6 May 2026
Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa selected to join pioneering project that will accelerate the adoption of solutions to advance sustainable construction and renovation.
Led by national Green Building Councils (GBCs) and delivered through multi‑stakeholder coalitions, the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) will support these countries to develop or advance national climate action roadmaps for the building sector. These initiatives set out clear, practical steps to cut emissions, improve resilience and transform the built environment between now and 2050.
Buildings and construction account for approximately one-third of global energy-related carbon emissions, making the sector central to achieving international climate targets. Up to 2050, projected new construction equates to the equivalent of a city the size of Paris every week. The largest growth in new floor space is expected to be in Africa, where a significant proportion of the 2050 building stock has yet to be constructed.
The policy and investment decisions made today will shape emissions, energy security, and quality of life for generations to come. Recent data collected by WorldGBC shows that where national roadmaps have been delivered in Europe, Green Building Councils (GBCs) report seeing increased ambition in more than 40 different policies and over €300 million of public sector innovation funding deployed into cutting emissions from the sector.
WorldGBC will support national Green Building Councils in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa to co‑create roadmaps for the buildings and construction sector that are aligned to global and national climate goals. These roadmaps will set out short, medium and long‑term actions for all key stakeholders to cut energy use, improve efficiency, and increase circularity and resilience.
Each roadmap will be:
This Africa‑focused expansion builds on the impact of similar national roadmap projects led by WorldGBC in other regions. This includes Europe through the #BuildingLife initiative, which has delivered 12 national Whole Life Carbon roadmaps, influenced EU building policy through the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, and mobilised over 800 companies to commit to lifecycle decarbonisation. This expansion of WorldGBC´s project also aligns with international efforts led by the UNEP‑hosted Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC).
Climate action roadmaps are proven tools for translating global commitments into real-world delivery in the built environment. By setting out clear, time‑bound actions for all parts of the value chain, they help shift progress from high‑level goals to coordinated implementation, aligning policy, industry leadership and investment to accelerate emissions reductions and strengthen resilience at scale.
Formally recognised by the COP30 Presidency, the UNFCCC and the Climate High-level Champions as a Plan to Accelerate Solutions (PAS), roadmap‑based approaches are helping to deliver the Climate Action Agenda and accelerate the implementation of related solutions where it matters most — with WorldGBC co-leading the development of this PAS.
The launch coincides with the conclusion of the first International Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, where nearly 60 countries committed to develop transition roadmaps to overcome fossil fuel dependency. For the building sector this means leveraging roadmaps to deliver action on energy efficiency, electrification, resilient energy systems and equitable access to clean energy.
Each participating Green Building Council will lead an inclusive, nationally driven process to coordinate stakeholders across the full building and construction value chain.
Liku Solomon, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Ethiopian Green Building Council, said:
“The roadmap will transform Ethiopia’s built environment by translating NDC 3.0 and CRGE commitments into coordinated, actionable measures. By establishing clear, actionable standards, we will tackle both operational and embodied carbon while improving urban resilience. This grant is the essential catalyst; it empowers our Green Building Council to bridge the gap between policy and practice by convening stakeholders and developing a robust evidence base. Ultimately, this support enables us to lead building code reform and mobilize green finance, creating a scalable model for sustainable, climate-resilient development across Ethiopia.”
Nasra Nanda, CEO, Kenya Green Building Society, said:
“As CEO of the Kenya Green Building Society, this grant marks a pivotal shift — from championing green building to delivering it. The roadmap translates Kenya’s climate ambition into concrete action across the built environment, integrating standards, finance, and policy at both national and county levels. My vantage point as a Nairobi sub-national legislator reinforces how critical that alignment is; implementation fails when policies don’t reach the ground. And as Chair for WorldGBC’s Africa Regional Network, I am determined that the models we prove here — scalable, low-carbon, resilient solutions developed with market actors and local capacity — will ripple across the continent. This is advocacy becoming tangible impact.”
Danjuma Waniko, President, Green Building Council Nigeria, said:
“For us at GBCN, the real value of this roadmap is not simply that it will help reduce emissions. It is that it can help Nigeria make better decisions about how we build — so that decarbonization, resilience, affordability, health, jobs, and quality of life are treated as connected outcomes. Achieving that kind of change requires the ecosystem to work together, and this grant enables us to do just that: to work with stakeholders across Nigeria’s built environment ecosystem to co-create a practical pathway that reflects our realities and builds the shared ownership needed to drive meaningful change.”
Bakang Moeng, Manager, Public Sector Advocacy & Sustainability, Green Building Council South Africa, said:
”This roadmap will translate South Africa’s climate commitments into actionable, locally relevant pathways for decarbonising the built environment, beginning with Gauteng as a high-impact pilot. It will align policy, industry, and finance around clear sector targets, while strengthening resilience and supporting a just transition.
The grant will enable the Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) and its project partners to convene stakeholders, lead robust technical and consultative processes, and deliver a credible, scalable model that can be replicated across provinces to accelerate national climate action.”
Cristina Gamboa, WorldGBC CEO, said:
“At the World Green Building Council, roadmaps for the building and construction industry are a core mechanism for delivering our global Building the Transition strategy, helping translate long‑term climate ambition into coordinated action on the ground.
Across our global network, these approaches have proven effective in aligning policy, industry and investment, accelerating progress at scale while unlocking the health, economic and resilience benefits of sustainable buildings.
Supporting and further partnering with national Green Building Councils (GBCs) in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa reflects our commitment to ensuring that the transition to a zero emissions and climate‑resilient built environment is inclusive, equitable and regionally led. By placing GBCs at the centre of delivery, the work ensures that climate action roadmaps are locally owned, practical and capable of mobilising long‑term commitment.
We will continue to build on this momentum to launch further national roadmap projects across the Asia‑Pacific region later this year.”
For more information visit: worldgbc.org/building-the-transition-roadmaps
ENDS
Media contact:
Tessa Eydmann-Peel, Marketing and Communications Manager, WorldGBC, teydmannpeel@worldgbc.org
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
World Green Building Council
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) is the largest local-regional-global action network leading the transformation to sustainable and decarbonised built environments.
Together, with over 85 Green Building Councils and industry partners from all around the world, we are driving systemic changes to achieve:
We work with businesses, organisations and governments to deliver on the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development (SDGs).
Find out more www.worldgbc.org