• Overview
  • Agenda & Speakers

Date: Thursday, 21 May 2026

Time: 12:00 - 13:30 (UTC+4, Baku time)

Location: One UN Room C, UN Building - Baku, Azerbaijan

Virtual/livestream link: TBC

WUF13 Side Event  |  Organised by UNEP

About the Event

This side event will examine the key challenges and success factors for delivering affordable, low-carbon, and climate-resilient housing in developing countries and economies in transition. National and local leaders from Armenia, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, and Uzbekistan will share concrete outcomes from programmes built on multilevel governance approaches, demonstrating how national policy can be translated into local construction practice without sacrificing affordability or housing supply.

The event will highlight how UN-led initiatives, including UNEP's CHAMP programme, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC)'s Zero Emission and Resilient Buildings (ZERB) Accelerator, and the UNEP-led Cool Coalition's BeCool programme, are helping countries put low-carbon housing policies into practice at scale. Presenters will also spotlight how UN-Habitat, the World BankWorld Resources Institute (WRI)C40 Cities, and the Under2 Coalition are working in partnership to scale these solutions globally.

Connecting to Dialogue 4, The Climate-Housing Nexus, this event speaks directly to WUF13's theme of Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities, showing how good housing policy can simultaneously reduce emissions, strengthen climate resilience, and address housing shortages for vulnerable groups.

Key Objectives

  • Present a tool or instrument for policymakers' use
  • Share a policy solution informed by practical experience
  • Introduce a project or initiative and provide an update on an ongoing project
  • Showcase an existing partnership or collaboration

If you have any questions or would like more information about the event, please contact maliya.lazli@un.org

Speakers

  • Moderator: Ms. Gulnara Roll — Head, Sectoral Transition Section, Climate Change Division Mitigation Branch, UNEP
  • Ms. Lea Ranalder — Programme Officer, Climate, UN-Habitat, Kenya
  • Ms. Roxana Slavcheva — Built Environment Global Lead, World Resources Institute (WRI), United Kingdom
  • Mr. Javokhir Abdukhalikov — Deputy Head, National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, Uzbekistan
  • Senior Advisor, Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development, Colombia — TBC
  • Senior Advisor, Ministry of Cities of Brazil — TBC
  • Mr. Harpal Dave — Town Planner, Town Planning and Valuation Department, Government of Gujarat, India
  • UNECE representative — TBC

Agenda

  • 12:00 – 12:05  | Welcome & framing — Ms. Gulnara Roll, UNEP
  • 12:05 – 12:20  | Global context: multilevel governance for low-carbon housing — ZERB Accelerator and BeCool overview
  • 12:20 – 13:00  | Country presentations: Armenia, Brazil, Colombia, India, Kenya, Uzbekistan — concrete outcomes of low-carbon affordable housing programmes
  • 13:00 – 13:20  | Partner perspectives — UN-Habitat, UNECE, WRI on scaling good practices across countries and regions
  • 13:20 – 13:30  | Closing remarks — key takeaways and next steps under GlobalABC and Cool Coalition workplans