COP29 highlights construction’s role in climate action

As the curtain went down on COP29 in Azerbaijan, you could be forgiven for feeling underwhelmed by the headlines from the international negotiations, but the built environment featured heavily, with increased ambition on buildings, finance, skills, and adaptation and resilience emerging as hot topics. 

Both CIOB President Professor Mike Kagioglou and our Head of Environmental Sustainability Amanda Williams were on the ground at COP29 in Baku, and Amanda shares a round-up and some reflections below.

Pre-COP29 progress

Ahead of the summit, the 2024 Yearbook of Climate Action, published by UNFCCC, provided an overview of progress, trends and challenges of real-world climate action, to inspire further action and raise ambition.

Progress under the Buildings Breakthrough came in March 2024, when the Declaration de Chaillot, backed by 69 countries, was introduced at the Buildings & Climate Global Forum, co-hosted by GlobalABC, establishing a common set of priorities for climate actions in the building and construction sector. 

In the meantime, the Yearbook also highlighted positive news that the cement sector had reduced its carbon intensity by 8% compared with 2020 levels and more than a third of members of The Global Cement and Concrete Association had set science-based targets for emissions reduction.

But going into COP29 there was no doubt that progress on carbon in the built environment needed to be accelerated significantly.

The official negotiations and the built environment

COP29, labelled ‘the Finance COP’, was fraught with challenging negotiations, and at times it was unclear that a headline deal would be reached. But as the international summit ended a finance deal had been agreed, albeit one that fell far short of what developing nations had been hoping for. 

An agreement to triple finance to developing countries, from the previous goal of $100 billion annually, to $300 billion annually by 2035, with a commitment to work to mobilise more funds from both public and private sources, fell far short of the $1.3 trillion thought to be needed each year. 

A key piece of progress was the adoption (finally) of article 6 – which is all about voluntary carbon markets. This will be important for mobilising climate finance and investment.

At the High-Level Ministerial Roundtable on Green Construction, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Climate Resilience in Cities, the built environment was referred to as the ‘sleeping giant of climate action’ and it was clear that Country NDCs could play a critical role in leveraging on the contribution it must make to climate action. 

Ministers from several countries, including Germany, signalled commitment to deliver NDCs backed by ambitious, sector-specific policy plans and investments. The Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) launched a timely guide to support countries in incorporating buildings actions in NDCs.

The Intergovernmental Council on Buildings and Climate was officially formalised; considered a significant step towards implementing the Chaillot Declaration, which aims to engage stakeholders across the buildings sector in climate action.

The COP29 Declaration on Multisectoral Actions Pathways (MAP) to Resilient and Healthy Cities, pledged (among other things) to decrease emissions from existing and new buildings, by promoting energy-efficient materials, technologies, processes, certifications and smart systems, and access to finance for low-emission, efficient and resilient buildings and construction sector. 

It also included a commitment to strengthen urban climate resilience by integrating disaster risk reduction and adaptation actions into infrastructure development and enhancing preparedness and early warning and anticipatory action systems. 

Sharing best practice and challenging perceptions

Away from the international negotiations, there was a full programme of events in the Buildings & Cooling Pavillion and several relevant side events in the Green Zone. The result was a hive of activity with stakeholders sharing best practice, discussing solutions, and making the case for accelerated progress. 

Finance was a central theme throughout, and a discussion facilitated by the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment highlighted that the finance challenge is immense; in summary the public purse cannot cover the bill, so private finance will be essential. 

Speakers from the finance community highlighted the benefits of a green transition from economic productivity to new jobs, the availability of finance for innovation and mitigation, and the challenge of making the business case stack up for adaptation projects because it is hard to quantify avoided losses (and there was recognition that this challenge must be addressed).

In the same session, an advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister from Ukraine challenged any preconceptions that the environment is not a high priority at times of war, highlighting that environmental requirements for the finance needed to rebuild and EU accession both keep sustainability on the agenda.

Adaptation and resilience to climate change was another key theme and it was good to hear more about the UK Green Building Council’s timely new UK Climate Resilience Roadmap, which aims to map how the built environment must adapt to and be prepared for a changing climate. You can contribute to their industry consultation here.

Embodied Carbon featured strongly in several discussions, with the pilot for the UK Net Zero Carbon Building Standard, which covers both operational and embodied carbon, highlighted as a development of particular note. In case you missed it, our new Guide to Embodied Carbon in the Built Environment also went live during COP29. 

Nature recovery was a high priority in discussions, and it was particularly good to hear international case studies of successful examples of constructed wetlands as an alternative to hard water treatment infrastructure in various parts of the world. I was delighted to share information about the release of part two of our digital series The Nature of Building during COP29. 

Finally, building capacity and green skills development was an important theme in several sessions. For example, at a panel discussion on green buildings and decarbonisation of construction in emerging economies, the important role of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in construction was highlighted but it was also acknowledged that they face knowledge, capacity and resource challenges.

The Baku Climate Coalition for SMEs green transition declaration recognised the role that SMEs can play in the climate transition and called for training programmes, digital platforms, mentorship, and resource centres to support them.

We highlighted the importance of green skills strongly throughout November, and will continue to advocate for this to be a high priority with policymakers internationally. Read our latest international piece on the subject to find out more.

Key takeaway

The pace of change in the built environment sector is currently too slow. While credible action is emerging from industry, this will not move the dial quickly enough without strong action from governments. Nations must submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in 2025, and this provides a moment of opportunity to ensure they adequately address carbon and resilience in the built environment and help accelerate progress. The built environment industry needs countries to develop strong NDCs, with clear goals, backed by detailed plans and strong policy objectives to provide a level playing field and drive progress.