Passive House Institute founder calls for action on climate change

"There is no longer any scientifically-founded doubt that the planet's climate is changing due to rising carbon dioxide emissions," said Feist. “Science is now in the position to acknowledge the influence of human activities on the climate. The clarity of the facts presents an opportunity to prevent serious consequences."

A founding director of the Passive House Institute, Prof Feist was speaking in Vancouver, Canada, where he is attending the Passive House North 2013 conference.

"There are many examples demonstrating how societies can draw the right conclusions on the basis of scientific facts: acid rain, ozone depletion and smoking,” he said. “In retrospect, it often becomes clear how misguided resistance by interest groups is. Seen objectively, their actions frequently even damage their own causes."

Prof Feist’s work has served to drive development in energy efficient building with the construction of the first passive house some 20 years ago.

In industrialised countries, the operation of buildings accounts for more than a third of total energy consumption. Passive house buildings reduce the amount of energy needed to heat buildings by up to 90 percent.