London, UK – Following the sobering message from the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, a coalition led by C40, the Global Alliance for Building and Construction (GlobalABC), The Resilience Shift, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) announce #BuildingToCOP26 – a partnership to promote radical collaboration for climate action ahead of the Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day at COP26.

The #BuildingToCOP26 Coalition – a group of business and government networks focused on sustainability in the built environment – are coming together for the first time to spotlight the built environment's potential in accelerating climate action.   

Working with the UN High Level Climate Champions, the COP26 Presidency and the UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Coalition’s efforts will culminate on 11 November at the COP26 Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day, which will rally awareness, action and collaboration among all stakeholders in the built environment.  

To limit warming to no more than 1.5℃ as set out in the Paris Agreement, the Coalition calls for emissions from building projects globally to be halved by 2030, and to reach net zero life-cycle emissions for all buildings by no later than 2050.             

In order to meet these decarbonisation targets and establish the built environment as a major solution provider to the climate crisis, the Coalition is promoting radical collaboration across the built environment system and spotlighting frontrunner action, solutions and policy pathways across business, cities and governments. 

Cristina Gamboa, CEO, World Green Building Council said: “This COP26, we are uniting like never before. Following the sobering effect of the IPCC report in August, we are announcing the formation of the #BuildingToCOP26 Coalition. A massive challenge of making the built environment more sustainable is that is it large, complex and traditionally fragmented. This Coalition is demonstrating radical collaboration in action by working with the UN High Level Climate Champions and the UK government. It's critical for COP26 to accelerate action and this collaboration adds credibility to the sector support and ambition for this year's COP and Cities, Regions and Built Environment Day.”                                                                            

The Coalition aims to achieve three specific outcomes for COP26 and beyond. For more information, visit www.BuildingToCOP.org