(H02) How Government Policies can Catalyze Urban Sustainability and LEED v4.1 for Communities

Climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat to the world. To overcome these challenges, the European Green Deal was adopted in 2019 to transform the EU into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, ensuring: (1) no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, (2) economic growth decoupled from resource use, and (3) no person and no place left behind. The EU committed one third of the €1.8 trillion investment from the NextGenerationEU Recovery Plan, and the EU’s seven-year budget to finance the European Green Deal. Additionally, the European Commission adopted a set of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, transport and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. Similarly, in 2021 the United States set a target to achieve a 50-52% reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution by 2030, while supporting the goal to create a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net zero emissions economy by no later than 2050. In August 2022, the newly elected president of Colombia pledged to put climate change at the top of his political agenda and committed the country to a 51% emissions reduction by 2030 with respect to the business-as-usual scenario and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The Government of Guatemala endorsed the National Low Emission Development Strategy in November 2020 for reducing 11.2% of its total GHG emissions from the 2005 base year by 2030. Supporting such national targets, various national, state and local agencies have been implementing aggressive urban sustainability, climate mitigation and social equity policies. Presenters from EU, US, Colombia and Guatemala will highlight various policies, strategies and projects for improving urban sustainability and quality of life catalyzing the growth of sustainable communities. They will address the experience of going through the challenges and opportunities for working with the government in implementing such programs at the local level. For an example, US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Section 108 Loan Guarantee has been used increasingly to support greener communities and buildings and spaces. This session will include a brief overview of HUD’s loan guarantee and why HUD’s guarantee is used as an important signal for projects, particularly risky projects to encourage other resources for redevelopment projects. This session will highlight cases from a range of previous and current borrowers on how they used HUD’s Section 108 to minimize their carbon footprint and address climate change. (1) Downey, CA: https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/hud_no_22_100 (2) Babylon, NY: https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_22_146