According to the United Nations Environment Programme, as of 2015, “75 percent of global urban infrastructure that will exist in 2050 has yet to be built.” This presents either a massive opportunity to reduce emissions and sequester carbon, cool cities, and preserve and enhance biodiversity and natural systems—or a risk of exacerbating these problems.
By Eustacia Brossart
As our planet warms and climate hazards intensify, our aging infrastructure faces unprecedented challenges. The choices we make today will shape the world we leave for future generations; it’s time to rethink how we design and construct our communities.
By Lauren Alger
As the 2024 UNEP Gap Report illustrates, the world is moving farther off track from the targets of the Paris Agreement. All sectors, including buildings and construction, need to rapidly transform our approach to climate action, but how?
By Lori Ferriss
We have to start telling stories and ‘flood-the-zone’ with them. Stories of how our transition away from hydrocarbons will make everyone’s life better in both the short and long term.
By Kelly Alvarez Doran
Consumption matters. Sufficiency – avoiding the demand for energy, materials, land, water, and other natural resources while delivering well-being for all within planetary boundaries – is a critical missing tool in our decarbonization toolkit. We cannot achieve our carbon reduction goals without building less.
By Lisa Richmond
The pathway toward carbon neutrality can and must find inspiration from our Past—the pre-carbon era—by lowering our reliance on carbon-intensive building materials and processes. Traditional building practices exemplify principles of environmental and social sustainability, offering valuable lessons that are both timely and relevant.
By Rosie Paul
Finance can be a key enabler for many transformations in the world. The built environment offers opportunities for major transformations and is certainly ripe for investment.
By Prem Sundharam
The drive towards a zero-carbon and resilient built environment has gained irreversible momentum since the 2015 COP21 Paris Agreement, driven by the recognition of the climate crisis as a threat to economic stability and human well-being.
By Edward Mazria
