CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE FOR BUILDINGS

The confluence of mitigation and adaptation can be seen in the practice of low carbon resilience (LCR), which is the deliberate design and use of tech- niques, methods, policies, and technologies to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt our infrastructure and society to future climate loads2. [...] There are myriad reasons to act, from environmental and humanitarian reasons, to the health and safety of building occupants, to the preservation of invested capital and assets, to reduction in operating and maintenance costs. [...] The total emitted carbon for a building is made up of those emissions associated with the operation of the building, known as operating carbon, and the carbon emitted as part of the manufacture and construction of the building, known as embodied carbon, both of which are discussed below in greater detail. [...] MANAGING RISK AND VULNERABILITY Risk, as it relates to climate resilience, is the combined consideration of the likelihood of an event occurring, the exposure to that event, and the consequence of that event’s occurrence18. [...] This means careful planning and consideration of the size of the building needed, the services provided, and the real needs of the occupants.