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.

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Download the new Step-By-Step Guide Below