Thursday 14 November 2024
Today at COP29, the Breakthrough Agenda launched the ‘Baku’ Priority International Actions across a range of sectors, including buildings, to accelerate progress on climate change.
Governments from 61 supporting countries, representing 80% of global emissions, have agreed the actions to help coordinate worldwide efforts to make clean technologies and sustainable practices more accessible. The actions provide a comprehensive framework to enhance collaboration and drive progress towards key sustainable development goals for 2030 and beyond.
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is leading on Priority Action B1 of the Buildings Breakthrough (which forms part of the Breakthrough Agenda) focusing on “Standards and Certification”. We are delivering this work in partnership with the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) who facilitate the Buildings Breakthrough which is co-led by France and the Kingdom of Morocco.
The Buildings Chapter of the 2024 Breakthrough Agenda Report identified that under the priority area “Standards and Certification”, governments should agree on shared qualitative definitions and principles for near-zero emission and resilient buildings, and common guidelines for codes, standards, and public disclosure certificates, including reporting indicators for performance assessment.
To support these recommendations, we have convened a working group consisting of national Green Building Councils (GBCs), key international organisations and countries to develop and build consensus on definitions and principles and outline related indicators. In addition, we are preparing guidance to help ensure transparency, comparability and accountability.
Audrey Nugent, Global Advocacy and Campaigns Director, WorldGBC, said: “By leveraging the convening power of our global network, we will bring together a diverse set of stakeholders to collaborate to identify and agree key principles and definitions that can support the delivery of the Buildings Breakthrough.
“Our ultimate goal is to provide useful and actionable best practice guidance to national governments that will help accelerate international action on climate change, and deliver tangible and impactful outcomes by COP30 and beyond.”
The 2025 Priority International Actions have been developed in response to the sector’s recommendations published in the Breakthrough Agenda 2024 report, produced by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, which showed that urgent action is needed to translate positive collaboration into the standards, funding and deployment of initiatives to address climate change.
WorldGBC and the GlobalABC will be showcasing tools and solutions to accelerate the Buildings Breakthrough at COP29 on 19 November 2024, 12:30–14:00 (UTC+4) in the Buildings and Cooling Pavilion. A progress update on the Buildings Breakthrough will feature in Buildings Breakthrough Milestones, Declaration de Chaillot’s ICBC, and the Road to COP30 on 20 November 2024, 14:30–16:30 (UTC+4) in the Buildings and Cooling Pavilion.
