Thursday 26 November 2020

Mayors of four major cities pledge to halve construction emissions by 2030

Mayors of four major cities pledge to halve construction emissions by 2030

The mayors of Budapest, Los Angeles, Mexico City and Oslo have made a commitment to halve emissions from all construction activities in their cities by 2030.

They have pledged to revolutionise the global construction industry and move towards a more sustainable future through the targets set out in C40's Clean Construction Declaration.

That includes reducing emissions by at least 50% for all new buildings and retrofits and all infrastructure projects by 2030 as well as procuring and when possible using only zero emission construction machinery from 2025.

The construction industry is currently responsible for more than 23% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and 30% of global resource consumption.

According to C40 Cities - a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change - if the construction industry continues to take a 'business as usual' approach, the world is on track for a global temperature increase of 3°C.

The Declaration also commits cities to repurposing and retrofitting building stock to make better use of buildings and infrastructure that currently exist.

Retrofitting reduces the need for raw building materials that have a high carbon footprint, with concrete production alone responsible for 8% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, the mayors have committed to approve at least one net zero emission flagship construction project by 2025 and to produce annual reports on their progress.

Raymond Johansen, Governing Mayor of Oslo said: “The climate crisis is a global problem that requires global solutions. We need to unite businesses, industry and government on all levels to advance climate action. We must cut global emissions in half by 2030. The construction sector accounts for up to a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it must play a key part if we are to reach this goal.

“We are confident that the C40 Clean Construction Declaration will contribute in shifting the construction market globally. Together, we can remove fossil fuels and reduce emissions from construction sites altogether. This will make them safer, quieter, cleaner places to work and will ensure that the air in our cities is cleaner and healthier to breathe. We challenge the Minister of the Environment to take action and ask cities worldwide to join us.”

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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