„There are no new studies on this, but there are however old studies from the University of Iceland that show that the use of materials in Icelandic structures is far above European averages,“ said Magnús Rannver Rafnsson, engineer, in the radio show Sprengisandur yesterday. He states that Icelanders are world champions when it comes to the use of concrete.
In his opinion the nation is one of the worst when it comes to environmental waste.
„It was not long ago that German scientists pointed out that if we continue like this in construction, we will not be looking at a 1.5 degree warming – but more like 7 to 8 degrees warming,“ said Rafnsson. Approximately 40% of greenhouse gases, which create global warming, are due to construction. Therefore, he states that emissions from construction are much bigger and more of a problem than emissions from traffic.
When it comes to building houses, Icelanders use much more concrete than most other European nations. In addition, the way they use concrete is different. „Nations mostly precast their structures in practical factories where efficiency, quality and speed can be achieved, but we on the other hand do not use a lot of building units, and we use site-cast concrete a lot,“ Rafnsson says, adding that we, Icelanders, „are completely stuck in site-casting everything. “ He says that very little time is spent on innovation and design, and thus Icelanders tend to be stuck in old methods. Rafnsson says that the Nordic countries are far ahead of us when it comes to these things.
Finally, he deems it necessary for us to try to change both methods and materials, to be better able to combat global warming.
This article was originally published in Icelandic by Katrín Heiða Guðjónsdóttir.
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