Under the record-breaking heat wave that recently passed over Los Angeles, residents came face to face with the implications of climate change and what the future might hold as the crisis increases the likelihood of longer-lasting extreme heat conditions. 

While many areas of the planet are heating up, other extreme weather patterns also appear throughout the United States and worldwide. These include intense droughts, wildfires, floods and tropical storms like Hurricane Francine, which is currently en route to North Carolina.

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Such severe weather patterns demonstrate that climate change isn’t a problem for the future, but rather an already pertinent problem in the present day.

Still, both candidates in the 2024 presidential election have expressed hesitancy toward holding private organizations accountable for environmental harm. During the latest debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Harris doubled down on her support for fracking, and Trump expressed his loyalty to the domestic oil industry.

These commitments imply that neither presidential candidate currently plans to hold the oil industry accountable for its damage to the environment. 

Consequently, ensuring net-zero — and hopefully, net-positive — greenhouse emissions in the future will require innovative sustainability methods. 

A key contemporary strategy to achieve sustainability progress is green building, which the Environmental Protection Agency defines as “the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to … deconstruction.”

Green building research conducted in 2022 by the United Nations Environment Programme suggests that buildings accounted for a little over a third of international power consumption, while the World Green Building Council similarly found that buildings cause almost 40% of energy-related emissions. 

These findings emphasize that the construction process and life cycles of buildings greatly — and at the current state of building methods and requirements, negatively — impact the planet.

Encouraging more sustainable building processes and systems is therefore crucial for creating a more sustainable future for our planet. This transition will consist of a combination of two types of implementation: first, retrofitting existing buildings, and second, prioritizing sustainability in buildings set to be constructed. Specific energy-efficient upgrades may include smart lighting systems, solar panel roofs, more advanced insulation systems and energy-conserving air conditioning and heating.

Beyond energy-efficient mechanisms, green roofs on buildings can further improve environmental trends. The EPA defines a green roof as “a vegetative layer grown on a rooftop” and promotes its many benefits, especially its ability to remove heat from the air and consequently reduce the energy and emissions associated with other methods of cooling buildings. The vegetation itself on green roofs can also directly remove greenhouse gasses from the air.  

Moreover, green roofs also benefit people’s mental and physical health. Studies by the Department of Forestry and Landscape Architecture of Konkuk University, and researchers from the University of Virginia and Curtin University respectively indicate that increased human interactions with nature through green roofs can improve productivity and satisfaction, as well as decrease hospital visits and blood pressure problems.

Creating green buildings with such roofs could also improve social equity. Analysis by Los Angeles Forest Equity revealed that 20% of the City of L.A.’s tree canopy exists in only four neighborhoods, with the lasting effects of redlining being a major factor.

L.A.’s approach to addressing unequal tree distribution consists of dividing the areas where more tree canopy is needed into three tiers based on the degree of infrastructure changes required to accommodate more trees. However, the city appears primarily focused on spaces by streets or roads, neglecting the potential of building green roofs to expand the tree canopy.

Instead of operating from this narrow view, L.A. should expand its approach to provide equitable access to trees and sustainable living through policies supporting building remodels and promoting new buildings in line with these goals. To achieve this more effectively, L.A. can take inspiration from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Rating System as a guiding framework for buildings that address climate change and support their communities.

The University should similarly commit to sustainability — following the standard set by Ginsburg Hall, USC’s first-ever LEED Platinum-certified building — for implementing Facilities Planning and Management’s 2030 Master Plan, which includes campus area expansions and new facilities construction. When planting greenery, USC should also grow vegetation that is native to USC’s unique biodiverse location for the best sustainability outcomes. 

Ultimately, both L.A. and USC should embrace the practice of green building, helping counter the climate crisis while simultaneously enriching their residents’ quality of life.