Emissions reductions and threats to climate action: AIA at COP30

This year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, faces a renewed sense of urgency. The U.S. federal administration withdrew from the Paris Agreement earlier this year (effective January 2026) amid attempts to hinder domestic progress toward more sustainable business practices. Despite stiff headwinds, AIA has sent a delegation to the conference for the fifth year in a row. 

Led by AIA President Evelyn Lee, FAIA, and 2026 President Illya Azaroff, FAIA, this year’s delegation is prioritizing discussions with policymakers to advocate for the expansion of resilience planning, as well as a steadfast commitment to emissions reductions as 2030 quickly approaches. 

Lee will present at an event titled “Designing for the Future: Embedding Sustainability in the Built Environment” on Wednesday, November 19. She’ll highlight AIA’s Climate Action Plan and Framework for Design Excellence, two key tools that governments can use in planning for sustainability and resilience in their built environments. 

“The framework is equitable and can be applied to any country,” Lee says. “In other words, you don’t have to be rich and tech-heavy to have good design.” 

Azaroff, who attended his fourth COP this year, participated in AIA-hosted roundtable discussions addressing regenerative design, high-performance materials, ecological transformation in global urban spaces, and more.  

Azaroff says that many of his discussions at COP30 have focused on going beyond net zero buildings via regenerative design and systems, and how countries can effectively implement policies and frameworks to measure beyond net zero in the built environment.

“How do you [achieve] a common global agreement on measuring success beyond net zero?” he says. “This has been a serious issue with many competing frameworks, and it undercuts progress.” 

Of the most important conversations he’s having at COP this year, Azaroff says that they have largely been focused on national adaptation plans, which highlight the advance of adaptation in the global conversation, as well as the seeking of financial tools to make them happen.

“Adaptation and resilience are now the number one topics across COP. [This is] being reflected in agreements, reports and pledges,” he says. “Financial tools and insurance are key players, and resilience is recognized as the most needed area of improvement across the world.”

He continues, “This COP, more than ever, has highlighted Indigenous knowledge, and the need to learn from Indigenous wisdom to tackle some of the wicked problems we face due to climate change.”

The AIA delegation is participating in more events than ever before at this year's COP. In tandem with counterparts like the Royal Institute of British Architects, the International Code Council, and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, AIA is part of a strong global coalition ensuring a sustainable future for the global AEC industry.  

Katherine Flynn is director, digital content at AIA.