Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025–2026

Report by UNEP and GlobalABC (2026) | Policy, Insurance, Standards, Social Impact

Curator: Alexandra Faciu

Montréal, Canada

This post is accessible to all readers.

Why we recommend it: The report underscores that the buildings and construction sector is expanding rapidly but decarbonizing far too slowly, leaving it significantly off track from Paris Agreement goals. As one of the largest contributors to global emissions and material use, the sector’s choices today will shape climate outcomes for decades. Despite efficiency gains, operational and embodied emissions continue to rise, while policy frameworks and investment levels remain insufficient. The report stresses that meaningful progress requires structural transformation: stronger building codes, fossil‑fuel phase‑out plans, accelerated renewable deployment, and ambitious national strategies. It highlights both the urgency and the immense potential for climate, resilience, and housing benefits.

Key takeaways:

- The Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025–2026 — the tenth edition published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) — presents a comprehensive assessment of how the sector is progressing toward the goals of the Paris Agreement, and its conclusion is clear: while global construction activity continues to accelerate, decarbonization efforts are not keeping pace. Despite a decade of improvements in energy efficiency, renewable energy uptake, and green building certification, the sector remains fundamentally off track, with the gap between current performance and net‑zero pathways widening rather than narrowing.

- The report underscores the immense scale and strategic importance of the buildings and construction sector. It accounts for more than a tenth of global GDP, employs nearly one in ten people worldwide, and is responsible for over a third of global CO₂ emissions and nearly half of all material use. With roughly half of the buildings that will exist in 2050 still to be constructed, decisions made today will determine emissions trajectories for decades. Global floor area continues to expand, reaching 273 billion square meters in 2024, with the fastest growth occurring in India and Southeast Asia. Residential buildings dominate global stock and energy demand, giving housing policy a central role in shaping climate outcomes.

- Emissions trends remain deeply concerning. Operational emissions rose to 9.9 GtCO₂ in 2024, continuing an upward trajectory that places the sector 3.5 GtCO₂ off the path required to meet 2030 net‑zero milestones. Embodied carbon from construction materials such as cement, steel, and aluminum has remained stubbornly unchanged at around 2.1 GtCO₂ annually, reflecting a lack of effective policy frameworks targeting material supply chains. The Global Buildings Climate Tracker shows a decarbonization score of just 2.8 out of 100, indicating that progress has stalled since the COVID‑19 pandemic. Rising operational emissions, slow retrofitting rates, and ongoing policy support for fossil fuels in heating, cooling, and cooking are the primary drivers of stagnation.

- There are areas of progress. Energy intensity has declined by 8.5% since 2015, and the decarbonization of electricity has helped slow the growth of operational emissions relative to energy demand. However, the renewable share of buildings’ final energy consumption remains far too low at 17.3%, well short of the 46% required by 2030. On‑site renewable generation has remained static, and fossil fuel use in buildings has not meaningfully declined.

- Policy developments are advancing but remain insufficient. Building energy codes now cover 60% of new construction, yet none are aligned with zero‑emission standards. Only 20 countries have included robust building strategies in their national climate commitments, and none have done so in the latest NDC round. Green building certification has expanded significantly, and several countries have developed national roadmaps, but these efforts are not yet driving systemic transformation.

- Investment in energy efficiency reached USD275 billion in 2024, but a USD3.6 trillion gap remains to meet 2030 requirements. The report identifies five urgent priorities: phasing out fossil fuel systems, upgrading building codes, embedding buildings strategies in national climate plans, accelerating renewable deployment in buildings, and using green certification as a strategic policy tool.

- Ultimately, the report argues that the sector has the potential to deliver major climate, resilience, and social benefits, but only if it shifts from incremental progress to structural transformation.

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