This is an official side-event of the 12th World Urban Forum.

Description

Buildings operation and construction is a high emitting sector. In 2022, it accounted for around 37% of energy and process-related CO2 emissions and over 34 % of energy demand globally (UNEP 2023 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction), while half of the buildings standing in 2050 have not yet been built. Subnational actors are at the forefront of climate response efforts, as 55% of the global population lives in urbanised areas and this share is expected to rise to 68 % by 2050. Nearly 70 % of climate-significant public investment is undertaken by subnational governments, according to OECD (2022).

Local climate action involving local and regional governments in their territories is essential to drive sustainable development and a just transition. Effective and well-integrated national governance and coordination can enable more efficient implementation of climate action by supporting local and subnational stakeholders in the transition towards a decarbonized and resilient the buildings and construction sector. The Subnationals Action Group of the GlobalABC was initiated in June 2024 to accelerate local solutions for a just and inclusive transition towards a decarbonized and resilient buildings and construction sector by facilitating global multi-level stakeholder dialogues, enable sustainable economic development and mobilize finance.

The event, organized by the Subnationals Action Group of the GlobalABC will emphasize the need of empowering local governments and stakeholders through multilevel governance to engage a just transition towards a low-carbon and resilient built environment. The event will convene representatives of national and local governments, city networks and civil society along with private sector to support  exchange of experiences and best practices and formulate concrete recommendations for actions to support built environment decarbonization and resilience.

In addition, an upcoming partnership between the GlobalABC and the Subnational Climate Action Leaders Exchange (SCALE) in the context of the Zero Emissions and Resilient Buildings (ZERB) Accelerator will be announced. Through the accelerator, this partnership aims to support and expand the number of ambitious, multi-level climate commitments in the buildings and construction sector at subnational levels, by mobilizing financing, technical expertise and capacity building.

Agenda

Welcome & Opening Words

• Carmen Vogt, Head of Section Cities, GIZ

Introduction of the SCALE-GlobalABC Partnership

• Roxana Slavcheva, Global Lead for Built Environment, WRI
• Gulnara Roll, Head of Cities Unit, UNEP 

Insights from the implementation of Local Solutions and recommendations to accelerate Multilevel Action

• Subnational Stakeholders 

Closing remarks

• Gulnara Roll, Head of Cities Unit, UNEP