Kisa Zehra, Sustainability Analyst writes for the World Built Environment Forum has written on the theme ‘Building on net zero: From pledges to priorities in 2022’ for the World Built Environment Forum.
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…450 financial institutions across 45 countries….committed $130 trillion towards the net zero transition…
World Built Environment Forum writes:
One might argue that some important advancements were made in COP26 conference towards the goals of the Paris Agreement. Over 130 countries promised to stop and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, with $14 billion worth of public and private funds allocated to support this goal. In addition, around 100 nations pledged to cut methane emission significantly over the course of this decade. On the critical issue of climate finance, most than 450 financial institutions across 45 countries, as part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, committed $130 trillion towards the net zero transition. It was also announced that by 2023, most UK-listed firms will have to publish net zero transition plans and disclose exactly how they intend to decarbonise.
High ambition needs cogent and measurable action
However, this isn’t the first-time ambitious commitments have been made while progress has fallen short…
Promising signals
As far as the built environment is concerned, with the sector responsible for almost 40% of global carbon emissions, a significant transformation across the industry is essential to meet net zero targets…
Welcoming in the era of retrofit
Adding to the heap of challenges is to upscale retrofitting of existing homes which are responsible for a large chunk of carbon emissions, particularly in the case of the UK and Europe…. But for any of these policies to be successful, greater investment in skills and training to upskills professionals in retrofit and energy renovation is necessary.
COP26 once again placed a spotlight on the substantial subsidies still paid in support of carbon intensive industries. One of the most important tasks for the governments across the world is to shift subsidies away from these sectors….
