Description

The urgency of climate action in the buildings and sector

The buildings and construction sector accounts for a staggering 37 per cent of global energy and process related carbon dioxide emissions, making it the second largest emitting sector after electricity generation (GlobalABC, 2024). This sector is also responsible for significant global material consumption and waste generation, further exacerbating environmental pressures. 

Decarbonising buildings across the entire life cycle would require a transformation of the buildings and construction sector. Reaching net-zero operational and embodied carbon emission buildings is possible, but requires clear and ambitious policy signals to drive a range of measures including passive building design, material efficiency, low-carbon materials, efficient building envelope measures, and highly efficient lighting and appliances. To accelerate action, greater collaboration involving a range of stakeholders is needed, including policy makers, research institutions and the private sector.

This session will address the importance of bringing all stakeholders together to identify pathways and set targets to decarbonize the sector. According to the Climate Action Pathway for Human Settlements of the Marrakech Partnership by 2030 “ All countries, cities and regions should have a comprehensive net zero carbon roadmap for the built environment, with a clear policy trajectory in place aiming to halve built environment emissions” . This session will showcase available tools and methodologies ,such as the new step-by-step guide to develop Climate Action Roadmaps for Buildings and Construction. It will present examples of ambitious national strategies, such as Canada’s Green Buildings Strategy for a more efficient, resilient and low carbon built environment.  Beyond strategies for the overall buildings industry, the session will highlight the critical role of sector-specific decarbonization roadmaps such as for the cement sector which is responsible for around 7-8% of global GHG emissions. Leading experts from the public sector and industry will share cement decarbonization solutions and best practices for effective technology transfer to achieve net-zero emissions in cement production.