This report discusses ways of enhancing government capacities to prevent, react and rebuild, thereby minimising the impact of natural disasters on infrastructure assets and operations. It identifies data, collaboration and technologies as drivers of resilience, and highlights financial resources, technical skills and regulatory frameworks as key enablers. The report presents seven actionable principles to ensure infrastructure resilience, drawing from global good practices and in-depth analysis of infrastructure projects in Colombia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mozambique and the United States.

The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction (Buildings-GSR), a report 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. It also provides stakeholders with evidence to persuade policymakers and the overall buildings and construction community to take action.

As outlined in the latest edition, the buildings and construction sector contributes significantly to global climate change, accounting for about 21 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, buildings were responsible for 34 per cent global energy demand and 37 per cent of energy and process-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Policy progress is evident with more comprehensive climate action plans covering buildings and construction in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). However, few align with net-zero operational emissions, and while over 81 countries have building energy codes, many are outdated.Investment in building decarbonisation exceeded US$285 billion in 2022 but is expected to decline in 2023, largely due to a less favourable investment environment due to rising costs. The necessary increase in investments falls short of the net-zero targets for new and existing buildings by 2030 and 2050, respectively.

The 2022 update of the Global Buildings Climate Tracker (GBCT) paints a concerning picture: the gap between the current state and the desired decarbonisation path is significant. To align with the 2030 milestone, an annual increase of ten decarbonisation points is now required, a substantial jump from the six points anticipated per year starting in 2015.

The GBCT shows a negative rebound since 2020 in the decarbonization of the buildings sector, with increased energy intensity and higher emissions. The gap between the actual climate performance of the sector and the necessary decarbonization pathway is widening. The lack of structural or systemic decarbonisation improvement in the building sector leaves its emissions reductions vulnerable to external factors.

To reach the goals of net-zero carbon emission buildings for new buildings by 2030 and existing buildings by 2050, stronger policies are needed to enhance energy efficiency and address carbon emissions from building materials and construction. National efforts are crucial, with countries forming coalitions to share best practices and promote low-carbon construction.

This year, the deep dive chapters are the following: Adaptation and resilient construction methods; Innovations in business cases (renovation and green building construction industry); and Nature-based solutions and biophilic design.

A welcome development in 2023 was the Buildings Breakthrough launched at COP28, to coordinate between countries to make clean technologies and sustainable solutions in the buildings and construction sector the most affordable, accessible, and attractive option in all regions by 2030.

Looking forward to 2024, the focus must be on tangible emission reductions, enhancing building performance, increasing renewable energy use and addressing housing and energy access disparities. Despite the complexities, strategic partnerships can facilitate the shift to an efficient, resilient and whole life net-zero carbon global building stock.

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The report highlights the urgent global crisis of climate change, emphasizing its wide-ranging consequences on the environment, biodiversity, human health, and poverty. It particularly focuses on the vulnerability of the built environment to climate change impacts and stresses the need for immediate adaptation measures. Despite the clear benefits and urgent need for adaptation, there's a notable delay in embracing and implementing adaptation strategies across stakeholders within the buildings and construction sector, though the report demonstrates that each stakeholder already has tools and levers to contribute to the resilience of the built environment. The text then addresses various challenges hindering adaptation efforts, including reluctance to bear initial costs, a predominant focus on mitigation rather than adaptation, and the need for local-level initiatives and financial resources. It calls for collective action, emphasizing the shared responsibility of all stakeholders in addressing climate change adaptation and ensuring a sustainable future.

Download the full report and its executive summary below.

The Building Energy Codes Working Group has released their latest report on Resilience Issues in Building Energy Codes, led by the Australian Government.

The report, authored by Adam Hinge, MD of Sustainable Energy Partnerships and prepared for the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Building Energy Codes Working Group (BECWG), which is part of the IEA Energy in Buildings and Communities Technical Collaboration Programme (IEA EBC), focuses on the application of building energy codes to improve the building stock’s ability to provide safe indoor thermal conditions and function during extreme events. It reviews the relationship of building energy codes to other building resilience policies and strategies, such as other building/life safety codes, community planning, zoning or other land use regulation to discourage rebuilding in areas most prone to climate disasters, and other resilience planning strategies. The report provides an overview of how different jurisdictions address resilience issues through building energy codes in countries that are part of the IEA EBC Building Energy Codes Working Group.

Read the full report here.

Rapid urbanisation and climate change are two of the major challenges of our time. People living in cities' poorest areas are agents of change both in terms of climate mitigation and adaptation. This new publication explores the intertwining nature of circular economy, urbanisation and poverty. It looks at how existing approaches of circularity and the informal economy can be taken up and reinforced to find solutions to these challenges.

Cities Alliance has been supporting cities across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to address informality while supporting inclusive and sustainable urban growth.

This publication examines how circular economy and climate mitigation actions can improve socioeconomic conditions in developing cities, and the role of an integrated, inclusive city planning approach.

Read the publication here

This paper organizes, summarizes and collates the findings, guidelines and recommendations of global agencies mandated to identify the outcomes buildings are to deliver for people, the planet and prosperity. The member nations of the UN have, almost without exception, through the Paris Agreement and the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), committed to identified goals and signed, legally binding agreements. In this paper, buildings delivering the outcomes required to achieve those goals are referred to as ‘Paris-aligned’ - they deliver the outcomes the world has been informed are needed and agreed to pursue under the Paris Agreement.

Download the paper here.

This briefing by the European Environment Agency explores the nexus between climate change adaptation and mitigation, and the health and social justice aspects of cooling Europe’s buildings. It focuses specifically on residential buildings. The briefing is based on a literature review by Ramboll commissioned by the EEA, discussions held with members of the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet), input from individual experts and information from other EEA publications.

Read the briefing here

World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)’s fifth Climate and Energy Benchmark measures and ranks the world’s 50 most influential buildings companies on their just and equitable low-carbon transition. 

The Buildings Benchmark is the second comprehensive assessment of companies in the sector that combines the ACT and just transition methodologies to provide an overall score and ranking. By considering social and decarbonisation issues together, the benchmark mobilises stronger action needed to hold companies accountable on contributing towards a low-carbon transition that leaves no one behind.

Download the insight report here

The report comprises two parts, published separately: broader technical guidance and a best practice guidance for concrete applications.

The technical guidance starts with an overview of existing EU-level policies and standards relating to adaptation in buildings. This is followed by a summary of the current state of structural design building standards at a European and national level, with a focus on climate resilience in buildings. It then provides an overview of climate vulnerabilities and risk assessment for buildings, and a possible method for rating the climate resilience of buildings.

The best practice guidance:

• Provides technical guidance on climate-adaptation measures that are relevant for both new and existing buildings across the different climatic zones of Europe;
• Presents adaptation solutions for the climate risks that affect the built environment most;
• Demonstrates the actions that can be taken to improve building performance. This offers strategies for owners, operators, users, policy makers, engineers, architects and insurers.

Download the technical guidance here and the best practice guidance here!

This report - Sri Lanka Roadmap for Sustainable Housing and Construction 2020 – 2050 - presents the findings of the Sustainable Building Construction Country Assessment for Sri Lanka (SBC-CA) and a Roadmap for Sustainable Housing and Construction and achieving NDCs in the construction industry in Sri Lanka. It examines the current status, and potential opportunities and challenges for adopting Sustainable Building Construction (SBC) practices and policies. The Country Assessment and the Roadmap are structured on the approach laid out by the ‘Global Alliance for Building Construction (GlobalABC) Roadmap for Buildings and Construction 2020-2050, where 8 Action Areas have been identified for the transition towards sustainability in the Construction Sector: Urban planning, New Buildings, Existing Buildings, Building Operations, Appliances and Systems, Materials, Resilience, and Clean Energy.

Download the roadmap here.