2024-05-20T01:55:45-04:00 https://archinect.com/features/article/150286702/business-as-usual-or-build-back-better-architectural-leaders-share-their-thoughts-on-this-weekend-s-cop26-opening Josh Niland 2021-10-29T15:19:00-04:00 >2021-11-13T14:05:38-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/6b/6b00c0a65ffdd1e5884a70bca150746f.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>With the opening of the UN COP26 climate summit this weekend, the eyes of the architectural world will be upon Glasgow to see what, if any, effective measures of memoranda will come out of the two-week conference. Past COP summits have resulted in monumental policy measures like the Paris Agreement and Kyoto Protocol. Recent conferences have been seen as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/18/climate/bonn-climate-cop23.html" target="_blank">less successful</a>. The most recent meeting was dubbed &ldquo;a major disappointment&rdquo; after <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50801493" target="_blank">failing to produce a consensus</a> on a number of different key climate issues.&nbsp;</p> <p>This year&rsquo;s event is perhaps the most anticipated in the organization&rsquo;s history. The Queen of England <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59056725" target="_blank">will not be attending</a>. Other prominent figures will <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3153808/us-official-chides-xi-jinping-his-anticipated-absence-g20-and" target="_blank">skip the conference</a> as well. The architectural community will be well-represented, with contingents from the AIA, RIBA, and other institutions and practitioners who all have stakes in climate change policies and the built environment.&nbsp;</p> <p>Global voices, from Greta Thunberg to Prince Charles, have derided world leaders for their...</p>