The international hemp organization hopes to work with the global building alliance to bring hemp-based construction to the forefront of the worldwide carbon reduction effort.
Hemp, as a primary raw material for mainstream building materials, took a major step forward this week. As first reported by Hemp Today, the Federation of International Hemp Organizations (FIHO) recently joined a United Nations construction program. In doing so, it will strive to forward hemp as a source of eco-friendly and sustainable construction materials.
FIHO joined the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), whose primary focus concerns advancing carbon neutrality in the built environment. To achieve that goal of decarbonization in construction, the group hosts a series of major international events, including annual meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP), the decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
"More and more companies in the world are developing hempcrete and other biomaterials for new buildings as well as refitting existing buildings at a reasonable price and with locally developed products," FIHO said in a press release, emphasizing hemp's capacity to absorb CO2 as well as hempcrete's ability to sequester the greenhouse gas.
"More and more companies in the world are developing hempcrete and other biomaterials for new buildings as well as refitting existing buildings at a reasonable price and with locally developed products."
- FIHO Press Release
Along with organizing and hosting those events, GlobalABC also crafts policy and technology guidelines for the construction industry by addressing the market at the global, regional, national and municipal levels. Likewise, the Alliance tracks the progress of achieving carbon neutrality in the sector via its Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction and its Global Building Climate Tracker.
One of the main reasons for FIHO's decision to join the group concerns the results from GlobalABC's 2022 edition of the Global Building Climate Tracker Report. In that study, researchers found that the worldwide construction market remains significantly off track to achieve decarbonization by 2050.
The report also found that in 2021, the construction and buildings sector was responsible for an astonishing 37% of energy- and process-related CO2 emissions and over 34% of global energy demand.
The report concluded, "The gap between the actual climate performance of the sector and the necessary decarbonization pathway is widening. The lack of structural or systemic decarbonization improvement in the building sector leaves its emissions reductions vulnerable to external factors."
"The gap between the actual climate performance of the sector and the necessary decarbonization pathway is widening. The lack of structural or systemic decarbonization improvement in the building sector leaves its emissions reductions vulnerable to external factors."
- GlobalABC's 2022 edition of the Global Building Climate Tracker Report
Hemp advocates and organizations like FIHO hope that by adding hemp-based construction materials to GlobalABC's utility belt of carbon-neutralizing building weaponry, the group can attack the out-of-control carbon emissions occurring through outdated and environmentally destructive building practices.
"Global ABC will allow Hempcrete producers to showcase their products, develop contacts with other stakeholders, including farmers, processors, architects, building companies, and urbanists, to share research findings and more," said Ted Haney, FIHO Chairman.
"Global ABC will allow Hempcrete producers to showcase their products, develop contacts with other stakeholders, including farmers, processors, architects, building companies, and urbanists, to share research findings and more."
- Ted Haney, FIHO Chairman
While structures built using hemp-based materials still comprise a tiny percentage of total buildings constructed, expanding hemp's use has gained significant traction mainly due to the efforts of organizations like FIHO. Much like with the looming protein crisis facing global populations, hemp may become a lifesaving necessity for helping quell the existential threat posed by ever-increasing CO2 emissions.
The Earth is inching ever closer to the point of no return concerning the carbon question, with fewer and fewer effective solutions to adequately address the inevitable consequences of the human race's addiction to fossil fuels, factory-farmed animal protein and cheap and inefficient construction practices.
Hemp is a supercrop capable of eradicating all of the detrimental side effects of carbon dependency. However, for that still-distant yet achievable dream to become a reality, world leaders and groups like GlobalABC must provide more than lip service and "nice" press releases if they are earnest about saving this planet and all of its inhabitants.
