Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction: Towards a Zero‑Emission, Efficient and Resilient Buildings and Construction Sector

To limit additional global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius, countries have adopted policies and codes that have a future impact on the emissions and energy efficiency of buildings.  Building emissions need to be reduced along their life cycle through a combination of reducing energy demand, decarbonizing the power supply and addressing embodied carbon stored in building materials.  Efforts require maximizing the refurbishment of existing buildings, evaluating each design choice using a whole life-cycle approach, minimizing upfront carbon impacts, and avoiding future embodied carbon during and at the end of their life.  This also helps in achieving the UN SDGs.