BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20. The high-level roundtable on energy efficiency in green construction and buildings and climate change resilience in cities was held at COP29 in Baku, Trend reports.
According to information, the event is organized by the COP29 Presidency, the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
At the event, the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Inger Anderson, stated that it is necessary to reduce emissions by 2030.
She noted that if it is understood that the climate trajectory is currently moving in the wrong direction, one could see a 1.3 percent increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2023.
“The construction sector is very important here because it accounts for 21 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirds of that number occurs in the residential sector, where we live and exist. That's why we have so much work to do. We need to think about stockpiling housing and infrastructure and retrofitting them to make them more climate-appropriate,” she added.
In addition, Anar Guliyev, Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture, said that we should recognize the transformative role that the construction sector can play not only in the formation of ecological construction but also in the management of sustainable urban development and economic growth.
He said that we should also embrace the transformative role that the construction sector can play not only in shaping green buildings but also in managing sustainable urban development and economic growth.
“As in many other countries around the world, in Azerbaijan, the construction industry has long been a powerful driver of economic development. It has created jobs, modeled innovation, and contributed significantly to improving the quality of life of our citizens. However, this growth comes with a serious responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of these activities.
The growing urgency of climate change today requires fundamental changes in how we build and manage our cities. We must adopt greener and more sustainable building practices and prioritize energy efficiency in buildings,” he added.
To note, the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), which will run until November 22, opened at the Baku Olympic Stadium on November 11. It is the largest event organized by Azerbaijan to date and the first time in the region that it is being held in Azerbaijan.
Within COP29, the highest-level event—the summit of world leaders on climate action—was held on November 12–13.
The main expectation from COP29 is to agree on a fair and ambitious New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG) on climate finance. The COP29 Presidency has launched 14 initiatives that include linkages between climate action and the Sustainable Development Goals, including green energy corridors, green energy storage, harmony for climate resilience, clean hydrogen, methane reduction in organic waste, action on green digital technologies, and other topics.
In addition to being a top priority that creates the conditions for action, creating climate finance will also help fulfill the 1.5°C pledge by bringing everyone together.
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is an agreement signed at the Rio Earth Summit in June 1992 to prevent dangerous human interference in the climate system. The acronym COP (Conference of Parties) stands for “Conference of Parties” and is the highest legislative body overseeing the implementation of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
A total of 198 countries are parties to the Convention. Unless otherwise decided by the parties, COP is held annually. The first COP event was held in March 1995 in Berlin, and its secretariat is located in Bonn.
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