 432 million trees this year alone.
Let’s show the world we’re serious!
The most recent report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows we can avoid climate catastrophe, but only through immediate, deep and sustained emissions reductions.
We can do this easily and simply by changing our building code to mandate that new houses are built to be Net Zero. This is the most critical decade in the history of mankind.
NOW is the time to mandate net zero emissions in our National Construction Code. We call on our State and territory governments to do the right thing for Australia and for future generations.