Global policy initiatives: unpacking opportunities for growth in green buildings

Global collaboration to increase low carbon and resilient buildings is gaining momentum. Just in the past few years, under the auspices of the UNFCCC COP, national governments have joined the Buildings Breakthrough; the Déclaration de Chaillot was endorsed by over 60 countries; and the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate established. At the local level, efforts such as C40's clean construction program are enabling global city peer groups to develop new policy approaches to meet climate imperatives. And, alongside these developments, organizations such as the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction are bringing together government and the private sector to advance better buildings through action hubs and shared technical expertise.

These initiatives collectively are showing promise, but remain mysterious and all too full of acronyms for many who are working on buildings decarbonization and resilience. These global collaboration projects are poised to help align definitions, provide useful tools, and focus signals to enable scaling of green, resilient building solutions and to push finance towards these needed outcomes.

The session will feature experts who are engaged in these key global initiatives explaining how each aims to enable and drive progress on buildings and their interplay. Participants will come away with a perspective of how global initiatives could ultimately help their work by connecting the dots among the pledges, calls to action, and collaborative work on solutions.