Ahead of COP27, World Green Building Week 2022 calls on the global building and construction sectors to accelerate the use of low-carbon environmental solutions.
From 12-16 September 2022, Green Building Councils (GBCs) around the world will join together to participate in the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) annual World Green Building Week (WGBW) to promote the Sustainable Development Goals, which working towards a sustainable and low carbon built environment.
Now in its 14th year, and led by a network of over 70 national Green Building Councils and their 36,000 members, the week-long event is the world’s largest campaign to promote sustainable building. environments for all.
Throughout the week, the GBC network will host events around the world and share examples of #BuildingforEveryone — built environments that drive climate action and thriving communities and economies.
#BuildingforEveryone themes highlight how the built environment supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
This year’s campaign is linked to the 20th anniversary of the WorldGBC and the #BuildingToCOP27 initiative, which aims to raise the role that the built environment can play as a critical climate solution in the context of the ongoing UN climate negotiations in Egypt in November 2022.
This year’s themes highlight how the network promotes the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which include:
Build for the planet
The climate crisis is also a global health crisis. Unless we take urgent action to reduce climate collapse today, the health of millions of people will be negatively affected by rising temperatures, infectious diseases will spread faster, and food will be harder to grow. which we need to live healthy.
Building for communities
1.6 billion people will lack access to safe, adequate housing by 2025. To overcome the global cost of living crisis, we must act quickly to address inadequate, unaffordable housing and promote equitable, economic productivity and environmental sustainability.
Building for the economy
Sustainable built environments strengthen our economy’s most important asset – the environment. Facilitating a more circular and regenerative economy will create new jobs and save on energy bills. We must take urgent action now to promote economies that are more productive and sustainable for our communities and our planet.
WorldGBC will also host webinars dedicated to creating sustainable homes and equity in the low carbon built environment.
Half of the world’s population is already facing the effects of climate change
Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council:
“Four billion people are currently vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and the World Meteorological Organization reports that we have a 50% chance of exceeding 1.5°C of warming in the next five years. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution kills more than seven million people every year.And today, the energy and cost of the livelihood crisis disproportionately affects the most vulnerable people in our societies.
“The global built environment is responsible for nearly 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions and 50% of extracted materials. By 2050, 1.6 billion urban dwellers will be constantly exposed to extreme high temperatures, which cause droughts and fires, and more than 800 million people, living in more than 570 cities, may be affected by rising sea levels and coastal flooding.
A low carbon built environment plays a big part in decarbonizing our economies
“The built environment accounts for 10% of employment and 50% of all wealth. But climate change increases the risk of built assets becoming stranded. Climate change threatens US $16 trillion worth for residential real estate assets and US $5 trillion for global commercial assets,” Cristina continued.
“As we build on the successes of the Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day at the UN Climate Conference, COP26, in 2021 and continue to promote climate action leading up to COP27, leaders must seize the untapped opportunities to built environment to decarbonize our economies and provide social economic benefits for those who need them most.
“So this World Green Building Week our #BuildingforEveryone campaign puts people back at the heart of the built environment. Between 12-16 September, we’re inviting our global community to take urgent action to accelerate the UN Sustainable Development Goals and sustainable built environments for everyone, everywhere.
