Annual General Meeting of UNEP SBCI - Washington DC

The Annual General Meeting of UNEP SBCI will be held on 15-17 April 2009 hosted by SBCI Member the US Green Building Council, Washington DC.

The Washington DC meetings are being organised to raise the profile of the building sector in relation to tackling climate change and the COP15 negotiations which conclude in Copenhagen in December 09.
The events in Washington DC provide a crucial opportunity for the Building Sector to speak with one voice on the need for special strategies to be included in the next global greenhouse emissions framework. Our ambition is for the SBCI meetings to be a very important international event and a milestone for the building sector on the road from Bali to Copenhagen.
The annual meeting is also the forum for members to elect the SBCI Board, decide on the annual work-plan and influence the direction of SBCI for the next 12 months.
Outline Agenda:

15 April 09: Buildings & Climate Change—Call for Action
• To present an international consensus on the need for the property and construction sector to be supported to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by sector-specific measures under the post-Kyoto UNFCCC.
• To raise international awareness of the issues
• To present a united voice from the building sector
The Climate Change Think Tank has drafted a ‘call to action’ on Buildings & Climate Change which is proposed to be ratified at the meetings. This ’call’ sets out the case for the building sector to be prioritised in the COP 15 agenda and given support to develop the strategies, methodologies and mechanisms that will enable the sector to deliver deep cuts in emissions. The ‘call to action’ is supported by a briefing document being prepared by the climate change think tank – which concisely sets out concrete measures that can be taken to encourage invest- ments that will support emission reductions from the building sector. The ‘call to action’ is focused specifically on influencing COP 15 and would be an activity with which we could involve and achieve a 'common-voice' from influential stakeholders.

16 April 09: Buildings & Climate Change—Taking Action
Policy work and building case-studies to be presented in the context of a forum for policy makers, negotiators and industry on the strategies that have been proven to work to reduce GHG emissions from buildings. This would draw on the Policy and Benchmarking work so far and support the climate change think tank and the theme of the meetings in general which are to influence the country delegations to COP 15.

17 April 09: SBCI Annual General Meeting .

Further Information:

www.unepsbci.org