UNECE participated in the 5th session of the World Urban Forum, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 22 to 26 March 2010, under the motto “The Right to the City - Bridging the Urban Divide.”
Ján Kubiš, UNECE Executive Secretary, was one of the speakers in a Dialogue on “Sustainable Urbanization: Cities in a Changing Climate”, where he emphasized the role of UNECE as an inter-governmental forum to induce policy change on energy efficiency regulations in the region.. He said: “In our region, buildings are responsible for over one third of the total final energy consumption. Much of this energy is used by the residential sector, where 80-90% of consumption can be attributed to the use stage of a building’s life cycle. Therefore, today’s investments in energy efficient technology could have a long-lasting impact in the sustainability of our built-in housing stock and it should be a top priority for authorities”. Other speakers stressed the need that environmental benefits should go hand in hand with improvements in the social integration of urban spaces and higher employment levels.
UNECE also organized a networking event titled “Climate Neutral Homes,” which featured a series of presentations addressing the synergies between an increased reliance on green technologies in cities and related social and economic benefits. The speakers highlighted some of the areas for policy development currently identified or under consideration by Governments and local authorities that have proven beneficial to reducing emissions and carbon dependency and to increasing the overall sustainability of cities.
Participants discussed policies options, ranging from technical solutions such as low-energy housing, to passive housing, new standards for energy-efficient buildings, increased use of renewable energy, energy audits and retrofitting programmes for municipal and private buildings. It was acknowledged that there is a need for greater awareness of the building sector’s potential as an accessible and efficient avenue for reducing GHG emissions. The problem is similar in both developed States and countries with economies in transition, and the solution is at hand: technologies that can reduce buildings’ energy consumption between 30 and 50 per cent without greatly increasing investment costs.
This event also gave the opportunity to present and discuss the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency prepared by UNECE’s Committee on Housing and Land Management. This plan provides guidance on twelve policy goals to fasten the transition towards climate neutrality in cities. It also describes existing barriers to the universal adoption of green technologies as they relevant for government authorities, real estate developers and consumers. The plan focuses on both institutional and technical challenges and it describes the need for urgent change in such areas as subsidies and taxation, monitoring and certification for buildings, research and development on green technologies and increased awareness among the general public, among other areas where reforms, if implemented will contribute significantly towards achieving a net-zero carbon housing sector by year 2020.
For further information please contact:

Ariel Ivanier
Associate Economic Affairs Officer
UNECE Environment, Housing and Land Management Division
Phone: +41 (0) 22 917 1357
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/hlm/welcome.html

Ref: ECE/ENV/10/P11