2019 - The year of a green new deal?

Richard Murphy and Colin Hines have suggested a number of ways on how to raise revenue that could be used to fund energy efficiency in all buildings, renewable and local transport systems. They hope that this green new deal would also provide jobs in every constituency and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

To deliver this 'green' will, Richard Murphy and Colin Hines writes in the guardian.com, require that people be convinced that they will benefit and that there is the money to pay for such a transformation. Also, taxes on the wealthy can be increased.

According to them these funding can be raised in many ways including private savings via “green war bonds”. Another mechanism would be to improve tax collection. Also, bank could purchase new debt issued in the form of green bonds by a national investment bank to fund energy efficiency in all buildings, renewable and local transport systems.
 
Murphy and Colin suggests to use quantitative easing to fund the transition to a sustainable economy. Read more

Green buildings don’t create happier workers!

A new study coauthored by a UC Berkeley researcher says that occupant satisfaction with LEED-certified office building environments appears to decline with time.

If you thought working in a green building leads to greater satisfaction in the workplace, then it is the time for a rethink! According to a new research from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, workers in LEED’s certified green buildings appear no more satisfied with the quality of their indoor workplace environments than those employed in conventional buildings.

The findings of this new research was published in April issue of the journal Building and Environment and concludes that most workers do not experience a higher level of workplace satisfaction simply because they work in LEED certified buildings. This findings are based on the survey responses of 21,477 individuals in 144 mainly large office buildings, mostly in the United States. Of those buildings, 65 are LEED certified. Occupant satisfaction with LEED-certified office building environments appears to decline with time, with the greatest level of satisfaction reported during the first year that a worker spends in a green building.

Researchers, however, said that these conclusions does not mean green certification is outdated, costly or useless. Green buildings do have positive effect on people health and well-being, climate change and energy security.