SANTA FE, NM--More with less. That's the outlook for the nation's increasing building stock, according to Architecture 2030, a non-profit organization created a decade ago in response to the climate change crisis, no additional power plants will be called for.

And while many municipalities are driving this change through legislation (See our Northeast lead story), in many cities, the impetus is coming fom the private sector.

In fact, “a moratorium on power plant construction today would hold no negative implications for the sector,” he says, “traditionally one of the most energy-hungry sectors of the nation.”

Mazria tells GlobeSt.com that the anticipated reductions are especially impressive because it is being driven primarily by the private sector. The association issued what it calls its 2030 Challenge in 2006. Since then, it has been adopted by the AIA, the USGBC, the Federal Government, the US Conference of Mayors and various cities, including Seattle, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and, most recently, Los Angeles.

Included in the Challenge were the following parameters:

"The fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings and major renovations shall be increased to:

The commercial and residential building industry does have the dubious distinction of responsibility for one of the nation's largest carbon footprints. Nearly half of all energy produced for the building sector in the US is eaten by CRE, the association's statistics reveal.

The combined sector uses “about the same amount of energy consumed by both transportation and industry combined,” notes Mazria. Transportation accounts for 28.1% while industry is responsible for 23.2%.

But, data from the locally based association indicates that energy-consumption projections for 2030 have been dwindling every year since 2005. “The numbers show that the building sector's energy demand is not going to increase,” says Mazria.

In fact, “we're beginning to see news come out now like Duke Energy shelving plans for new power plants because there is no projected demand. This reduction in need is coming at the hands of both new builds and renovations alike.

Absent major federal regulation, Mazria hands it to the design and development communities for the coming reductions, calling these professionals “problem-solvers. They realize that they have a professional responsibility and an ethical obligation to address this issue by improving energy efficiency. That's why we're seeing huge changes.”