UN Climate Change News, 4 September 2020 – The building sector is the sector with the most potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The uptake of sustainable buildings with climate-smart cooling solutions can therefore play a major role in helping countries transition to low-emissions societies, which is crucial to tackle climate change.

To drive this forward, a series of four regional technical expert meetings took place between 19 and 27 August 2020 showcasing climate-friendly technology solutions for cooling systems in buildings and demonstrating innovative and on-the-ground actions. The meetings were organized by the Technology Executive Committee (TEC), Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) and the Regional Collaboration Centers (RCCs, with the support of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction GlobalABC.

According to the GlobalABC, greenhouse gas emissions from the use of energy by buildings account for some 20% of global emissions. This illustrates the pressing need to establish projects and policies to strengthen energy efficiency in the sector as governments prepare to submit their national climate action plans under the Paris Climate Change Agreement by the end of the year. To date, 104 out of 194 countries that signed the Paris Agreement committed to improve energy efficiency in buildings as part of their mitigation targets.

 “As we move towards the review of our Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, climate smart cooling solutions can offer a huge opportunity in meeting our NDC goals and in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said  Peter Tarfa, Member of the Advisory Board of the Climate Technology Centre and Network and Director General of the Climate Change Department, Ministry of the Environment of Nigeria.

Source：UN

Author：UN

Date：September 4, 2020