Over 350 industry leaders have signed an open letter to negotiators and political leaders calling for urgent regulatory changes to tackle the climate crisis at COP28
The Open Letter highlights the drastic need and potential of tackling the climate crisis, with a potential $1.5tn in sustainable investment opportunities in emerging markets within the built environment.
It also supports the Buildings Breakthrough (a high-level political announcement endorsed by 25+ countries in the context of the Breakthrough Agenda global process), calling for ‘near-zero emission and resilient buildings as the new normal by 2030’.
The building and construction sector accounts for nearly 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions, with cities consuming 70% of global resources.
According to the Open Letter, with decisive action the built environment could reduce 37% of total carbon emissions, as well as lifting 2.8bn people out of energy poverty.
Signatories to the climate crisis Open Letter include Saint Gobain, Skanska and ARUP
The letter was fronted by signatories of WorldGBC’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (a leadership initiative in the sustainable built environment arena), WorldGBC corporate partners (including ARUP, Buro Happold, CEMEX, Saint Gobain, Signify, Siemens, Skanska, Stora Enso, Schneider Electric, Knauf Insulation, WSP) and Green Building Councils (representing 46,000 private and public sector members around the world).
The WorldGBC network and partners have called for:
- Strong political leadership to scale the sustainable transformation of the built environment.
- Climate mitigation: Parties commit to the integration of building codes, sub-national policy and commitment within their Nationally Determined Contributions, and pledge to double their energy efficiency improvements and triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
- Climate adaptation: Parties agree on a global goal for adaptation and recognise the role of buildings in anticipating, adapting, and responding to climate impacts and commit to making greater efforts to integrate resilience and adaptation into existing policies and programmes, including within the building sector.
- Climate finance: Parties agree to increased funding for energy efficiency improvements and Loss and Damage, and support a global reform of financial institutions for more just, equitable and effective debt lending and borrowing.
- The global stocktake: Parties to commit to the Buildings Breakthrough as a platform for collaboration between national governments and stakeholders to accelerate action and optimise the role of buildings in closing the gaps identified in the Global Stocktake.
“The industry is ready for change”
CEO Cristina Gamboa, CEO, WorldGBC, warned that: “In the built environment, we are falling short of the goals that will preserve us. And we don’t need to. Solutions already exist to secure a better future. We can still get back on track. To do that, we need an enabling policy environment, industry ambition, and finance to leverage the huge potential of the built environment.
“The numbers of industry leaders backing our Open Letter make a powerful statement to send to policymakers. The industry is ready for change. The world is calling for change. This COP28 can be the moment where leaders uphold their commitments and set out an energy-efficient, regenerative, and just transition for the building sector. Are you ready?”
