In November, the eyes of the world were turned to COP26 in Glasgow. We were asking for nothing less than for this UN Climate Change Conference to break ground for a zero-carbon buildings future. At COP26, buildings sector actors joined forces, through action around the first ever Buildings Pavilion, hosted by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, building up to Cities and Built Environment day on 11 November.
Read our analysis of COP26 here
As a partner for the Buildings Pavilion, PEEB co-organized several events:
Investors’ role in the race to zero: How to shift building investments towards Paris-alignment, Buildings Pavilion, 3 November 2021
The financial sector plays a crucial role in transforming the built environment towards net-zero carbon emissions. Speakers from French development bank AFD, Mexican housing bank Sociedad Hipotecaria Federal (SHF), venture capital provides Fifth Wall, Mexico’s Laudes Foundation showed best practices on how to shift investments, foster innovation and Research & Development to scale. They urged dedicated support for green buildings, ranging from mainstreaming green buildings into the work of development banks, improved regulation, green housing programmes to a tech fund for real-estate and the important role of philanthropy. The Programme for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as organisers of the event will bring recommendations into the work of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC).Watch event
Shifting 5.8 trillion USD of real-estate investments towards Paris-alignment – the role of development banks, IDFC Pavilion, 4 November 2021
Of 5.8 trillion USD spent on buildings in 2019, only 3% went towards energy efficiency. The Inernational Development Finance Club (IDFC) gathering 26 national and international development banks is raising the topic of green buildings on its climate agenda. Earlier this year, PEEB and IDFC started a Green Buildings cooperation in the context of IDFC’s Climate Working Group to share knowledge and awareness among IDFC members on how to increase their investments in zero-carbon and climate resilient buildings. PEEB and its cooperation partners hosted their first Green Buildings event on the IDFC Pavilion at COP26. Representatives from Bancoldex from Colombia, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), KfW from Germany, Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and a guest speaker from the French Caisse des dépots et consignations came together to present first initiatives and discuss how to scale up their green building portfolios.Watch event
Tools and NDCs towards zero-carbon and resilience Buildings Pavilion, 8 November 2021
FIABCI, GlobalABC, GBPN, PEEB and iiSBE Italia R&D hosted a hybrid presentation of effective tools and instruments towards carbon-neutral cities and buildings. Anna Schindler of the Office for Urban Development in Zurich introduced the carbon-neutral label by the Swiss Office of Energy for achieving the 2000WattSmartCity label. Peter Graham of the Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN) launched the NDC Buildings Toolkit with tools, good practices and policy recommendations for setting up effective building NDC targets and actions. GlobalABC members and building sector experts are invited to contribute to the NDC Buildings Toolkit at GlobalABC’s collaborative space . Vu Thi Kim Thoa from PEEB introduced the Vietnam NDC Buildings and Construction Sector Roadmap 2050 which has been supported by PEEB. Finally, Andrea Moro, followed by Teresa Coady, introduced the iiBSE open-source building rating system for resilience, and its 12 Principles of Conscious Construction for the achievement of the GlobalABC mission and vision.Watch event
Buildings and Adaptation: a call for action, GlobalABC Pavilion, 8 November 2021
This event led by the GlobalABC adaptation working group presented key facts from the report “Buildings and Climate Change Adaptation : A call for action” (launched early 2021 at the Climate Adaptation Summit) and launched the “Adaptation of the building sector to climate change : 10 principles for effective action”. PEEB took part in the event to present its new paper “The adaptation imperative for buildings: How can development banks scale up low–carbon and resilient buildings?” and highlight why adaptation and mitigation should be addressed in tandem and the role of development banks to make the building sector more resilient. High-level speakers from FIABCI, FIDIC, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and the Swedish firm SWECO also joined the panel to showcase their support to the 10 principles.Watch event
Building sector decarbonisation five years after COP21: What keys for success? What’s next?, French Pavilion, 11 November 2021
Buildings are responsible for 38% of energy-related CO2 emissions, more than other types of industry and transport. Five years after the Paris Agreement, GlobalABC and PEEB invited building sector leaders, innovators, institutions and international organisations to the French Pavilion at COP26. Together, they took a broad look at the progress made over the last years and discussed what lies ahead for buildings in the race against climate change. Pierre-André de Chalendar, President of Saint-Gobain, and Marjolaine Meynier-Millefert, Member of French Parliament and President of HQE-GBC Alliance, insisted on the importance of pursuing efforts to decarbonise buildings. Speakers from across the construction and real estate value chain joined in to express their commitments. While the sector must pursue its efforts to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions, panellists raised awareness on the growing need to tackle the heavyweight of building materials. Participants also urged to join forces around a common set of principles to make our buildings more climate resilient.Watch event