Database

As the world works toward the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, the buildings and construction sector stands at a critical intersection of climate action, sustainable development, and urban resilience.

This first report from the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) Subnationals Action Group focuses on the importance of localizing climate action. It highlights how subnational governments, in collaboration with national authorities, the private sector, and civil society, can drive meaningful change by integrating sustainability, resilience, and circularity into building policies and practices.

With more than half of the global population living in urban areas—and this figure expected to rise—the report examines how cities and local governments are well-positioned to implement climate-responsive solutions. It explores opportunities for multilevel governance, sectoral linkages, and inclusive planning, offering examples and recommendations to support a just and equitable transition.

The report also underscores the need for investment and innovation to scale up efforts, reduce emissions across the building life cycle, and ensure access to safe, affordable, and sustainable housing. It calls for a holistic, people-centered approach to decarbonization and resilience in the built environment—grounded in informed choices, coordinated action, and strong partnerships.

The 2024 Building and Climate Global Forum Report serves as a valuable resource for reflection and action in the field of buildings and climate. This major event brought together over 1,500 participants from more than 70 countries, fostering dialogue among international experts, government representatives, and private sector leaders.

With a strong focus on innovation, research, and education, the report captures key insights from the plenary and parallel sessions. A dedicated team of experts, students, and alumni contributed to summarizing discussions, ensuring the dissemination of critical knowledge on sustainable development challenges in the built environment.

This initiative was made possible through the collaboration of ADEME (The French Agency for Ecological Transition), École nationale des ponts et chaussées and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), and the commitment of nearly 50 rapporteurs, whose contributions played a crucial role in the success of this project. The report stands as a testament to collective efforts in advancing sustainable solutions for the buildings and construction sector.

The Building Market Brief - India provides a comprehensive analysis of India’s rapidly transforming building and construction sector, driven by population growth, urbanization, and evolving consumer preferences. Developed under the Digital Building Passports project, this report is a collaborative effort by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the CUES Foundation (Netherlands), and OFFSETFARM, with support from Mahindra Lifespace Developers and funding from the German Ministry of Development Cooperation (BMZ).

As part of the UN Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) Data Hub, the report offers critical insights into India’s building sector, highlighting key challenges such as housing shortages, high material consumption, and environmental impacts. The sector accounts for 38% of annual primary energy use, 31% of electricity consumption, and 32% of national GHG emissions, emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable construction solutions.

The study also explores policy initiatives alongside technological advancements in low-carbon materials and construction techniques. A key component of the project is the Digital Building Passport app (CAPSA), which enables automated embodied carbon calculations and assesses the carbon mitigation potential of best-practice materials.

With India’s real estate market projected to grow significantly, this report provides valuable data and strategies for industry stakeholders, policymakers, and sustainability advocates to support the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient built environment.

The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction (Buildings-GSR), published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), provides an annual snapshot of the progress of the buildings and construction sector on a global scale. The Buildings-GSR reviews the status of policies, finance, technologies and solutions to monitor whether the sector is aligned with the Paris Agreement goals.

The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024-2025 - Not just another brick in the wall highlights progress made on related global climate goals and calls for greater ambition on six challenges, including building energy codes, renewable energy, and financing. Global frameworks and initiatives such as Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate, the Buildings Breakthrough and the Declaration de Chaillot are sustaining momentum towards adopting ambitious climate action plans, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), for net-zero buildings ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil.

Despite this progress, the sector remains a key driver of the climate crisis, consuming 32 per cent of global energy and contributing to 34 per cent of global CO2 emissions. The sector is dependent on materials like cement and steel that are responsible for 18% of global emissions and are a major source of construction waste.

Download the social media kits in all UN languages.

The Sufficiency Action Hub aims to demonstrate the necessity, feasibility, and social desirability of sufficiency measures in the building sector, fostering a shared understanding across decision-making levels. Its goal is to build a diverse community of stakeholders worldwide, from various sectors of the building value chain, to adapt sufficiency solutions to different contexts, recognizing disparities between the Global North and South. Launched by the French Institute for Building Performance and supported by key institutions like ADEME, the initiative seeks to address the environmental challenges posed by the building sector, which is responsible for 21% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The Action Hub highlights the urgent need for sufficiency measures, advocating for a systemic approach that integrates demand-side policies to reduce resource consumption, mitigate emissions, and ensure social equity. Through international collaboration and the adoption of the "Sufficiency First" principle, the initiative aims to reshape the future of the building sector within planetary boundaries. The Action Hub has recently published a report outlining the key findings of its ongoing work and initiatives.  

Building on lessons learnt and experience accumulated over the past four years , the GlobalABC has developed a new methodology and step-by-step guide to support countries in the development of roadmaps to decarbonise the buildings and construction sector. This step-by-step guide provides detailed guidance for setting goals, identifying key actions, and creating a pathway towards a more efficient, low-carbon, resilient and inclusive buildings and construction sector. 

This new roadmaps framework offer a more holistic approach to decarbonization by better considering the entire building value chain and the carbon emissions related to material manufacturing and building construction, as well as integrating climate adaptation and inclusion as central pieces of any decarbonization strategy.

In order to facilitate goal setting and monitoring, this new framework comprises four objectives to align with the Paris Agreement and the Climate Action Pathways: (1) Zero embodied carbon, (2) Zero operational carbon, (3) Adaptation and (4) Wellbeing and inclusion. These four objectives cut across five action areas: 

• Action Area 1: Strategic Priorities refers to national, regional and local development planning processes that define development objectives, their prioritization and implementation. This action area recognizes the  importance of embedding inclusive climate action in the buildings and construction sector at the highest level of governance to give a clear direction and mandate to line ministries and local governments for its implementation.
• Action Area 2: Spatial and Urban Development refers to the ways in which people use land at a country, regional and urban scale and the supportive regulations and processes, including land use regulations, urban development planning (i.e., master plan), urban project implementation and natural environment protection. Many spatial planning decisions impact the capacity to mitigate carbon emissions and ensure the adaptation and resiliency of the buildings and construction sector and the inclusion and wellbeing of the population.
• Action Area 3: Existing Buildings considers all building management phases, including operation, maintenance, renovation, refurbishment and decommissioning. It also includes the ways in which materials, systems and appliances are used and selected during the building's useful life. This action area considers, more specifically, the reduction of operational carbon emissions, the climate adaptation of the building stock, and circularity.
• Action Area 4: New Buildings includes all phases of planning and delivering a new building: project preparation, procurement, design and construction. It also considers material, system and appliance choices. Construction planning and delivery are critical phases for climate action. During those phases, architects, engineers and developers have the opportunity to make sustainable choices for the future.
• Action Area 5: Construction Supply Chain includes raw material extraction, system, appliance and material manufacturing, commercialization, importation and the norms regulating the supply chain. This action area is critical to reducing the building's embodied carbon by acting upstream, implementing circularity principles and ensuring sustainable production.

The methodology for roadmap development follows a seven-step process designed to promote inclusion and adaptability in diverse local contexts, and it is underpinned by easy-to-use tools, such as the Roadmap Assessment Tool.

Upload the video on roadmaps

Download the new Step-By-Step Guide Below