NEWS &
EVENTS

In 2019, action on buildings moved to the centre stage. Led by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), buildings featured prominently at the climate change conference COP25 in Madrid. Topics ranged from zero carbon buildings to circular economy approaches in the buildings sector.

Two high-level events under the Marrakesh Partnership for Global Climate Action (MPGCA), and a large number of side events, highlighted the need for action in the buildings sector. A full list of activities can be found here.

MPGCA Human Settlements Action Event: recorded session here
Under the topic ‘Climate emergency - time to act for zero carbon cities and buildings’ the Human Settlements Action event organized under the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action (MPGCA) presented solutions from national and local governments, as well as finance institutions, civil society, and private sector to make our cities and our buildings future proof.

MPGCA Nexus Roundtable on Circular Economy: recorded session here
This roundtable looked at how circular economy principles can be applied to cities and in the built environment to drive climate action. The role of cities as circular economy agents was discussed.
Moving towards zero carbon buildings – Solutions, tools and progress from around the world

Side event “Moving towards zero carbon buildings – Solutions, tools and progress”, UNFCCC side event, 3 December
GlobalABC members and PEEB country representatives presented innovative policies and tools to reduce GHG emissions from the built environment. Representatives from the PEEB partner countries Mexico and Tunisia present their practical experiences on NDC implementation.

Side event “Embedding buildings and Construction into NDCs”, NDC Hub, 5 December
Practical solutions for building sector NDCs are urgently needed. Organised as a peer-to-peer exchange, the event emphasized the need for leadership, and encouraged countries to step up action. Nouzha Bouchareb, Minister of National Territory Development, Urban Planning, Housing and City Policy, Morocco, urged participants to maintain the momentum created since COP21, especially with the private sector. Ms. Rana Adib, Executive Secretary, REN21, highlighted the need to reach stakeholders and generate reliable and relatable data to improve the situation. The event was co-organised by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) and the Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB), and brought together speakers from PEEB partner countries Mexico and Vietnam present their NDC experience on embedding buildings and construction into NDCs.

Prioritizing mitigation actions in the transport and buildings sectors – the role of robust emission quantification methodologies, UNFCCC Pavilion, 9 December
Monitoring emissions from the building sector is essential to develop robust NDCs. PEEB supported the UNFCCC secretariat with the development of a chapter on the quantification of building sector GHG emissions at national level for a compendium of monitoring methodologies.
Representatives of UNFCCC and PEEB presented UNFCCC's compendiums for buildings and transport sectors. These include methodologies for national GHG emission calculation. This helps to prioritize mitigation actions by looking at all building stages.

As we head into 2020, buildings are high on the agenda. The report by the UK government on energy transitions features buildings as a key sector. The lead-up to the climate change conference in Glasgow in 2020 will be about raising the ambition of all actors to make our buildings future-proof.