
The Forum on Innovative Materials and Sustainable Construction in West Africa (MICD-AO Forum) will take place for 4 days, from 28 to 31 May 2024, with an intense and diverse program. The forum will take place in French with English translation. Over 300 experts are expected: researchers, engineers and government representatives from Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mauritania.
UNEP and GlobalABC are leading a session titled “Sustainable Construction and Climate: Perspectives in West Africa” on 30 May 2024, 10:30-12:30 GMT, with the aim of showcasing policy actions and initiatives lead by countries in the region to decarbonize the buildings and construction sector. The event will discuss expected construction volumes in West Africa in near future and how to build more and better to face the social, economic and environmental challenges of the region.
Background
Under the framework of the International Forum on Innovative Materials and Sustainable Construction in West Africa, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, (GlobalABC) are supporting the organization of the session entitled “Sustainable Construction and Climate: Perspectives in West Africa”, with the aim of showcasing policy actions and initiatives led by countries in the region to decarbonize the buildings and construction sector. This Forum will bring together architects, building developers, financiers, researchers, NGOs, and national and local authorities to share knowledge and innovative approaches to reduce the climate impact of the construction sector in West Africa.
UNEP and GlobalABC are leading the session “Sustainable Construction and Climate: Perspectives in West Africa”, with the aim of showcasing policy actions and initiatives lead by countries in the region to decarbonize the buildings and construction sector.
The construction industry is one of the most resource-intensive and environmentally damaging industries in the world. Construction materials dominate resource consumption; global material use is projected to more than double by 2060 and one third of these will be the materials used in the building and construction sector. In 2019, the sector represented 38% of total energy related emissions with almost 10% indirect emissions from materials (GlobalABC, 2020).
The large housing backlog and growing demand for new buildings and infrastructure in Africa and Asia can be viewed as both a huge challenge and a tremendous opportunity to expand economic activity and create millions of jobs. It offers a unique window of opportunity to transform the sector into a resource-efficient, resilient and low emissions sector. The sector currently faces a “lock-in” risk for a high-carbon development path unless the consideration of new norms of energy efficiency, responsibly sourced materials, and better design and construction practices become a common practice.
In twenty years, the population in WAEMU is projected to increase by 100 million, requiring an additional 800,000 housing units each year and significant investments in infrastructure. Rapid urbanization and population growth increase pressure on natural resources and ecosystems and threaten to deepen the existing environmental impacts of the built environment. There are opportunities to influence the supply chain and use science-based knowledge to support decisions that affect the entire life cycle of. buildings. By 2030, more than half of the population in the region will live in cities (e.g. 63.1% in Côte d’Ivoire). Senegal, for is aiming to create 27 new cities by 2035 and construct 100,000 housing units in urban centres across the country in the coming five years. Ghana needs to provide over 100,000 housing units annually to meet the demand.
Objectives
This Forum will bring together architects, building developers, financiers, researchers, NGOs and national and local authorities to share knowledge and innovations to reduce the climate impact of the construction sector in West Africa.
The Forum will take place in Dakar and will cover a wide range of topics going from the environmental impact of construction materials, the application of circularity solutions to the built environment, financing schemes to bring solutions to scale, or innovative sustainable materials locally available.
Agenda
10:50-11:00 |
Keynote on the global context – Declaration de Chaillot and Buildings Breakthrough
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11:00–11:35 |
Rountable 1: Towards a sustainable buildings and construction sector in West Africa: Strategies to achieve a more efficient, resilient and low-carbon built environment in the region. Representatives from West African countries will discuss on their challenges and priorities for the buildings and construction sector. They will explain their strategies and national roadmaps to achieve a more efficient, resilient and low-carbon built environment ready to face social, economic and environmental challenges in the region. Countries will discuss on the impact and regional implications of international agreements, such as the Buildings Breakthrough or the Declaration of Chaillot and will highlight the importance of including buildings in the next round of updates of National Determined Contributions. Moderator : UNEP Speakers : Representatives from Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau |
11:35–12:00 |
Q&A session and partial conclusions by the moderator |
12:00–12:25 |
Round table 2: Beat the heat: passive cooling solutions for climate resilient buildings Local, regional, and international stakeholders will discuss how passive cooling design can be an effective and necessary measure to curb raising cooling needs of buildings in West Africa. While passive design principles are known as a general concept, they are not sufficiently understood or implemented. The benefits are all too often overlooked and not implemented in general building practice. To help address the challenge of establishing and scaling passive cooling design in the region, this session will summarize the significance, potentials and benefits of passive cooling, including decarbonization, resilience, health and poverty. The session will also provide examples of passive cooling approaches ranging from low cost and easy to implement passive techniques to highly efficient building concepts and standards. Moderator : UNEP Speakers :
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12:25-12:45 |
Q&A session and partial conclusions by the moderator |
12:45 |
End of the session |