Georgia’s Southface Institute Says UN Climate Change Conference Issues are Vital to Georgians

Thursday, November 30th, 2023

The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (also known as COP28) begins Nov. 30 in Dubai and concludes Dec. 12. Southface, a Georgia-based sustainable building nonprofit, says the focus of the conference -- renewable energy, climate change goals, and phasing down of fossil fuels -- are not vague global goals, they are vital for the future of Georgia.

 

The COP28 conference will:

  • Discuss tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030

  • Review progress in meeting climate change goals and discuss keeping the world on track to limiting temperature rise to 1.5 c above pre-industrial levels

  • Discuss phasing down fossil fuels vs. eliminating them completely

 

“The UN Conference is being held in Dubai but the issues are vital for Georgians,” says James Marlow, President, Southface Institute. “A key focus for Southface is how we connect sustainability, resiliency, health, comfort, and energy with real world economics, system thinking, and life cycle costing analysis/total cost of ownership.”
 
Marlow continues: “I recently visited the Georgia Ports Authority in Savannah and Sapelo Island and I am thinking much more about the truly global nature of the state of Georgia, our economy, and its impact across the southeast. We are experiencing climate changes through a range of impacts across our state and region.”
 
Southface notes that buildings use the majority of our energy, with heating and cooling typically half of the energy use of a home or office building.