Construction industry takes joint initiatives at COP21 to reduce CO2
The first ever ‘Buildings day’ was held within the framework of the COP21 (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) negotiations in Paris on 3 December. A series of events focusing on the role of the building and construction sector for climate action took place on the day. Stakeholders discussed how actions in this sector are inevitable, given that the building sector represents one third of final energy use worldwide and over 20% of global man-made Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.
The ‘Buildings day’ provided the opportunity for the launch of an unprecedented alliance of organizations collectively committed to putting the buildings and construction sector on the “below 2°C path”, the so-called ‘Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction’.
Another initiative launched at the COP21 ‘Buildings day’ is the joint Action Plan by eleven leading construction companies from the building sector, which aims at reducing by 50% the projected energy use in buildings by 2030. The Action Plan builds on the Energy Efficiency in Buildings project (EEB2.0) set up by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, and includes the agreement to continue driving the EEB2.0 demonstration project led by the private sector. The objective of this demonstration project is to show that locally led efforts can catalyze market-wide energy efficiency investment in new build and in the renovation of existing building stocks.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development also released on the same day a corporate guide for investing in an organization’s building portfolio, entitled “Energy Efficiency Toolkit for Buildings”.
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