(B03) Environmental Justice and Climate: How Teaching Building Decarbonization to the Next Generation of AEC Professionals Will Fulfill Our Promise

As AEC professionals, we must take ownership of the substantial impact of buildings on global greenhouse gas emissions. As we redesign society to face the challenges posed by climate change, building decarbonization must be at the forefront. A key component of this transition is teaching the next generation of building professionals to build carbon-free buildings. What we teach, how we educate, and who we educate must change, not only to re-center our focus on climate change, but also to be more equitable. Building decarbonization is not just a climate issue, it’s also a critical environmental justice and human health issue for low-income communities and communities of color, particularly majority Black communities. Black people are 75% more likely than their White counterparts to live in “fence-line” communities, which exist next to industrial facilities whose noise, odor, traffic and/or emissions directly affect the population. Additionally, nearly 7 million Black people live in the same counties as oil and gas refineries. These living conditions have been proven to lead to an elevated risk of cancer and asthma for Black children. This panel of speakers has been involved in a variety of efforts to improve access to building decarbonization particularly at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The goals of this talk are to: - share these experiences and lessons learned, - disseminate knowledge about publicly available building decarbonization teaching and learning resources, including the Stanford Building Decarbonization Learning Accelerator, - inspire educators and building professionals alike to further their own knowledge of building decarbonization. Building decarbonization is the most important paradigm shift in construction since the introduction of LED lighting, and teaching it is the key to unlocking this transformation.