The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction (Buildings-GSR) is a flagship publication of the UNEP-hosted Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). The Buildings-GSR provides an annual snapshot of the progress of the buildings and construction sector on a global scale and 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.

What is new in the 2022 Buildings-GSR? 

• Buildings and construction: disruptions and challenges facing the buildings sector in 2022 
• Global Building Carbon Tracker: Are we on track towards the Paris Agreement Goals?
• Updates on building codes and building decarbonisation in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
• Status of investment in building energy efficiency
• Deep dive on:
  • Africa (regional focus)
  • Building materials (topical focus)

The 2022 Buildings-GSR finds that 

• Despite a substantial increase in investment and success at a global level lowering the energy intensity of buildings, the sector’s total energy consumption and CO2 emissions increased in 2021 above pre-pandemic levels. Buildings energy demand increased by around 4% from 2020 to 135 EJ – the largest increase in the last 10 years. CO2 emissions from buildings operations have reached an all-time high of around 10 GtCO2, around a 5% increase from 2020 and 2% higher than the previous peak in 2019. 
• The buildings and construction sector is not on track to achieve decarbonization by 2050. And the gap between the actual climate performance of the sector and the decarbonization pathway is widening.
• Global energy price volatility and rising interest rates are likely to hamper investment in building decarbonization by governments, households, and businesses. 

Download our 2022 Buildings-GSR and read more!

Watch our video "Is the Buildings and Construction Sector on Track to decarbonize? 2022 Buildings-GSR." 

The IEA – at the request of the Government of Indonesia and to coincide with Indonesia’s Presidency of the G20 – has developed a comprehensive roadmap to net zero by 2060 for the country, which charts a path for the country’s energy transition over the coming decades. The analysis in the Energy Sector Roadmap to Net Zero Emissions in Indonesia spans key areas such as people‑centred transitions, the phasing down of coal use, investment and financing needs, and critical minerals. It also sets out a high-ambition pathway in which Indonesia reaches net zero by 2050. The project has been conducted in close collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia.

This publication provides an overview of off-site renewable energy options, and step-by-step instructions for real estate professionals to purchase off-site renewable energy for a building or portfolio, with several options for contracting to fit different real estate development strategies, ownership horizons, tenant requirements, and energy, sustainability, and financial goals. This guide is intended for U.S. real estate professionals in procurement, asset management, property management, engineering, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) who have the mandate to execute on the corporate sustainability strategy and energy purchasing.

The European Union has set a target to almost totally decarbonise the building sector by 2050, which raises the question of buildings’ energy performance. What is the best way of undertaking the immense energy renovation project needed to reach these objectives? One solution is to employ reliable measurement and guidance tools, such as Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), which are part of a common toolkit used by European countries.
The stakes are particularly high given that the EU Taxonomy, whose aim is to establish a common reference system to qualify – including for buildings – sustainable property and real estate projects, is partly based on a rating system centred on EPCs.
This study is part of a three-volume publication on European EPCs. The ESREI intends to publish two detailed comparisons of European EPCs in the sample of countries selected, respectively concerning residential buildings and office buildings.

Demand Response (DR), in simple terms, refers to the ability of load to change according to the grid requirements and is not a new concept in the Indian regulatory ecosystem. DR, is a method that enables the adjustment of demand, thereby allowing customers to participate in responding to changing grid conditions. The application of DR, a proven demand management tool, can effectively help electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs) in India handle their increasing future electricity demand and operate reliably in a greener grid. This paper discusses DR’s value proposition for the distribution grid and the steps to unlocking this value.’

To sustain operations in the future and achieve the goal of affordable and reliable energy supply, DISCOMs need to think beyond EE programmes and take a proactive role in engaging with consumers. In this regard, DR presents a leapfrog opportunity for DISCOMs to adapt to the realities of a cleaner grid and high electrification of demand. In the next three years, DR needs to be integrated into the fabric of DISCOM processes, along with EE. In the future, with the proliferation of more energy-efficient and controllable loads, DR programmes need to be designed with real-time applications. The future of demand resources lies in embedding DR value within the EE programmes.

Read the report here. 

This report provides quantitative evidence on the Energy Efficiency First (EE1st) principle by investigating the level of end-use energy efficiency in the building sector that would provide the greatest benefit for the European Union in transitioning to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. Three scenarios are modelled and compared in terms of energy system cost to determine the extent to which society is better off – in pure monetary terms – if end-use energy efficiency in buildings was systematically prioritized over energy supply. 

The report emphasizes that at least moderate levels of energy efficiency in buildings are needed to cost-efficiently achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. Even such relatively moderate levels will have to go much beyond business-as-usual trends. In addition, the study presents ample reason to support higher levels of ambition. Most notably, end-use energy efficiency in buildings reduces the capacities and associated cost of generators, networks, storage and other energy supply technologies. 

The objective of this report is twofold. First, based on an expert workshop and a literature review, it aims to integrate the state of knowledge on the concepts of EE1st and MI. This concerns the theoretical interlinkages between the two concepts as well as the possible role of different decision-support frameworks (e.g. cost-benefit analysis) and evaluation perspectives.

Second, the report provides evidence on the magnitude of selected MI from a model-based assessment for the EE1st principle in the EU-27. Three scenarios are compared for the MI of air pollution and indoor comfort. We find that factoring in MI certainly affects the trade-off between demand-side and supply-side resources, making it critical to include them in model-based assessments in the scope of EE1st. 

In light of EU climate goals and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, significant measures are needed to decarbonise the economy, reduce energy use and future-proof the building stock. With 75% of Europeans living in urban areas and a rising focus on existing buildings to achieve full decarbonisation by 2050, there is significant opportunity and need to focus on innovative solutions in neighbourhoods and homes, beyond the individual building level. Successful decarbonisation of the EU building stock calls for an integrated, participatory and neighbourhood-based approach.

Read the full paper here. 

Today’s global energy crisis underscores the urgency and magnitude of the task of transforming Africa’s energy sector, as well as the benefits of an accelerated shift to more affordable and cleaner sources of energy.

The Africa Energy Outlook 2022 is a new special report from the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook series. It explores pathways for Africa’s energy system to evolve toward achieving all African development goals, including universal access to modern and affordable energy services by 2030 and nationally determined contributions.

The report analyses infrastructure expansion needs, investment requirements, financing options and energy policy priorities. It also explores a shifting fuel mix that supports resilient development, opportunities for new exports, and just transition issues – including energy access, affordability and employment.

Despite the promise of a worldwide green recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, this historic opportunity has been lost. REN21’s Renewables 2022 Global Status Report sends a clear warning that the global clean energy transition is not happening, making it unlikely that the world will be able to meet critical climate goals this decade. The second half of 2021 saw the beginning of the biggest energy crisis in modern history, exacerbated by the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 and unprecedented global commodity shock.  

“Although many more governments committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, the reality is that, in response to the energy crisis, most countries have gone back to seeking out new sources of fossil fuels and to burning even more coal, oil and natural gas,” said Rana Adib, REN21 Executive Director. Below are some highlights from the report:

• The share of renewables in global energy use stagnated in 2021, despite record additions to renewable power capacity. 
• Rising energy consumption and a hike in fossil fuel use outpaced growth in renewables.  
• The Ukraine war exacerbated a global energy crisis, creating windfall profits for fossil fuel companies while billions of people face the threat of energy poverty. 

Read the full report here.