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Buildings Breakthrough

The Buildings Breakthrough, launched at COP28 and coordinated by the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), is an intergovernmental operational framework endorsed by frontrunners countries and focused on five priority actions, aiming at advancing sustainability and climate resilience in the building sector. The framework aims at establishing near-zero emission and resilient buildings as the new normal by 2030, by facilitating national policies for decarbonization and climate adaptation through coordinated international actions supported by global initiatives. 

To learn more about the target, see background paper english / french.

The work and outputs of the Buildings Breakthrough, supported by International Organisations and the GlobalABC Hubs and Action Groups, will be shared as recommendations, evidence, and insights with the country members of the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate (ICBC) to support the implementation of the commitments outlined in the Declaration de Chaillot.

Context

The Breakthrough Agenda and the Glasgow Breakthroughs

The Breakthrough Agenda, launched at COP26, is a commitment by world leaders from 45 countries, representing over 70% of global GDP, with the goal of halving global emissions by 2030 and achieving global net-zero emissions by mid-century.

 

The Breakthrough Agenda provides a framework for countries, businesses and civil society to strengthen their actions each year in key emitting sectors. It fosters collaboration and cooperation through a coalition of leading public, private and public-private global initiatives. It focuses on identifying critical areas that require collaborative action (e.g. on trade, standards, research & innovation, finance & investment, etc.), create the international conditions necessary and meet these goals. 

 

In each sector, the Breakthrough Agenda aims to accelerate the adoption of clean technologies and sustainable solutions, making these options the most affordable, accessible, and attractive option in all regions by 2030. The Breakthrough Agenda will be embedded as an annual process to speed up and scale progress and achieve Breakthrough goals by 2030.

 

The Glasgow Breakthroughs, the first set of government-led Breakthrough goals launched at COP26, covered five key emitting sectors (power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture) that together represent over 50% of global emissions. Countries are stepping forward with the introduction of Breakthroughs in new sectors, such as the Buildings Breakthrough, which was launched by France and Morocco at COP28. 

The Buildings Breakthrough 

At the Bonn Climate Change Conference in June 2022, it was announced by Mr. Stéphane Crouzat, French Climate Change Ambassador, that France and the Kingdom of Morocco would co-lead a Buildings Breakthrough Target, with the support of other willing governments. The governments of France and the Kingdom of Morocco reaffirmed their co-leadership of the target at the 13th Clean Energy Ministerial and 7th Mission Innovation (CEM13/MI·7); at the 2022 UN General Assembly; and at the COP27 Breakthrough Agenda Ministerial on 11 November 2022.

On 17 November 2022, during the event titled "A call for a Buildings Breakthrough as a rallying point" held at the COP27 Buildings Pavilion, the co-leading countries, together with the UK High-Level Climate Champion, the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Executive Director, and multiple high-level country and initiative representatives, joined forces issuing an official call to all countries to join the Buildings Breakthrough to accelerate the transition to sustainable buildings for everyone everywhere.

On 6 December 2023, the Buildings Breakthrough was officially launched at COP28 UAE. 

   

Members and Partners

Leadership

The Buildings Breakthrough is co-led by France (Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion) and the Kingdom of Morocco (Ministry of National Territory Planning, Land Planning, Housing and City Policy), and coordinated under the umbrella of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC).

Supporting Countries

To date, 29 countries have joined the Buildings Breakthrough: Armenia, Austria, Canada, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Liberia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Senegal, Sweden, Tunisia, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Zambia.

In addition, the European Commission has endorsed the Buildings Breakthrough.

 

Armenia

 

Armenia: Urban Development Committee

 

Austria

 

Austria: Ministry of Climate Action and Energy

 

Canada

 

Canada: Natural Resources Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada

 

CN

 

China: Ministry of Housing Urban and Rural Development 

 

Côte d'Ivoire

 

Côte d’Ivoire: Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development

 

eg

 

Egypt: Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities

 

Ethiopia

 

Ethiopia: Ministry of Urban Development and Infrastructure

 

Finland

 

Finland: Ministry of Environment

 

France

 

France: Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion

(Buildings Breakthrough co-lead)

 

Germany

 

Germany: Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action

 

Ghana

 

Ghana: Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation

 

GW

 

Guinea-Bissau: Ministry of Public Works, Construction and Urban Planning

 

Japan

 

Japan: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)

 

Jordan

 

Jordan: Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources

 

Ke

 

Kenya: Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing & Urban Development

 

Lr

 

Liberia: Ministry of Mines and Energy

 

Mauritania

 

Mauritania: Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD)

 

Mongolia

 

Mongolia: Ministry of Environment and Tourism

 

Morocco

 

Morocco: Ministry for National Territory Planning, Land Planning, Housing and City Policy

(Buildings Breakthrough co-lead)

 

NL

 

Netherlands: Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations; Construction and Energy Department

 

Norway

 

Norway: Ministry of Climate and Environment

 

Senegal

 

Senegal: Ministry for Environment and Sustainable Development

 

Sweden

 

Sweden: Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure

 

tn

 

Tunisia: Ministry of Equipment and Housing

 

Türkiye

 

Türkiye: Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change

 

UAE

 

United Arab Emirates: Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure

 

UK

 

United Kingdom: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

 

US

 

United States of America: White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy (Climate Policy Office)

 

Zambia

 

Zambia: Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development

EC

 

                 European Commission

  
Supporting Initiatives

Priority Actions

The 2025 Buildings Breakthrough Priority International Actions were developed in response to priority recommendations published in the 'Buildings Chapter' of the Breakthrough Agenda Report 2024, co-authored by the IEA and UN High Level Climate Champions in collaboration with the GlobalABC. They aim to strengthen international collaboration in key areas and accelerate progress towards the shared goal of Near-zero emission and resilient buildings as the new normal by 2030’.

To learn more about the 2025 Priority International Actions click here.

B1. Standards and Certification

Facilitating Partner: World Green Building Council (WorldGBC)

GlobalABC Hubs and Actions Groups support: Adaptation Hub, Data Hub, Market Transformation Hub, Materials Hub,  Sufficiency Hub, Passive Cooling Action Group

Build consensus among countries on qualitative definitions and principles for Near-Zero Emissions and Resilient Buildings (NZERB) across the entire life cycle, and outline related indicators, as well as guidelines to help ensure transparency, comparability and accountability, and consult on these over 2025.

 B2. Demand Creation

Facilitating Partner: One Planet Network 

GlobalABC Hubs and Actions Groups support: Clean Heat Forum, Materials Hub

Create procurement and policy commitments for NZERBs, for both new buildings and deep renovation projects, and join relevant initiatives to aggregate these commitments, as well as favour alignment of procurement policies on NZERBs related standards for clean and efficient heating and cooling technologies.

👉 COP29 milestone output: Global Framework for Action.

B3. Finance and Investment

Facilitating Partners: Program for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) & International Finance Corporation (IFC) 

GlobalABC Hubs and Actions Groups support: Finance Hub

Support countries, in particular Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs), to expand international financial and technical assistance programmes that address blended finance instruments, policies, capacity-building of local banks and lenders, as well as build a project pipeline and address data gaps.

B4. Research and Deployment

Facilitating Partner 'Research': UNU-Flores

Facilitating Partner 'Deployment': Solar Impulse Foundation

GlobalABC Hubs and Actions Groups support: Higher Education Institutions Action Group

Coordinate with governments and companies to jointly identify research priorities & knowledge gaps, share RD&D priorities and leverage existing networks to gather expertise and additional country members; as well as drive solution deployment by identifying shared challenges, highlighting replicable models, and leveraging existing networks through a participative and collaborative effort with governments.

 

👉 COP29 milestone output on 'Deployment': Blueprint for a Solutions Deployment Platform.   

B5. Capacity and Skills

Facilitating Partner: International Code Council (ICC)

GlobalABC Hubs and Actions Groups support: Higher Education Institutions Action Group, Subnationals Action Group

Coordinate with countries and organisations to identify training and capacity-building priorities (including institutional capacities of national governments and local authorities), and leverage existing networks to share capacity-building resources and tools across all regions, with a focus on the establishment and compliance of building codes (in line with NZERBs principles and requirements); and to include NZERB principles and practices in institutional capacity building, educational curricula, training programs, competency assessments, and accreditation frameworks.

👉 COP29 milestone output: Institutional & Personnel Capacity to Deliver Near-Zero Emission and Resilient Buildings (Provide feedback here).

B6. Landscape Coordination

Enhance the coordination and transparency of international collaboration on near-zero emission and resilient buildings, in coordination with the work for the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate (ICBC) meetings.

👉 View landscape mapping here.

How to join

Here is a document explaining how to join the Buildings Breakthrough. Additional countries and initiatives interested in joining or supporting the Buildings Breakthrough are also invited to contact the GlobalABC Secretariat at [email protected], ensuring to include "Buildings Breakthrough" in the email subject line.

Press Coverage & Headlines

2025

👉 Buildings Breakthrough Priority International Actions for 2025 (GlobalABC, 2025)

2024

👉 Buildings Breakthrough Priority International Actions for 2024 (GlobalABC, 2024)

👉 WorldGBC supports Breakthrough Agenda priority actions for the Buildings Breakthrough (WorldGBC, 2024)

👉 How cities can achieve net zero by targeting building emissions from design to demolition (World Economic Forum, 2024)

2023

👉 2023 Breakthrough Agenda Report (IEA,2023)

👉 G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers’, where the importance of decarbonizing buildings’ lifecycles in combatting climate change was noted; the progress made towards launching the Buildings Breakthrough was recognised; and sector/issue-specific initiatives, such as the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), were welcomed. (G7 Ministers of Climate, Energy and the Environment, 2023)

👉 The Buildings Breakthrough: Global push for near-zero emission and resilient buildings by 2030 unveiled at COP28 (UNEP, 2023)

👉 COP28: France launches “Buildings Breakthrough”, aiming for zero emissions from the building sector by 2030 (France, 2023)

👉 Buildings Breakthrough campaign for zero-emissions, resilient buildings launched at COP 28 (United States, 2023)