Buildings Remain Climate’s Worst Enemy Despite Global Efficiency Push

While world leaders continue to make grand promises about climate action, the global buildings sector remains stubbornly off track for meeting critical decarbonization goals.

Buildings now account for a whopping 37% of global CO₂ emissions, with operational emissions hitting 9.8 gigatonnes in 2023. Toss in another 2.9 gigatonnes of embodied carbon, and you’ve got a climate disaster that keeps on giving. Digital optimization technologies can reduce these emissions by up to 40% savings without requiring replacement of existing equipment.

Buildings are climate killers—37% of global emissions and pumping out nearly 13 gigatonnes of carbon annually.

The numbers don’t lie. Energy intensity in buildings has declined just 9.5% since 2015, nowhere near the 18.2% needed. Renewable energy use? Up 4.5 percentage points when we need 17.8. Green building certifications are lagging by 7.7 points.

Seems like all those fancy climate conferences aren’t translating to actual progress. Only 19 countries even bother to detail building strategies in their Nationally Determined Contributions. Just two have implemented zero emissions building codes. Two! Out of nearly 200 countries! Apparently, saving the planet isn’t as important as getting that new shopping mall up and running.

Investment is falling short too—about $1.1 trillion short of what’s required. Space cooling energy has grown over 4% annually since 2000. No surprise there. Everyone wants AC as the planet cooks itself. The energy realism approach suggests this transition is further complicated by economic and physical constraints that aren’t being adequately addressed.

Some countries are trying. France, Germany, Italy, and the UK have decent whole-building retrofit policies. Egypt somehow managed a 46.18% national energy intensity reduction from 2017-2022.

But for every success, there’s a failure. Egypt, UAE, and Russia ranked lowest overall in policy implementation. The Global Buildings Climate Tracker doesn’t mince words: annual improvement must accelerate to 10 points to hit 2030 targets.

Meanwhile, fossil fuels are projected to retain a large share of the energy mix beyond 2050. Only six countries worldwide have established mandatory national codes for energy efficiency in both residential and commercial buildings, highlighting the urgent need for stronger policy frameworks.