GlobalABC sessions during the Energy Efficiency Day. Photo by BMWK / Anja Blumentritt
On Monday, 17 March 2025, the Partnership for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (PEEB) showed how to drive investment into sustainable buildings. PEEB’s experience with building retrofits in Mexico showcased how building for user needs and comfort makes climate-friendly projects feasible.
Buildings and construction remain a key sector for the decarbonisation of the economy. For that, energy performance in buildings needs to gather speed: according to the newly launched GlobalABC Global Status Report, the sector consumed 32% of the global energy and contributed to 34% of global CO2 emissions in 2024. That’s why the first Energy Efficiency Day in Berlin, hosted during the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, put buildings in the spotlight, together with industry.
From barriers to breakthroughs
Barriers such as upfront costs, lack of skilled labour, and slow implementation cycles slow the much-needed investment flows into energy efficiency in buildings. Solutions are sorely needed: investments in Building Energy Efficiency fell by 7% from 2022 to 2024, according to GlobalABC’s new report. PEEB’s work shows that those solutions exist, and can be scaled.
Anna Zinecker, Head of Component at PEEB, explained how PEEB’s model—anchored in technical assistance, policy support, and financial mobilisation— supports the move from individual projects to systemic change. A case study form a social housing refurbishment project in Mexico, presented by Liliana Campos Arriaga, showed that tailoring finance according to end user needs is an effective strategy to enable projects.
Social Housing in Mexico
Social housing refurbishment works in Mexico included thermal insulation, high-efficiency air conditioning, and solar water heating and water-saving devices. Photos by GIZ Mexico.
At a session organized by GlobalABC, Liliana Campos-Arriaga of PEEB Cool Mexico presented a powerful case study on the refurbishment of over 7,300 social housing units across Mexico. These were not just retrofits—they were comprehensive upgrades that improved comfort, reduced energy bills, and empowered communities. More than 29,500 people saw their living conditions transformed, with energy savings ranging from 47% to 83%, and cooling demands slashed by nearly 20%.
In Mexico’s hot, dry regions like Mexicali and Hermosillo, the renovations included thermal insulation, high-efficiency appliances, solar water heaters, and in advanced phases, PV systems and mechanical ventilation. The results weren’t just measured in kilowatt-hours or CO₂ savings (though those were substantial), but in better health, dignity, and resilience for families.
What made the programme successful, Campos stressed, was its attention to capacity building, local adaptation, and inclusive design. Tailored financing schemes met families where they were, workforce training bridged gaps in skilled labour, and industrialised solutions are now being explored to scale efforts faster and wider.
Aligning with Global Climate Goals
The GlobalABC session served as a timely reminder that the buildings sector is still off track to meet 2030 targets. But it also underscored the solutions that work—and the role of partnerships like PEEB in delivering them.
As the world works to honour the pledges made at COP28—to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency yearly by 2030—the building sector must not be left behind. Efficiency in buildings isn’t a side strategy. It’s central to energy security, affordability, job creation, and social equity.
The social housing programme in Mexico is just one example, but it holds universal lessons: solutions must be human-centred, locally adapted, and systemically supported. With the right policies, finance, and capacity, retrofitting becomes transformation—for homes, for communities, and for the planet.
Learn more about the PEEB Cool programme here.
Read the GlobalABC Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024/2025 here.