Lead or follow?

However I’m listening to people like the distinguished meteorologist and climatologist Brian Hoskins. Presenting at the RIBA, he said that despite his fundamentally sceptical position, he had to conclude that there was high probability that global warming was man-made, with little time left to counter it. Surely even a 10% probable threat to entire populations would warrant serious precautions, especially since they bring so many benefits.

Whoever is in power, the UK will move to a low-carbon economy over the next five years. The question for architects is whether to be leaders or followers. To ask that chartered practices have an environmental policy is simply in line with responsible professional behaviour, without compromising architects’ freedom to use their own knowledge, judgment and imagination to devise practices that accord with their beliefs.

Sunand Prasad, Immediate past president RIBA