Monday the 12th of September marked the start of World Green Building week! The global event invites the global community to scale up solutions for low carbon and highly resilient sustainable built environments, driving climate action in the building and construction sector.
It is the world’s largest campaign to accelerate sustainable built environments across the globe. Organised by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), it is led by the global network of over 70 Green Building Councils and their 36,000 members.
As reported by the World Meteorological Organization – there is a 50:50 chance of global temperature temporarily reaching the 1.5°C threshold in the next five years. This has risen steadily since 2015. For the years between 2017 and 2021, there was a 10% chance of exceedance (World Meteorological Organization, 2022). The most vulnerable members of our society are disproportionately affected by extreme weather events caused by climate change. This is why we need to come together to make a collective impact in the building industry – it’s time we put people back at the heart of the built environment.
A few facts from the World Green Building Week’s Guide:
- The global built environment is responsible for almost 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions and 50% of extracted materials, accounting for 10% of employment and 50% of all wealth. Climate change risks US$16 trillion of value for residential real estate assets and US$5 trillion for global commercial assets.
If we don’t act, by 2050:
- 1.6 billion urban dwellers will be regularly exposed to extreme high temperatures — causing droughts and wildfires.
- More than 570 cities with over 800 million residents will be vulnerable to rising sea levels and coastal flooding.
The week highlights how #BuildingforEveryone can accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals and sustainable built environments for everyone, everywhere.
#BuildingforEveryone’s three themes highlight how the build environment can support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals:
- Building for the Planet
- The climate crisis is also a global health crisis.
- Building for communities
- 1.6 billion people will lack access to safe, adequate housing by 2025.
- Building for economies
- Sustainable built environments bolster our economies’ most important asset – nature.
