The UN’s annual COP26 climate conference will address carbon emissions from buildings for the first time at a day dedicated to the built environment on 11 November.
The Cities, Regions & Built Environment Day will take place during the second week of the conference, which is being held in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November.
Other days at the conference will discuss topics including nature, energy, finance and gender. Full details of the built environment day are still to be confirmed but will involve “advancing action in the places we live, from communities, through to cities and regions”.
The dedication of a full day to the topic of emissions from buildings and cities
comes amid growing concern that the sector, which is responsible for around
40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, has been neglected in the push to tackle climate change.
Roland Hunziker, director of sustainable buildings and cities at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) which is organising the day said: “How can we give more visibility to the sleeping giant, the built environment, which is a massive source of carbon emissions? It’s the energy we use to heat and cool our buildings but it’s also obviously in the materials. If we want to reduce emissions along the full lifecycle of buildings, then we have to engage those who develop projects.”
COP26 brings together nations that signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits signatories to becoming net-zero by 2050.
Other activities relating to the COP26 include the Built Environment Summit at RIBA in London, which will discuss zero-carbon buildings and generate policy demands that will be presented to the conference.
ukcop26.org
