*English below*
📢 すべての化石燃料の段階的廃止を🚫
昨晩 #COP28 において、今回の最重要議題でもあるグローバル・ストックテイクの最終合意に向けた成果文書の新たな草案が発表されました。その中に「すべての化石燃料の段階的廃止」の文字はなく(それより弱い「削減」にとどまった)、石炭の削減の具体的な期限も入りませんでした。排出削減対策(水素・アンモニア混焼やCCSなど)された化石燃料を使用し続ける余地が残されており、世界が今必要なアクションに取り組むには不十分な内容となりました。
すでに起きている被害を最小化するために緊急に必要なクリーンエネルギーへの移行を妨げる「偽の解決策」への余地を残さず、すべての化石燃料の段階的廃止は必須です。
日本は、まさにこのような排出削減対策を推進する事により、2050年まで石炭を含む化石燃料を使用し続ける計画としています。これらは2030年までに排出量を削減することができないだけでなく、日本やアジア、そして世界で化石燃料への依存を永続させることに繋がります。
私たち、そして世界の市民社会からのメッセージは明確です:今すぐにすべての化石燃料の段階的廃止を求めます。
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📢 Phase-out ALL Fossil Fuels NOW🚫
Last night at #COP28 as it prepares for the final agreement, the new draft of the Global Stocktake texts were out - and we are extremely disappointed to see the lack of urgency and agency - WITHOUT the key "phase-out of all fossil fuels" and WITHOUT deadline for phase-out of coal, leaving more space to continue using abated fossil fuels (hydrogen/ammonia co-firing and CCS). We must phase-out ALL Fossil Fuels NOW to leave no space for such false solutions that will hinder the urgently needed transition to clean energy to minimize the damage that is already happening.
Japan plans to keep using fossil fuels until 2050, including coal, and the country emphasizes using exactly these abatement measures which will not reduce emissions by 2030 and will only perpetuate our reliance on fossil fuels - in Japan and across Asia, harming the most vulnerable people and communities.
Our message from the global civil society is clear: We MUST Phase out ALL fossil fuels NOW!🌏
The tightening political and regulatory environment is redefining sustainable construction. Developers across the UK face increasingly robust frameworks demanding measurable reductions in whole life carbon and embodied carbon in materials. Planning instruments such as the London Plan now compel rigorous whole life carbon assessment and life cycle cost analysis, establishing low carbon design and circular economy principles as non‑negotiable components of sustainable building design. Compliance with BREEAM and emerging benchmarks like BREEAM v7 is shifting from voluntary demonstration of green intent to a precondition for planning approval.
The slowdown in project approvals and financing reflects the sector’s adaptation to these demands. Yet this constraint is catalysing innovation in low carbon construction materials and renewable building materials that support carbon footprint reduction. Firms are advancing eco‑design for buildings that integrate life cycle thinking in construction and optimise building lifecycle performance to minimise the environmental impact of construction across production, use, and end‑of‑life reuse in construction. The drive for resource efficiency in construction is reinforcing a business case for sustainable material specification and environmental product declarations (EPDs) that transparently measure embodied carbon.
Environmental sustainability in construction now encompasses direct ecosystem restoration. Projects applying circular construction strategies and green infrastructure are linking sustainable urban development with environmental regeneration. Water management through nanobubble treatment and peatland restoration demonstrates carbon neutral construction practice within a broader circular economy in construction framework. The emphasis is shifting from rhetoric about net zero carbon buildings towards verifiable net zero whole life carbon outcomes.
Economic pressure, regulatory clarity and ecological urgency are aligning to decarbonise the built environment. Sustainable building practices grounded in low‑impact construction are steadily reshaping the definition of green construction, paving the way for a resilient, energy‑efficient building sector that builds within planetary limits.
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