We are #BuildingToCOP30
The built environment – buildings, infrastructure and cities – impacts everyone, and everywhere. Its potential to support decarbonisation efforts and benefit citizens, wherever they are in the world, must not be underestimated.
The BuildingToCOP coalition brings together leaders from across the sector who are promoting the built environment’s potential in accelerating the transition to a healthy, safe and resilient net zero future.
BuildingToCOP’s members are united by a single mission – to ensure the built environment is at the forefront of international climate dialogues and secure its recognitionin global decision making as an affordable, achievable, and essential solution.
It will be impossible to achieve our sustainability goals unless the vast potential of the built environment is unlocked.
We have the blueprints of how cities and buildings globally can adapt and mitigate against climate change. Now is the time for new policy and increased provision of capital which can accelerate the pace and scale of sustainable, equitable progress.
Why the built environment matters
“Buildings are the fabric of our cities, generating one-third of global CO2 emissions, yet they are not on track to meet the Paris Agreement goals. The sector holds immense untapped potential - providing 40% of the solutions needed to double energy intensity improvements while enhancing lives for everyone, everywhere.”
- Protecting communities – Resilient buildings shield people from floods, extreme heat, and intensifying storms.
- Cutting energy costs - Energy-efficiency renovations can lower household energy bills by up to 25%.
- Creating good, green jobs - Clean construction will generate more jobs than business-as-usual.
- Driving economic growth - Greener buildings represent a $1.8 trillion global market opportunity by 2030.
By 2030
- Efficient buildings will be an investment opportunity worth $24.7 trillion across all emerging market cities. Most of this investment potential – $17.8 trillion – lies in East Asia Pacific and South Asia.
- Despite this, under $3 of every $100 spent on new construction goes to efficient buildings.
- Out of the 196 countries that have submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 158 countries mention buildings.
- In 2021, 79 countries had building energy codes which are either mandatory for at least part of the building stock or have a voluntary component. Yet, only 26% of countries had mandatory codes for the entire buildings sector.
By 2050
- 1.6 billion urban dwellers will be regularly exposed to extreme high temperatures.
- Over 800 million people living in more than 570 cities will be vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding.
- By 2060 the world’s building stock will double and almost 70% of the global population is projected to live in urban areas.
- By 2050, cities will account for 70 percent of all carbon emissions and will need to reduce their carbon footprint by 45% to meet climate goals.
HOW WE HALVE EMISSIONS BY 2030
Businesses and sub-national governments are urged to join the Race to Zero.
All countries include full building decarbonisation targets, concrete policies and measures and related implementation mechanisms in their NDCs.
1,000 cities and at least 20% of the largest built environment businesses by revenue committed to the UN’s Race to Zero.
The sector’s stakeholders unite behind a single voice and ambition towards shared goals: By 2030, 100% of new buildings must be net-zero carbon in operation and embodied carbon must be reduced by at least 40%, and by 2050, all new and existing assets must be net zero across the whole life cycle (see UNFCCC Human Settlements Pathway).
RACE TO ZERO
and
RACE TO RESILIENCE
- Businesses and sub-national governments are urged to join the Race to Zero.
- Cities are urged to join the Cities Race to Zero, as major policy enablers and owners of real estate who can go further, faster.
- The Race to Resilience is catalysing a step-change in global ambition for climate resilience, putting people and nature first in pursuit of a resilient world.
We need to run these races together, at the same time — and win them ALL.
The Buildings Breakthrough
The Buildings Breakthrough target – “near-zero emission and resilient buildings are the new normal by 2030” – is co-led by France and the Kingdom of Morocco under the umbrella of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC).
As of November 2023, 25 countries and 17 initiatives are supporting the Buildings Breakthrough. If your country or initiative is engaged in global sustainable buildings, and ready to support the Buildings Breakthrough target, get in touch with the GlobalABC Secretariat at global.abc@un.org.
Join the next #BuildingToCOP30 Forum
Following the BuildingToCOP Coalition’s success since COP26, we are #BuildingToCOP30.
Convening monthly in the run-up to COP, these Forums are an opportunity to catalyse and connect momentum in the sector ahead of COP30.
Support for BuildingToCOP30
Dan Ioschpe
UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP30, Brazil
Dan Ioschpe has been announced as the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion from the COP30 Presidency. He will be joining Nigar Arpadarai who continues in her role as the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion from the COP29 Presidency.
Nigar Arpadarai
UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP29, Azerbaijan
Non-State actors’ resolve, leadership and readiness to seize the benefits of inclusive climate action provide a beacon of hope and their insights and innovations can inform and support governments’ next steps.
Nigar Arpadarai is the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion from the COP29 Presidency for Azerbaijan.
Coalition Members





In partnership with the Climate Champions Team

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