Your Excellency Jader Barbalho Filho, Minister of Cities of Brazil,
Your Excellency, Ambassador Andrea Corra do Lago, COP 30 President,
Excellencies, colleagues and friends.
Welcome to this first ministerial meeting of the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate (ICBC), for which UNEP is pleased to host the Secretariat. My thanks to the Brazil Ministry of Cities for co-hosting the Ministerial with UNEP, and to the ICBC troika of France, Brazil and Kenya for their leadership.
We are meeting at COP 30 in Belm amid an urgent need for increased ambition and action on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Last week, UNEP released the Emissions Gap Report 2025, which tells us that the new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) have barely moved the needle. The world is heading for global warming of 2.3-2.5C, even if the NDCs are implemented.
The science is clear, but so too are the solutions that can deliver the unprecedented cuts to greenhouse gas emissions that the world desperately needs and limit devastating climate damages. The buildings sector which is responsible for 35 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions can provide a large chunk of these cuts, as recognized in the Global Stock Take.
This first ICBC Ministerial can and must serve as a turning point in the sector: delivering on the emissions reduction potential while providing resilient, sustainable and affordable housing.
Excellencies,
The ICBC Belm Call for Action on Sustainable and Affordable Housing rightly affirms a key principle: affordability and sustainability must advance together. Residential buildings account for most sectoral emissions, as they make up three-quarters of the global building stock. Yet housing inadequacy affect more than 2.8 billion people worldwide, of whom around 1.1 billion reside in slums and informal settlements. And buildings must be able to withstand increasingly difficult climactic conditions, such as heatwaves, floods and storms.
So, what kind of expansion do we need and want? We want liveable, within-reach, no sprawl and easy access. We want affordable housing with access to green space.
If we compare the greater metropolitan areas of Atlanta and Barcelona, for example, we see very different pictures. These cities have populations in the same range, but very different population densities. Atlanta is more spread out, which means a need for more infrastructure: transport, water lines, sewage lines, electrification and so on which creates more energy demand and a need for more materials. While there is the challenge of open spaces in Barcelona, the city is more walkable, has a tighter transport network and therefore consumes less resources. These are factors we must consider.
So, I welcome the move to urge nations, regions and cities to embed climate considerations in housing policy and to champion partnership with development finance institutions, multilateral development banks and technical agencies on an Affordable and Sustainable Housing Finance Alliance.
I also welcome the Call inviting ICBC members to align national housing strategies with the Dclaration de Chaillot, prioritise low-carbon, climate-resilient homes, and avoid siting new housing in climate-risk areas without robust protective measures.
The Dclaration is a landmark agreement to accelerate the transition of the building and construction sector toward decarbonisation and climate resilience. I am therefore pleased to see the ICBC seeking to endorse other important initiatives in support of the Declaration: the Global Framework for Action for sustainable public procurement in construction, the principles for responsible timber construction, and the World Championship for Energy Savings in Commercial Buildings and Social Infrastructures.
UNEP is committed to backing the ICBC, helping to deliver on the Dclaration by aligning codes and standards, mobilising finance and scaling inclusive solutions that reduce emissions, strengthen resilience and improve lives.
Today, on the Thematic Day on Local Governments, Cities and Infrastructure, this Ministerial will reinforce global momentum on sustainable buildings and reaffirm the commitment of member countries to tackling the interconnected challenges of climate change, housing and development.
The buildings sector can become a beacon for climate action, both in reducing emissions and providing resilient housing for billions of people. And the ICBC will be fundamental in getting us there.
