Pathways to Net-Zero System Innovations for Emerging Urban Centers & Zero Carbon Readiness in Middle East & Africa

Amira Ayoub

Moderator

November 7, 2024 | 13:00 - 14:30

Multipurpose room 14

World Green Building Council

United Kingdom

English

Reference:

NE 14-07

WUF12

Networking Events

Summary

The World Green Building Council is the largest and most influential local-regional-global action network. With 80+ Green Building Councils, we bring together over 44,000 organisations to deliver and drive systemic change to:
• Address whole-life carbon emissions of existing and new buildings.
• Enable resilient, healthy, equitable, and inclusive places.
• Secure regenerative, resource-efficient, and waste-free infrastructure.
We work with businesses, organisations, and governments to deliver on the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs).
In the lead-up to COP28 last year, our Middle East and North Africa region developed the “Zero Carbon Readiness and Climate Resilience Framework,” a strategic blueprint designed to guide the built environment's efforts to combat climate change and accelerate the transition to secure an energy efficient, regenerative, and just future for all.
The conversation continues to evolve and grow this year. As we strive for a sustainable future, bringing together the Green Building Councils of the Middle East and Africa and industry partners will facilitate a gap analysis between current policies and ambition, with the ultimate goal of creating national decarbonisation roadmaps and supporting governments in updating building sector actions in their NDCs.
The main goal of our event is to create an engaging session focused on building capacity to scale the work of our network in the Middle East and Africa.

Session’s Duration: 90 minutes
• Knowledge Sharing (10 minutes): Use insights from the MENA Zero Carbon Readiness and Climate Resilience Framework to educate participants further and share the project's progress.
• Panel Discussion (40 minutes): A discussion led by the World Green Building Council and industry partners to showcase best practices from national and local levels within the broader regional and global contexts.
• Interactive Networking Session (40 minutes): This session will allow participants to connect with partners, investors, global leaders, and emerging champions to build capacity and foster collaboration for the upcoming stages of developing the Framework.

Objectives

Cities in developing countries are increasingly contributing to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Without concrete actions, several cities risk facing carbon lock-in, while hindering their capacity to enhance the well-being of urban populations. The interconnection of economic activities across sectors makes the latter a complex task. For this reason, a system-based approach to policy decisions on urban planning and transport will be crucial for achieving development goals and avoiding carbon lock-in. This event, co-organized by OECD Development Centre, UN-Habitat, and the World Green Building Council, and featuring high-level speakers from the business sector & local governments, aims to address the systemic challenges of urban planning and the built environment in achieving net-zero carbon emissions and climate resilience.
Session will feature case studies from Mozambique and Kenya, presented by the OECD and UN-Habitat, showcasing systemic approaches to urban development. Additionally, it will highlight the 'Zero Carbon Readiness and Climate Resilience Framework' developed by the World Green Building Council for the MENA region, which aims to guide the built environment's efforts towards decarbonization and resilience. Also integrating insights from WorldGBC's Africa Manifesto for Sustainable Cities and the Built Environment, which sets out actions needed from industry and government, for a sustainable and and equitable built environment across Africa.