Amid a climate crisis, is it time for Vancouver to ditch inefficient glass towers?

Vancouver is known inmany circles as the city of glass,a nod to the glass condominiums that dominate its skyline.

But a University of British Columbia urban design expert says the city's reliance on glass towers is contributing to climate change and undercutting the city's goal of beingthe greenest city in the world by 2020.

Patrick Condon, a UBC chair in landscapes and livable environments, says glass is a terrible insulator that forces condo dwellers to crank up their heat in the winter and blast air-conditioning in the summer.

"It's wonderful to see beautiful sunsets across the water," Condontold CBC'sOn The Coast."But it's five hours of blazing sun coming into your living room. That's not so great."

Condon'sremarks comeafter recentreportsthat global architects and engineersare calling for a ban on glass buildings as scientists warn of a climate crisis.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in April a ban on all-glass buildings, but later backtracked toa revised plan that called for more energy-efficient materials. The city is aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050.

'It's so hot in here'

About 40 per cent of global carbonemissions come from building, heating, cooling and demolishing buildings, according to the International Energy Agency, an inter-governmental organization.

Architects say glass buildings aggravate the problem because they allowheat to easily pass in and out, making it difficult to keep temperatures stable inside.

Developers have refuted those claims, pointing to more energy-efficient alternatives such as double-pane glass. The floor-to-ceiling windows also lure in buyers seeking Vancouver's ocean and mountain views.

"My own experience is the view, after a while, isnot as fantastic as it was the first couple of months," Condon said.

"You become more aware that, 'Oh my God, all my pictures are turning blue,my carpetsare sun-scorched and it's so hot in here.'"

A BCHydro report earlier this year found that newer highrise buildings use twice as much electricity as highrises built in the 1980s, even though the newer buildings are marketed as energy efficient.

Condon said the inefficiency of glass is atodds with Vancouver's greenest city action plan, which fails to address the use of glass in new developments.

For the city to meet its 2020 emissions targets, "you'd have to rip the glass skins off of every building," he said.

The glass on buildings must also be replaced every 30 to 40 years due to wear and tear, Condon said. When that timecomes, he said, developers could incorporatebetter insulating materials.

Listen to the full interview with Patrick Condon: