With the deadline for submitting updated nationally determined contributions (NDCs) extended to September 2025, governments now have a crucial opportunity to integrate buildings and construction into their climate commitments more effectively.
Climate practitioners, country policymakers and industry stakeholders discussed challenges and effective strategies to tackle buildings in NDCs in a webinar co-organized by PEEB, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC), in partnership with the World Green Building Council. PEEB and GlobalABC presented their guide ”NDCs for Buildings: Ambitious, Investable, Actionable, and Inclusive”, which provides a practical 5-step approach and actionable tools for policymakers to enable NDCs to deliver impact on buildings.
Comprehensive and implementable targets for all country contexts
The sector accounts for 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet its role in national climate strategies remains inconsistent. Although 87% of countries had integrated buildings or have buildings-related targets in their previous NDCs, “the targets are still not strong enough to actually guide implementation” said Jonathan Duwyn from the GlobalABC during the webinar to present. “We need more ambitious goals in terms of greenhouse gas reductions and more comprehensive measures that look at the full life cycle of buildings” he added.
A few countries are leading the way to better NDCs for buildings. In Kenya, the government is working on a decarbonization roadmap for the buildings sector, as well as updating all policies and regulations to meet NDC targets. Bangladesh is working in topics as varied as circularity and embodied carbon, with a view to resilience: in this flood-prone country, buildings and water security are closely linked.
Kennedy Matheka from the Ministry of Land, Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development of Kenya and Azmeri Ashrafi from the Ministry of Housing and Public Works of Bangladesh were unanimous: collaboration is key. On the national level, collaboration involves stakeholders in the creation of the policies they will implement. On the international level, technical and financial cooperation boosts national action. Tools like the PEEB guide, Ashrafi explains, can set the foundation for collaboration efforts.
“The guide brings together research and insights from experts and practitioners to highlight what works—not just painting a picture of where we are now, but also mapping out where we need to go and the steps required to get there”, said Anna Zinecker, head component lead of PEEB during the event. “This is your moment to shape stronger, more ambitious NDCs for buildings”, she added calling on countries to consult and make extensive use of this actionable guide.
The document provides a five-step framework to help policymakers assess national contexts, prioritize key measures, select targeted policies, ensure implementation, and validate ambition. The process aims to move beyond a narrow focus on energy efficiency to include critical issues such as whole-life carbon accounting, circularity, or climate resilience. Watch the presentation below for an exploration of the five steps by co-author Shravya Reddy.
Access the full guide and learn more about how to integrate stronger commitments into NDCs.
Watch the full webinar below. It was organized in two sessions to allow wider geographical participation.