Larissa Gross

Briefings 26 Apr 2024 Five years after launching the European Green Deal, the EU is making tangible progress in delivering climate neutrality. However, as implementation deepens, success will be realised not through siloed initiatives or individual sectoral gains. It will hinge on a collaborative approach that addresses cross-cutting challenges such as skills, redirecting finance, and local delivery.

The Buildings and Climate Global Forum in Paris on 7-8 March put the buildings sector back in the limelight – laying a path to the Buildings Breakthrough, highlighting champions, and illuminating the massive gap in delivery. The buildings sector is responsible for more than a third of global emissions and energy demand, with that share growing each year.

Buildings are central to everyday life and a keystone to constructing a climate-safe and sustainable world for all. People spend 90% of their time in buildings – at home, at work, or in the community. Buildings are also critical to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees, accounting for over 20% of global emissions. And yet, the buildings and construction sectors have historically made slow progress in service of climate goals.