How AIA is helping to combat the climate crisis at COP27
By Greg Menti – October 31, 2022
For the second year in a row, AIA is sending representatives to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), an annual Conference that brings together government officials and nongovernmental organizations to collaborate on ways to combat the climate crisis. AIA is attending the 2022 event, taking place from November 6-18 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in an official capacity as an NGO observer.
“COP27 is the largest global conversation about the impact of climate change, AIA is the largest professional design institution in the world. If we’re not sitting at the table, then who should be,” posited Illya Azaroff, FAIA, Director of Design, Resilience and Regenerative Strategies at +LAB Architect PLLC, one of the eight AIA delegates attending COP27.
“I just want to help change the world. We’re all in the same boat, caught in the same storm. Everyone is paddling towards that horizon and architects play a distinct role in guiding that ship,” said Azaroff. “If we can help steer that boat one or two degrees in the right direction, then that is what I want to do.”
Erica Cochran Hameen, Ph.D, AIA, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture, said she is looking forward to hearing people from around the world talk about solutions to climate change.
“There’s not one solution that is going to get us where we need to get, we have to work across disciplines. It’s going to have to be architects, engineers, computer scientists, finance people and policymakers all working together to come up with innovative ideas to fight climate change,” she said. “I’m excited to attend the sessions, but I’m also looking forward to having conversations with our allied professions. Everyone there knows we’re in this together, and I’m looking forward to walking into a space where everyone has the same agenda and the same desire to collaborate.”
In addition to Azaroff and Hameen, AIA delegates at COP27 include 2022 President Dan Hart, FAIA; Lakisha Woods, CAE, EVP/Chief Executive Officer; Vicky Schneider, Senior Advisor; Kathleen Lane, AIA, Managing Director, Sustainability & Resilience; Kara Kempski, Director, Federal Relations; and Derek Washam, Director, International Relations, Advocacy & Relationships.
Photo Caption: The COP26 Globe at the Hydro
Photo Credit: Karwai Tang, UK Government
