by jbs100909 a3 — October 16, 2009—Bob McMullan MP, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, launched the new Asia Pacific Green Building Network in Melbourne, Australia, September 24 as part of World Green Building Day activities. The inaugural activities coincided with a series of synchronized events around the globe organized by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) to draw attention to the role green buildings can play in mitigating climate change.
Chair of both the WorldGBC and the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA), Tony Arnel, said, “We know that the people of the developed world have the largest and most ominous ecological footprints. But as we reform our own behavior, equally, we must support the developing world to avoid the mistakes of our past.
GBCA reports that nearly 1 million people move from rural to urban environments each week—the equivalent to building a medium-sized city every seven days. If the current trend continues, the eight Asian cities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai in China; Mumbai and Kolkata in India; and Bangkok, Jakarta, and Manila in South East Asia will have a combined population equivalent to that of the U.S. by 2020.
The WorldGBC’s Asia Pacific Network was established to support countries as they establish their own green building councils, develop rating tools for green buildings, and roll out education programs. The new network will enable established green building councils in the region to help emerging councils take action on global warming, improve urban environments, and alleviate urban poverty.
GBCA is currently hosting green building leaders from China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore and New Zealand for a two-week Asia Pacific Green Building Leadership Forum. The Forum will help to accelerate the uptake of green buildings in the Asia Pacific region.
