High-Level Dialogue on "Building Materials and the Climate - Constructing the Future''

Date: 19 September

Time: 6:00pm to 8:30pm EDT

Location: Yale Club, 50 Vanderbilt Ave, NY

Register for live participation.

The Built Environment Sector is accountable for over 37 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, with the embodied energy of building materials projected to skyrocket to 50 percent of that share by midcentury under a “business-as-usual” scenario. 

Recognizing the urgent need for action, the Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture (Yale CEA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) under the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) have conducted extensive research on the climate impacts of various building materials and have produced a comprehensive Global Report titled "Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future." 

The first of-its-kind-report was developed by leading experts from six continents and designed to unite stakeholders from across the industry. Its aim is to  accelerate the ethical decarbonization of materials by 2050. The report offers policymakers, as well as manufacturers, architects, developers, engineers, builders, and recyclers, a three-pronged solution to reduce “embodied carbon” emissions and the negative impacts on natural ecosystems. The focus is on key materials such as cement, steel, aluminum, timber, and biomass, identifying three pathways: Avoid, Shift and Improve, to decarbonize the buildings and construction sector and minimize waste.

To highlight and discuss the key findings of this report, a high-level event was scheduled during the Climate Week in New York City, on September 19th. We brought some of the most influential stakeholders in the sector to discuss the key findings of UNEP, GlobalABC and Yale CEA. A panel of decision-makers, researchers, financiers, architects, and industry engaged in a discussion and debate the serious challenges and opportunities to radically transform buildings and cities from being the principal culprits of climate change and biodiversity loss today, towards becoming leaders in constructing a sustainable future.