This outcome document, developed by the ICBC Secretariat at the request of the ICBC Troika, provides a stock-take of global progress in the buildings and construction sector and summarizes the outcomes of the ICBC Ministerial Meeting held during COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
Buildings generate more than one-third of global energy use and emissions, accounting for 35% of global energy-related CO₂ emissions (12 Gt CO₂ in 2024). The document traces a decade of buildings-sector engagement at UNFCCC COPs — from the first "Buildings Day" at COP21 through the formal establishment of the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate (ICBC) at COP29 in Baku, under a troika chaired by France with Brazil and Kenya as Vice-Chairs.
It reports progress across several fronts: policy frameworks (70 parties updated their NDCs in 2025, with around 80% including building-sector actions; 95 countries now have mandatory building energy codes); investment (annual investment in energy efficiency, electrification, and renewables reached USD 380 billion in 2024, a 5% increase); and industry action (162 companies managing 25,000 buildings have cut 850,000 tonnes of CO₂; 16 climate action roadmaps completed).
The document details advances in intergovernmental collaboration under the Buildings Breakthrough (29 frontrunner countries and 30+ global organisations) and the Declaration de Chaillot (over 60 countries committed to national roadmaps, updated codes, finance mobilisation, low-carbon materials, and multi-level governance).
It also presents the Statement of the ICBC at COP30, in which ICBC members recognise the launch of the Belém Call for Action on Sustainable and Affordable Housing — addressing housing inadequacy affecting more than 2.8 billion people worldwide — and endorse a suite of strategic products, including the Global Framework for Action on Sustainable Public Procurement, the Principles for Responsible Timber Construction, and the World Championship for Energy Savings in Buildings, among others. A table lists endorsing and acknowledging countries for each product as of 22 December 2025 (including Bangladesh, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and others).
