Roxana Slavcheva

The built environment accounts for over one-third of global emissions. In rapidly developing markets like India and Mexico, a surge in housing construction faces a pivotal choice: lock in high-carbon infrastructure or, with the right interventions, enable resilient, low-carbon designs and create millions of green jobs.

Much of Europe sweltered in August 2025 as a heat dome spread across the continent, pushing peak afternoon temperatures to over 40 degrees C (104 degrees F) in France and Spain. Meanwhile, parts of Greece, Turkey and Albania battled historic and devastating wildfires as high temperatures scorch the land. Deadly summer heat waves have become the new norm in recent years for Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent.

The built environment is not on track globally to achieve its sectoral climate targets. Accounting for over a third of total energy system emissions already, the continued use of carbon-intensive materials paired with inefficient energy use throughout the built environment threatens to exacerbate rising emissions – especially as urbanization and cooling demands continue to escalate.