ING Media at COP 28
Even amongst turbulent world affairs and despite a perceived ‘ESG backlash’ in recent months, COP28 has been front page news over the past few weeks. This year that was in no small part due to the choice of host for the event, but beyond the furore around fossil fuels, COP28 had some significant outcomes for the built environment.
This was my first visit to a COP event and the sheer scale of it was incredible, with an estimated 60,000 people travelling to Dubai. Taking place in the EXPO 2020 venue site, COP28 is truly global and it certainly felt like Dubai has power as a convener of nations. However, while the makeup of attendees at COP was incredibly diverse, there is still a clear gender imbalance when it comes to world leaders. With women statistically more likely to suffer from the negative impact of climate change, several commentators have suggested better female representation is needed at the highest political levels.
This year buildings were higher up the agenda than ever, not only with a dedicated day but a recognition that the built environment is integral to conversations about energy, nature and the ‘just transition’ to net zero. But it was also a sharp reminder that the built environment is just one part of the sustainability puzzle. While energy captures the headlines, buildings are a huge part of the problem. The industry still needs to work harder and have a clear unified message that cuts through at the political level and influences policy makers.
Given the number of organisations involved in COP it can be overwhelming but WGBC and its 75+ national chapters like UKGBC are the built environment industry’s place at the table. They are working year-round to champion our industry and campaign for regulatory advancement that will ensure a better built future. Through initiatives like the Race to Zero they are driving change and raising awareness. The UKGBC launched an update to their Whole Life Carbon Roadmap during COP28, which highlighted that the industry is not moving fast enough to meet the net zero 2050 target – clearly, there is much work yet to be done. I would urge the industry to channel efforts through the Green Building Councils to ensure we have a strong joined-up message on the global political stage.
The big one this year was the Buildings Breakthrough, which was led by the governments of France and the Kingdom of Morocco, together with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). A total of 28 countries signed up, which equates to a third of the global population and half of global emissions – not insignificant. The ambition is that “near-zero emission and resilient buildings are the new normal by 2030.” The new initiative aims to “strengthen international collaboration to decarbonize the building sector and make clean technologies and sustainable solutions the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in all regions”. So, the pressure is on for governments to deliver on bold words – and they are undoubtedly going to need industry to step up.
The Cement & Concrete Breakthrough, initiated by Canada and the UAE, makes an important step towards recognising the importance of embodied carbon and building materials supply chains. As our ability to design more and more energy efficient buildings improves, the focus needs to shift to embodied carbon and it’s here that a lot of future work needs to be done. The commitment seeks to “engage a variety of partners at the global level, providing an opportunity for Canada to drive the adoption of low-carbon cement products and solutions” globally. A separate commitment, The Mission Efficiency Call to Action, urged leaders to commit to a global target of at least doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvement.
Another final lesson from COP28 was around language - the language of sustainability can be so easily co-opted and repurposed. The same tired tropes and jargon get reused and appropriated, so it’s important to focus on the human impact and what tangible difference a more sustainable built environment is going to mean for people’s lives.
Tom Elliott
Director