The North American Passive House Network was honored to have three representatives of the United Nations address the opening plenary gathering of the NAPHN17 Conference, in Oakland California, on October 6th.

Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the UN, by video, outlined the critical role Passive House can play in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition, Michael Møller, the Director-General of the UN office in Geneva, announced by live video feed from Geneva, a global network of UN Centers of Excellence, with Vancouver and New York City being selected as two of the host cities.

And in person, Scott Foster, the director of the Sustainable Energy Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (an organization that includes the US and Canada) – and is leader of the UN effort to support sustainable building development globally, outlined the basic principles of the framework and the important work ahead.

In the coming months and years, the UN framework will be supported by a global education and training program, a worldwide network of advanced research, and the development of Centers of Excellence, to foster innovation and disseminate best practices.

NAPHN, and the global array of Passive House professionals working around the world, are picking up the challenge, and look forward to working with the United Nations and others, to make these ambitious efforts a reality.  We hope you join us in this important work.