Investing in a greener urban future: Towards sustainable housing and low- emission infrastructure

At the EU Green Cities Summit Conference in Brussels, UN Environment in collaboration with UN Habitat and Friends of Europe is organizing a session on 'Investing in a greener urban future: Towards sustainable housing and low- emission infrastructure'.

Buildings in cities account for nearly 50% of the EU’s energy consumption and over a third of its CO₂ emissions. Energy and emission savings in this sector are therefore vital to meet the EU’s climate and energy targets. Yet, the pace of renovation is extremely slow and the EU’s building stock remains relatively old. The Sustainable Development Goals, with SDG11 focusing on Sustainable Cities, and the New Urban Agenda, as well as the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive have highlighted the importance of investing in sustainable housing and resilient infrastructure, to meet the requirements regarding energy efficiency, nature-based solutions as well as to mitigate climate change, boost the economy and create job opportunities. These benefits represent great prospects not only for the future of cities and their infrastructure, whether in buildings or transportation, but also for the prosperity of their citizens.

Speakers

Raf Tuts, Director for Programme Division, UN HABITAT

Judit Kimpian, Chair, Sustainability Group, Architects Council of Europe

Piero Pelizzaro, Chief Resilience Officer, City of Milan

James Drinkwater, Director of Europe Regional Network, World Green Building Council (TBC)

Moderator

Dharmendra Kanani, Director of Strategy, Friends of Europe

For more information on the EU Green Cities Summit Conference taking place in Brussels from 22.-24. May, click here. To register for the event, click here.