Habitat for Humanity at COP31

As world leaders, practitioners and advocates gather at COP31, Habitat for Humanity is working to ensure housing is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of climate resilience. At this year’s conference, Habitat will engage with civil society, governmental partners and multilateral institutions to help advance integration of housing and informal settlements into national and global climate priorities, financing commitments and implementation plans.

• View Habitat events at COP31 
• Learn about our climate resilience work 

Climate change is increasingly affecting where and how people live. As communities confront the increasing frequency and severity of climate shocks, e.g., rising temperatures, flooding, storms, etc., the safety, stability and resilience of their homes are increasingly threatened.

Habitat’s recently released global report, Home at What Cost, shows how these pressures are already significantly affecting people’s experiences of home: 

Including housing in climate strategies

Housing sits at the intersection of many of the systems that shape people’s lives. Homes are places of safety and stability, but they are also where people build their lives, protect what they have and pursue opportunities for the future. When that foundation is threatened, the consequences can reach across household wellbeing, security and economic resilience. Because housing is both highly exposed to climate impacts and central to how people prepare for and recover from disasters, it must be an essential part of both climate adaptation and efforts to reduce emissions.

Despite this, housing remains largely overlooked in climate negotiations, policy, programming and financing.

COP31 comes at an important point, as the global community focuses on turning Paris Agreement promises into real-world implementation, navigating a critical temperature overshoot and scaling-up international climate finance. As countries work to implement the Belém-Addis Vision on Adaptation, Habitat will use COP31 as an opportunity to elevate housing and informal settlements in climate discussions, specifically in adaptation priorities, financing and accountability.

Can’t attend in person? Follow Habitat for Humanity Europe and the Middle East on X for updates from COP31 throughout the conference.