The UN's annual COP26 climate conference will address carbon emissions from buildings for the first time at a day dedicated to the built environment on Thursday 11 November, organisers have confirmed.
The Cities, Regions & Built Environment Day will take place during the second week of the conference, which is being held in Glasgow, Scotland from 31 October to 12 November.
Other days at the conference will discuss topics including nature, energy, finance and gender.
Details of the built environment day are scant. The COP26 timetable, which was unveiled earlier this month, says the day will involve "advancing action in the places we live, from communities, through to cities and regions".
But the dedication of a full conference day to the topic of emissions from buildings and cities comes amid growing concern that the sector, which is responsible for around 40 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, has been neglected in the push to tackle climate change. Built-environment emissions a "sleeping giant"
The day is being organised by a coalition of international organisations including the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
Roland Hunziker, director of sustainable buildings and cities at the WBSCD, described built-environment emissions as "the sleeping giant".
"Quite honestly, today, nobody really pays a lot of attention to the full impact of emissions from buildings," he told Dezeen. "And so that needs to c...