G20 GBC’s urge Climate Ministers to harness built environment’s potential
- Theme
- Advocacy
As G20 Climate and Environment Ministers convened today in Chennai, India, Green Building Councils (GBCs) representing over 10,000 organisations have come together to call on G20 countries to recognise the huge potential of the built environment to deliver a decarbonised, circular and resilient society.
In collaboration with the World Green Building Council, G20 GBCs have published an open letter drawing attention to the role of buildings as a key solutions provider that can deliver on many cross-cutting priorities such as carbon, biodiversity, resilience, and energy security. CAGBC President and CEO Thomas Mueller and 16 other members of the World GBC coalition signed this letter, urging climate ministers to reflect on the vast potential of the built environment to deliver on the G20 agenda.
The built environment represents the largest contributing sector to carbon emissions, but despite having the ability to mobilise and scale available solutions now, the buildings and construction sector is not on track currently to halve its emissions by 2030. It is beyond time to turn commitments into action. What is needed is the political will to implement impactful policies that can help scale solutions and for governments to work in parallel with the local networks who can support implementation.
In recognition of the opportunity of transformative policies, earlier this year we launched the ‘Global Policy Principles for a Sustainable Built Environment’. The principles cover seven key topics — carbon, resilience, circularity, water, biodiversity, health, equity and access. By working with GBCs to implement these principles, policymakers at all levels of government can be assured of delivering this transformative action.
The message of our coalition is clear — Climate Ministers must utilise this exchange to reflect on the vast potential of the built environment to deliver on the G20 agenda, champion buildings as enablers to deliver key global goals and recognise local GBCs as implementation partners.
Cristina Gamboa, CEO, WorldGBC, said:
“This G20 Climate Ministers meeting represents a crucial opportunity for Ministers from the world’s leading economies to highlight the role of the built environment in delivering on climate goals and decarbonising their economies.
“Our G20 Green Building Councils (and all Green Building Councils), are ready to collaborate with their local government to support them to implement the transformative policies needed to deliver on our shared goals and realise the benefits of Sustainable Built Environments for Everyone Everywhere.”
Read the open letter here.