COP21: Built Environment Crucial to Attaining Emissions Targets
The built environment has a vital role to play in helping governments meet their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets. These targets are going to be central to discussions when 196 governments meet in Paris next week for a crucial climate change summit hosted by the United Nations.
The meeting, called the 21st Conference of the Parties or COP21, is of particular significance because world leaders and negotiators must agree on a new climate deal aimed at curbing the damaging effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the global climate.
RICS at COP
As a global professional body working in the public interest, we will be in Paris to join stakeholders from governments, industry and civil society to support efforts to reach an agreement. The commitments made at the summit could have far-reaching repercussions for the built environment, and the global economy more generally.
Buildings are some of the biggest emitters of CO2 accounting for one-third of global greenhouse gasses. Commercial and residential buildings also account for 40% of the world's energy consumption. We are working with our members in the land, real estate and construction sectors to find solutions across the property lifecycle to support more sustainable business practices.
"The property sector has a huge influence on the global financial system. We want to leverage this influence to support the efforts of governments as they negotiate a new climate deal in Paris. RICS is a natural partner for the United Nations. We have worked with the UN before on creating a framework for businesses to act more responsibly in relation to their real estate assets. And we want to build on that relationship by supporting governments as they make adaption and mitigation commitments to curb the effects of climate change."
The pressure to find an agreement
Governments negotiating at COP21 are under pressure to produce an international climate agreement that balances environmental ambitions with the global economic realities. RICS, along with our global network of professionals in more than 140 countries and with the international professional standards it's developing with other organisations, wants to give governments the 'Confidence to Commit'.
We want governments to be confident in the knowledge that the progress made towards their commitments to reduce CO2 emissions can be measured through the tools and expertise the organisation provides around the world.
"COP21 is all about commitments for governments as they finalise a climate deal. We want to support these efforts by making our own commitment to influence our members, their clients and the wider built environment sector. The commitments we make will have an impact well beyond COP21 and they must be central to our sector's response to the challenges posed by climate change."
Contributing to the shape of the global agenda
We will also use the Paris summit to contribute to shaping the global agenda by participating the UN Environmental Programme's (UNEP) first ever Buildings Day on 3 December 2015 in Paris. As part of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, our common goal is to address the impact of buildings on the climate, not just on the occasion of COP21 but far beyond.
