Seventy percent of the infrastructure needed to accommodate the growing urban population has not yet been built, Riccardo Savigliano, head of the Energy Systems and Industrial Decarbonization Unit of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said during the event titled “Reducing carbon emissions in housing and buildings within the urban-industry-climate nexus” organized within the framework of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) held in Baku, APA reports.
The UNIDO representative stated that after water, concrete is the most widely used resource by people: “It is impossible to separate the development of societies from the use of concrete. Currently, a city the size of New York is being built every month around the world, and this tendency will continue until 2050.”
According to the UNIDO official, 70 percent of the infrastructure needed to accommodate the growing urban population has not yet been built. This infrastructure includes not only housing, but also transportation, water supply, wastewater treatment and other service areas.
He noted that if the cement industry were a separate country, it would be considered the third-largest source of CO2 emissions in the world.
During the speech, it was pointed out that there is a direct connection between buildings, industry and climate. It was stated that the housing and construction sector is located at the intersection of industry, social development and infrastructure, and that the decarbonization of this field has already become a necessity.
The UNIDO representative stressed the importance of strengthening coordination between these two directions, saying that cities shape the demand side, while industry shapes the supply side.
He also added that policy, technology and investment decisions should be jointly evaluated taking into account urban development, industrial needs and climate challenges.
The speech also touched upon the role of buildings in water management. It was noted that the issue concerns not only the provision of drinking and sanitation water, but also the treatment of used water.
