Towards Mitigating Climate Change Negative Impact: The Role of Regulations and Governance in the Construction Industry

Climate change is a significant challenge in today’s world. The construction industry is one of the most energy-intensive and raw material-depleting sectors worldwide. Legal regulations, such as laws, building codes, and alternative governance, are effective ways to help mitigate climate change risks. Most of the research focuses on either one country’s policies in the construction industry towards climate change or one type of regulation across various countries. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore and compare various kinds of regulations, namely policies and laws, green codes, and green building rating systems, in three countries: Egypt, the UAE, and the United States, representing different country profiles from different continents. Sources from credible journal papers, conference proceedings, and theses dissertations were used to explore the most recent practices in these countries. It was found that Egypt is the least effective country in enforcing actions towards the climate crisis. There is a gap between the UAE’s actions and the nationally determined contribution target. Federal setbacks hinders the widespread adoption of green practices in the United States. Therefore, the key to effective approaches to combating climate change is enforcing inclusive laws, including all sustainability pillars, and having inclusive nationwide emissions targets in all sectors.