By Dr. Peter Graham, CEO & Executive Director, GBPN
When energy supplies are disrupted, the consequences extend well beyond power stations and fuel markets. Households face higher bills, businesses face rising operating costs, and governments come under pressure to secure additional supplies. And as extreme heat drives up electricity demand, energy-inefficient buildings leave households and power systems further exposed. The buildings and construction sector accounts for 28 percent of global energy consumption.
Our work with governments and country partners is bringing this relationship between energy and buildings into focus. In India, Indonesia, and Kenya, our experience shows why building policies must move beyond setting targets and standards to changing how buildings are designed, constructed, and used. COP31 in Antalya must recognize the role of energy-efficient buildings in the energy security agenda and climate-resilient cities.
The challenge is turning commitments into results
The Buildings Breakthrough Agenda launched at COP28 aims at establishing near-zero emission and resilient buildings (NZERBs) as the new normal by 2030. The building sector is working on solutions including energy codes, climate-responsive design, efficient cooling and heating systems, and improvements to existing buildings. International commitments and sector-wide announcements help establish direction and agreement for these solutions. But the real challenge is how to turn these commitments into action on the ground. The sector needs to move beyond agreeing on what should be implemented and address how policies can work in practice.
This is where GBPN’s work is focused: supporting country partners to implement building policies, address barriers and assess the changes that follow. A roadmap or building code is an important starting point. Its value ultimately depends on whether it changes how buildings are designed, constructed and operated.
In Indonesia, GBPN supported green building policy and roadmaps intended to drive a potential emissions reduction of 37 million GtCO₂ in the buildings sector—nearly 10 percent of its enhanced NDC target from the energy sector. Following successful development of Subnational Action Plans in selected regions, GBPN is now supporting local governments to develop implementation guidelines that will reduce emissions, lower energy costs, and create healthier, more comfortable buildings.
In India, work on heat, health and housing guidelines has informed revisions to building codes, bringing occupant well-being and resilience into the policy framework. The healthy, low-carbon design principles are now informing the Healthy Urban Planning Guidelines that embed health, low-carbon development, and climate resilience into urban growth.
Implementation also depends on the people and institutions responsible for delivering buildings. GBPN is working to strengthen women’s participation and leadership in sustainable construction with the JEDI toolkit, and She Builds Sustainably program in Kenya and Indonesia. The finance accelerator initiatives seek to improve the flow of investment towards projects with the potential to deliver meaningful impact, helping connect public and private finance with implementation needs. Our work with Kenya on its national roadmap to strengthen green building regulations under the global Buildings Breakthrough is a replicable model for other regions in the continent.
Modern grids must support reliable, affordable and competitive energy supply to maintain energy security. GBPN is working with Crux Alliance partners to make this modern grid a reality with a Grid Policy toolkit. The toolkit is a shared playbook turning hard-won lessons from across the world into one comprehensive guide for modernising grids and advancing decarbonization with actionable policy tools. It is a practical, action-oriented toolkit to give policymakers, planners and communities a clear path to move faster, together.
These efforts reflect the practical requirements of delivering policy: capable institutions, an appropriately skilled workforce, financing that responds to local needs and coordination between government and industry. Without these elements, even well-designed policies can struggle to achieve their intended outcomes.
Why buildings
Buildings influence 20–30 percent of final energy demand and emissions across our geographies. That means building energy efficiency and climate policy is no longer seen only as climate policy — it is now economic and energy security policy.
Yet there are persistent fears among policymakers and the industry that higher fuel costs will increase the cost of construction, particularly housing. This feeds into a persuasive narrative from building sector interests that any increase in performance standards will push up construction costs and make housing unaffordable.
The evidence is to the contrary – higher performance standards implemented early can save trillions of dollars in avoided climate damage and health impacts. It also makes integration of renewable energy technologies more affordable, adding to energy supply resilience and security.
Delivering ambitions
At COP31, governments and sector leaders have an opportunity to strengthen commitments to building decarbonization while giving greater attention to implementation. The priority is to embed energy performance in building codes and housing programmes, mobilize finance, strengthen local capacity, and measure whether policies are producing tangible results.
The wider energy security debate must recognize that reliable supply is only part of the equation. How efficiently countries use energy also determines their exposure to disruptions, the cost of essential services, and their ability to adapt to extreme temperatures.
Buildings are a long-term investment in a country’s energy future. The task now is to turn established solutions and policy commitments into better-performing buildings that reduce energy demand, protect occupants and strengthen resilience. That is the work of implementation, and it is where progress must be measured.