Ahead of this weekend’s meeting of G7 Climate Ministers, Green Building Councils (GBCs) representing over 10,000 organisations in G7 countries implore Ministers to prioritise the potential of the built environment as a key agent of change in accelerating a decarbonised, sustainable and resilient society.
Climate Ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA are convening in Sapporo, Japan with the goal of ‘solving climate, energy and environment issues at the same time’.
In collaboration with the World Green Building Council, ‘G7 GBCs’ have published an open letter drawing attention to the role of buildings as a key solutions provider that can deliver on many cross-cutting priorities such as carbon, biodiversity, resilience and energy security.
With the built environment representing the largest contributing sector to carbon emissions, and amid the growing need for the global economy to reduce emissions drastically, it is vital that policymakers implement ambitious measures to decarbonise buildings. Recognising the need for clarity on these policies, WorldGBC and our network of GBCs this week launched our ‘Global Policy Principles for a Sustainable Built Environment’.
Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting the message of our coalition is clear — Climate Ministers must utilise this exchange to reflect on the vast potential of the built environment to deliver on the G7 agenda, and champion buildings as enablers to deliver key global goals.
Cristina Gamboa, CEO, WorldGBC, said:
“This G7 Climate Minister meeting represents a crucial opportunity for Ministers from some of the world’s leading economies to explore the role of buildings in delivering on climate goals and decarbonising their economies.
“Our G7 GBCs are ready to work with governments in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the USA to help them implement transformative policies that will ensure the uptake of sustainable built environments for everyone, everywhere.”
