USGBC at COP 28: USGBC and GBCI engaging the global community in scaling proven holistic solutions

The 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) will take place in Dubai, UAE, from Nov. 30-Dec. 12, 2023.

COP 28 defines a critical milestone, with the world halfway between adopting the Paris Agreement and reaching the year 2030. COP 28 brings together leaders from 197 countries to tackle the global climate crisis. World leaders will convene against the backdrop of continued evidence of climate change and armed with the Global Stocktake, laying out in bare terms that much more ambition and action are needed.  Learn more about the issues in our briefing.

USGBC and GBCI: Scaling proven holistic solutions, from green buildings to sustainable communities

The Global Stocktake underscores the urgency of action to protect all life on the planet. Our overarching goal at COP 28 is to offer our resources and partnership to rapidly scale the array of available buildings and community strategies to achieve emissions reductions in the next seven years in line with the Paris Agreement.

As the leading source for green building information and education and global developer of the LEED green building program, USGBC’s presence at COP 28 will focus on scaling solutions through sharing resources and engaging in policy and partnership development. Focus areas are outlined in our COP 28 Objectives. Among the highlights:

Launching the USGBC report, State of Decarbonization: U.S. Commercial Buildings 2023 which focuses on U.S. Commercial Real Estate operational emissions, with partner Arup
Sharing LEED v5 with the global community, as well as the Driving Action on Embodied Carbon in Buildings report and the Tracking Progress on Global Goals: Local Governments report
Collaborating with member companies, partners from all levels of government, and ally organizations to advance the Buildings Breakthrough, nature-based solutions, and place-based policy.
Supporting a strong COP 28 outcome for increased ambition for the next round of national commitments (NDCs), a doubling of efficiency in the next decade; progress on the global goal on adaptation; and climate finance and multinational development bank reform.

USGBC is a proud sponsor of the Buildings Pavilion and member of the Global Alliance of Buildings and Construction (GABC), the BuildingtoCOP coalition, and the America Is All In coalition. We participate as part of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy COP 28 group.

USGBC will participate in various bilateral meetings and events including with members of the U.S. government delegation; an event with international delegates; briefings on the COP developments; and others.

Delegation

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) will be on-site at COP 28 to commit our resources and partnership towards urgently scaling action on climate.

Our delegation to Dubai will include Peter Templeton, President & CEO; Sarah Zaleski, Chief Product Officer; Elizabeth Beardsley, Senior Policy Counsel; Hilari Varnadore, Vice President for Cities; and Deepthy B., Director, MENA Region.
GBCI Board Member Sara Neff, SVP, Lendlease Americas, and Gautami Palanki, SVP, The Howard Hughes Corporation, will join the USGBC/GBCI delegation.
Mili Majumdar, SVP and Managing Director GBCI India, will participate at COP 28 as a member of Global Buildings Performance Network’s (GBPN) delegation, and Jing Wang, VP USGBC North Asia, will participate at COP 28 as a member of Delta Foundation’s delegation.
Student Representative Lily Fillwalk (they/them), is completing a Master of Environmental Science (MESc) at Yale University's School of the Environment, focusing on urban agriculture and soil. Fillwalk completed a dual degree in Environmental Science and Studio Art at Pitzer College and is interested in a career focusing on science-based community agriculture, focusing on environmental justice issues.

USGBC and GBCI purchase Green-E certified carbon offsets for all staff air travel, including our travel to COP 28.  

Contact:

For communications requests, please contact Deisy Verdinez, PR and Communications Director, at dverdinez@usgbc.org
For initial inquiries for COP 28 speaking and partnership requests, please contact Julia Sweatman (Consultant) at julia.sweatman@yale.edu.  
On-site at COP, please contact Elizabeth Beardsley at ebeardsley@usgbc.org or Hilari Varnadore at hvarnadore@usgbc.org.

Press conference

Hosted events

Tuesday, Dec. 5
11:30-13:00  (all times local Dubai)	Report Launch Event—Drivers of Decarbonization: transformation, trends, and levers in the Buildings Sector	Blue zone, Building Pavilion
Wednesday, Dec. 6
9:00-10:00	US Commercial Real Estate: State of Decarbonization (with Arup)	Blue zone, TCR 1.5 degree Pavilion
9:00-9:30	USGBC Press Conference	Blue zone, media room
15:00-16:30	UNFCCC Side event: Partnering on the Path to Net Zero in North America (with BCSE, TCR, Georgetown Climate Center)	Blue zone, SE Room 1
Thursday, Dec. 7
11:30-12:15	USGBC Session at Climate Action Stage	Climate Action Innovation Zone
Noon-15:00	LEED Building Tours with AIA	Around Dubai
16:00-19:00	USGBC & GBCI Leaders Summit 2023: Market transformation through LEED, a COP 28 special event  [invitation-only event]	Dubai Chamber

Published On: November 28, 2023

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