UN expert: Awareness crucial to create demand for eco‑friendly housing

The concept of green housing still feels distant and unclear to many communities - and experts believe this is where the main challenge begins, said Samir Mammadov, Country Manager for Azerbaijan at the UN Global Compact Program, during the ministerial roundtable at the 13th Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Report informs.

Mammadov highlighted that one of the key challenges in promoting environmentally sustainable housing and infrastructure is community awareness: "People need to understand what risks and challenges exist, what the future holds, and how demand should be shaped. When we speak with business representatives, they often say there is no demand in the market. This approach is not entirely unfounded."

The official also pointed out that in the Eurasian region, where consignment‑based real estate purchases are increasing, the advantages of lower utility and technical service costs are not sufficiently communicated to end consumers.

He argued that both new demand creation and the development of regulatory mechanisms must proceed in parallel:

"Only then will the process work naturally. Otherwise, we face a situation where activists or regulators try to enforce these standards by compulsion."