Reflections on COP27 - Adaption of the Built Environment

Over the coming week our sustainability experts will share their reflections on #COP27. Today Hayley Koerbin , Global Sustainability Director with NDY , shares her perspective on the key messages from the conference:

Adaptation and resilience are being placed at the centre of COP27. A new United Nations report has found the world has experienced its hottest eight years ever, even with the last two years tempered by La Ni?a. This indicates we’re deep in a climate crisis with the internationally agreed 1.5°C limit barely within reach. A flood (pun intended) of climate-change-related natural disasters has made adaptation and resilience within buildings and infrastructure an immediate concern.

Half of the urban fabric that will accommodate two-thirds of the world's population by 2060 has yet to be built. Design and investment decisions made today will impact our future built environment significantly, and it’s imperative to consider the extent, scope and severity of climate change impacts. Communities across the globe are experiencing devastating consequences because of ageing infrastructure and under investment.

As we, unfortunately, accept a climate-change affected world, we know the solution is to adapt. To quote Cristina Gamboa , CEO of the World Green Building Council , “We must incorporate adaptation and resilience strategies to combat the challenges, because they are inevitable… [and we must] put people at the heart of our efforts”.

Our clients are already facing the imperative to employ adaptation and resilience strategies, starting at an organisation level and into the design and maintenance of physical infrastructure, assets and communities. Without these strategies, our built environment will simply not stand the test of time, and humanity will suffer. We already spend an alarming amount of time indoors, and this is predicted to increase with a warming climate and extreme weather events. Our built environment must become a haven and shelter from these events and climate-change-related natural disasters.

Our team is responding by delving into climate risk scenario analysis and stress testing both new designs and existing assets to ensure projects employ adaptation measures and actions to mitigate risks, and, ultimately, provide stronger communities. We understand that we must look beyond individual assets or portfolios to see how assets contribute to, and impact, broader community resilience.?