Build Change to Advocate for Climate-Resilient Housing Solutions at COP28

DUBAI, UAE, Nov. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Build Change, a leading nonprofit social innovator dedicated to strengthening disaster-resilient homes and buildings, is excited to announce its participation in the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) taking place in Dubai from November 30 to December 11, 2023. Build Change will play a significant role in advocating for climate-resilient housing and sustainable urban development as part of the global climate agenda.

At COP28, Build Change will join hands with international leaders, experts, and policymakers to emphasize the critical role of housing in climate action. Climate-resilient housing should not merely be part of the climate discourse; it should be at the forefront of it.

Build Change has driven climate action around resilient housing for several years, launching the Climate Resilient Housing Initiative in 2021 under the banner of the Race to Resilience. Recent COP achievements include featuring resilient housing in the Sharm El-Sheikh Adaptation Agenda and the Buildings Breakthrough Agenda, as well as dedicated sessions on housing featuring city- and national-level leaders throughout venues such as the Resilience Hub and Buildings Pavilion. 

This year, Build Change's participation, represented in person by Juan Caballero, Chief of Programs, and Ariana Karamallis, Global Advocacy and Development Associate, will be marked by a series of engaging sessions and discussions that aim to address the following key areas: 

1. Innovative Solutions: Build Change will present innovative solutions for creating climate-resilient housing, exploring the interplay between climate, housing, and urbanization. The organization will explore the significant benefits of upgrading existing housing as a transformative solution to reduce embodied carbon in the built environment and release its newest publication, Saving Embodied Carbon Through Strengthening Existing Housing. 
2. Policy Advocacy: Build Change will engage with policymakers, highlighting the urgency of making housing climate resilient and the business case for doing so. The organization will advocate for sufficient investment in disaster- and climate-resilient housing.
3. Community-Centric Approach: The organization will emphasize the social, environmental, and economic benefits of homeowner-driven retrofitting, making it the go-to, first strategy for addressing the global housing deficit. Build Change sees retrofitting not just as an investment in a building but as an investment in communities and the people living in them. 

Build Change's presence at COP28 is an opportunity to influence global discussions on climate-resilient housing and promote the organization's vision of a future where all communities have access to safe, resilient, and sustainable housing.

"Build Change is thrilled to return to the COP this year, and to bring to the forefront of discussions how upgrading existing housing can address some of the greatest challenges around climate action - enabling a just transition, reducing embodied carbon, and addressing loss and damage for the world's most climate-vulnerable populations. Through taking a solutions-oriented approach, we can address these challenges now in the housing sector," said Dr. Elizabeth Hausler, Founder & CEO at Build Change.

Build Change invites all interested parties to follow their engagement at COP28, as they share insights, updates, and progress toward making climate-resilient housing a reality. 

For more information on Build Change's participation in COP28 and its ongoing initiatives, please contact Christopher Harris, Director of Marketing and Communications.

About Build Change
Build Change is transforming the systems for regulating, financing, building, and improving houses around the world. Our engineers, builders, coders, and policy advocates are the most disaster-prone countries. Since 2004, we have safeguarded more than $4B in housing infrastructure assets across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia Pacific, improving the lives of over 1 million people and building new or retrofitting more than 200,000 buildings.

SOURCE Build Change