On 7-8 March 2024 at the Buildings and Climate Global Forum, World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) joined the French Government and UNEP-GlobalABC, ministers and high-level representatives in discussions on key building decarbonisation topics. The Forum concluded with the launch of a ministerial declaration, known as the Déclaration de Chaillot supported by 70 countries.
The Déclaration aims to build on the success of the Buildings Breakthrough at COP28 which has the goal of making "near-zero-emission and resilient buildings the new normal by 2030". It sets out several points and priorities around global building decarbonisation efforts:
The gap is growing
There is an increasing gap between the energy and climate performance of the building and construction sector and the necessary pathway to achieve its decarbonisation and resilience.
Key reasons include an insufficient volume of building renovation and sustainable building construction, continued investment in carbon-intensive heating and cooling systems, and over-exploitation of natural resources in the building value chain.
Sound national policies are needed
Governments need to introduce national policies that drastically decrease emissions in new and existing buildings, enhance carbon storage and adapt buildings to climate change.
The Déclaration sets out a range of policy objectives - including on sustainable planning, construction and retrofit - across the life cycle of buildings.
Governments must commit to establishing decarbonisation pathways
Governments need to ensure that these policy objectives are accompanied with decarbonisation and resilience pathways on buildings and construction, aligned with the Paris Agreement. Pathways should encompass regulatory changes, financial incentives, product certification and labelling, and measures to build skills and improve value chain collaboration.
Creating a new ministerial council for Buildings and Climate
Reinforcing the need for international collaboration on building decarbonisation, the establishment of the "Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate" will provide a space for governments to assess the implementation of the Déclaration and share insights.
WorldGBC welcomes the Déclaration and this much needed political enthusiasm for buildings.
As a next step, we invite governments to work with our network of more than 80 national GBCs and collaborate to deliver sustainable buildings for everyone, everywhere in line with WorldGBC's Global Policy Principles for a Sustainable Built Environment.
