At the RICS World Built Environment Forum Summit in Washington DC, Prashant Kapoor, Principal Industry Specialist (Green Buildings) at the International Finance Corporation, pointed to the fact that 90 countries had recognised the importance of emissions from buildings in their COP21 commitments, as evidence of high ambition. Investment flows would be a key indicator of real intent, but emerging economies in particular lacked the necessary investment frameworks.

As a follow-up to Buildings Day at COP22 in Marrakech, November 2016, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GABC), of which RICS is a founding member, has now launched its first Global Status Report.

There can be no denying that climate change is real. Perhaps for those of us lucky enough to live in geographies that have avoided some of its more devastating impacts it can seem abstract, but for those parts of the world least able to deal with the effects, the consequences have been disastrous.