UNEP Governing Council Side Event:
“Energy and cities: sustainable building and construction
6 February, 2001 - Nairobi, Kenya
1. Background
In 1999 all activities of the construction industries
contributed over 35% of the total global CO2 emissions -more than any
other industrial activity. Mitigating and reducing these impacts poses
significant challenges for urban planners, designers, architects and
construction industry. This requires the availability and the implementation of
tools such as urban environmental management (UEM), eco-design, energy
efficiency and waste minimisation techniques.
In particular, GHG emissions and energy demand are the
highest priority in the environmental agenda of today. The need for energy
efficient solutions for city planning is all the more urgent given the
uncontrollable urbanisation pace and the consequent raise in energy demand for
private, public consumption and for economic activities.
UNEP IETC called for this Side event to:
- discuss with all stakeholders involved in building and construction how
can construction industry contribute to sustainable development and in
particular to the reduction of global greenhouse emission gases;
- launch the Urban Environmental Management: Environmental Management
Training Resource Kit, the new modular tool to facilitate the
implementation of EMS at local level, jointly produced by UNEP, the International
Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and the
International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
2. Objectives of the Side Event
- raise awareness of the key environmental issues concerning urbanisation
and in particular the opportunities for energy efficient solutions to urban
planning and construction
- bring decision-makers together to encourage co-operation
- encourage "voluntary" approaches that support the design and
construction of environmentally sustainable and energy efficient buildings
3. Expected Outcome
- Guidance for UNEP's work in urban environmental management and sustainable
building with a particular emphasis on energy efficient solutions
- Identification of potential partnerships between UNEP and those involved
in the urbanisation process and in energy efficient technologies
- preliminary outline of current voluntary approaches that can assist
architects, planners and builders in the development energy efficiency and
sustainable housing, as well as energy efficient transportation and water
systems
- recommendation to launch "Eco-Building" competition to new
energy efficient building using "smart technology" energy management
building at UNEP HQ
4. Organisational Modalities
- an overview of the challenges facing sustainable and energy sound
urbanisation will be presented
- representatives from the architecture, planning and construction sectors
from both developing and industrialised countries will present their ideas
on how the three sector could better work together.
- Government representatives as well as other interested stakeholders will
be welcome as participants and encouraged to contribute to the discussions.
5. Agenda
| Tuesday,
6 February |
| Chair: |
Ms
Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director, Habitat |
| 13h00 - 13h10 |
Opening
by K. Töpfer, Executive /director, UNEP |
| 13h10 - 13h20 |
Introduction
of Issues and Challenges by Chairperson |
| 13h20-14h20 |
Architecture
and Eco-Design |
|
|
Arch.
Kamil Mumtaz, Architect, Pakistan |
|
|
Mr Nils Larsson, Greenbuildings, Canada |
|
Sustainable City Planning |
|
|
Ms Kaarin
Taipale, Chair, International Council of Local Environmental
Initiatives,Canada |
|
Sustainable
Construction |
|
|
Mr
Wim Bakens, International Confederation of Sustainable Building and
Construction, the Netherlands |
|
|
Ms Suzy Edwards, Centre for
Sustainable Construction, United Kingdom |
| 14h30-14h50 |
Discussion |
| 14h50- 15h00 |
Launch of the
UNEP-ICLEI-FIDIC Urban Environmental Management EMS Training Resource Kit
by Steve Halls, UNEP DTIE IETC, Japan |
| 15h00 |
Close of the meeting |
6. Documentation
| 
