Side events on 14 November during the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 30) addressed, among others, the perils of ignoring science and scaling up finance for resilient built environments.

A side event on the importance of following the science explored tipping points in the cryosphere, their impacts, and how to avoid them. It highlighted the urgency of protecting glaciers and ice sheets, the cascading impacts of their loss on ecosystems and societies, and the persistent gap between scientific evidence and political action. One speaker emphasized that cryosphere science often fails to inform negotiations, and scientific findings are sometimes diluted in official texts, with recent negotiation drafts on research and systematic observation having softened language on cryosphere risks, thus weakening the scientific integrity of the outcomes.

During a panel on actionable science, speakers warned that:

• Every additional 0.1°C of warming translates to roughly 2% additional glacier loss, and around half of the world’s glacier ice could vanish under a 3°C scenario by the end of the century;
• At current trajectories, several meters of sea-level rise are effectively locked in over the coming centuries; and
• Geoengineering proposals to slow ice flow are unlikely to work, as the cryosphere’s feedback systems are interconnected. 

One emphasized that 1.7°C of warming could be achievable by phasing out coal by the 2040s, gas by the 2050s, and oil by the 2060s, while cutting methane emissions from energy and agriculture. 

A second segment explored the lived consequences of cryosphere change, with speakers focusing on, among other issues: the deep ties between ice, culture, and sovereignty in the Yukon Territory; the need for scientists to work with Indigenous knowledge holders to co-produce understanding and solutions; and how Venezuela and Slovenia have already lost all their glaciers – a fact that is still contested in the negotiations. The event was organized by Ambition on Melting Ice, International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, Karuna Foundation, and George Washington University.

During another event, stakeholders emphasized the need to scale up financing for resilient and sustainable built environments. They offered solutions for infrastructure, housing, and informal settlements and roadmaps for partnership approaches based on equity, inclusion, and community empowerment. One speaker highlighted: a network on sustainable building, which reaches more than 85 countries; 34% of carbon emissions are attributable to housing; and a new report, ‘Developing a Strategy for Climate Resilient Buildings,’ which offers guidance for industry and policymakers.

The first panel explored policy solutions, with speakers highlighting:

• A new Habitat for Humanity report, ‘Climate Action Trough Housing and Informal Settlements,’ which finds that the majority of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted do not include housing in a substantial way;
• The need for both finance and technical support to improve the quality of housing; and
• That addressing housing needs is an essential element of a just transition.

During a second panel on technical solutions, speakers called for, among other asks: adopting a holistic approach to housing that achieves equity and justice goals, and enhancing housing sustainability and resilience through procurement processes. One speaker mentioned a just-released Carbon Management Framework that provides a structured approach to reducing carbon emissions in infrastructure projects. 

The event was organized by Build Change, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), Habitat for Humanity, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) Committee on Young Engineers/Future Leaders, and the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC).