The 2022 United Nations Conference of the Parties, better known as
COP27 , is the most important United Nations meeting to combat the
climate emergency. For two weeks in November this year, the conference brought together more than 90 heads of state and around 35,000 representatives, or delegates, from 190 countries in
Sharm El-Sheik ,
Egypt , in search of more energetic actions to
curb warming. of the Earth and implement effective changes towards
climate resilience. Reducing carbon emissions in construction
COP27 reaffirmed the importance of
reducing carbon emissions at all levels . As the carbon sector is responsible for more than
23% of global GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions and consumes more than
30% of global resources, this issue has important consequences for the construction industry.
With the global increase in civil construction, there has been a historic increase in carbon emissions by the sector and, as a result, these buildings are unlikely to fulfill their
decarbonization promises by 2050, according to the report released by
UNEP , the United Nations Environment Program. . The document was presented during the COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt. The survey shows that carbon emissions from the construction industry grew by
5% in 2021,
2% higher than the pre-pandemic peak in 2019.
A report by Arup and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development suggests that
50% of buildings’ lifetime emissions come from embodied carbon, the carbon generated in the manufacture and transportation of building materials and in the construction process itself.
Affordable Green Housing in the Global South
Helping countries in the Global South build
climate resilience is a key theme at COP27, which is the first Conference of the Parties to take place outside Europe since the 2016
COP22 in Marrakech.
Campaigns have been launched to address the
lack of access to safe and decent homes for the most vulnerable communities.
Roof Over Our Heads aims to improve the lives of
2 billion climate-vulnerable people living in informal settlements by 2050. The
WorldGBC Guide to Climate Resilience and Adaptation in the Built Environment was also launched ahead of COP27 to provide actionable principles for implementing climate resilience and actionable strategies across the built environment value chain. At the urban level, signatories to the
Cities Race to Resilience have more than doubled since 2021, an initiative that seeks to ensure that climate resilience goals are treated with the same
urgency as the global race to halve emissions by
2030. “We are now having sessions on rural communities and building resilience. These types of topics are different because the COP is in the Global South and because recently we have seen so much loss and damage to people’s homes and entire cities,” said
Sara El Battouty , Ambassador of the United Nations' campaigns to drive decarbonisation and climate resilience, in an interview with Dezeen.
