The built environment is responsible for almost 40% of energy related CO2 emissions, fuelling the rising temperatures that are rendering much of where we live, work, sleep, play, heal and relax uninhabitable. As we write this, one in seven people live in homes that are not climate  resilient or safe.
 

COP27 saw Parties come together in support of the Sharm-El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda, one of its goals being to ensure 1 billion people have better design, construction, and access to finance to live in decent, safe homes by 2030. We believe that something integral is missing. If government policies do not enable the sustainable transformation of the built environment, this will be an unreachable target.
 

Therefore, we are urging Parties to bring built environment commitments to Dubai and to ensure each of these commitments are aligned with decarbonisation and place resilience to climate impacts front and centre.
 

As leaders and experts in the built environment sector, we at the BuildingToCOP Coalition know that the fate of our lives and livelihoods depend on your countries working to make progress towards this goal at COP28. We spend 90% of our lives indoors - buildings should be a safe and affordable space for everyone from the worsening impacts of climate change.
 

But you’re not alone in this work. We as global non-state actors stand ready and are willing to work with governments to take the necessary steps to limit emissions and at the same time ensure resilient homes. It is our collective responsibility but we need governments to put the right policies in place.