Earth Today | Construction boom threatens climate goals
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THERE IS a global call to action to ensure that inefficient and high-carbon construction does not become a liability, as expanding building space increases demand for raw materials and energy, fuelling higher greenhouse gas emissions that promote global warming.
The warming of the planet, in turn, triggers a range of climate change impacts – from sea level rise to extreme hurricane events, the likes of which devastated Jamaica last October when Hurricane Melissa levelled sections of the island. In its wake was devastation on a scale Jamaicans have not before witnessed, with billions in damage, lives lost and livelihoods destroyed.
“Carbon emissions from cement, steel and aluminium used in buildings alone accounted for nine per cent of global emissions in 2024. These emissions have not changed significantly through the years, remaining around 2.1 GtCO₂ (gigatonnes of carbon dioxide), showing the urgency to establish policies to address these emissions in the construction sector,” revealed the latest Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025–2026.
The need to act now, it said, is given urgency by the rate of increase in building floor area.
“In 2024, global buildings’ floor area increased by 1.7 per cent to reach 273 billion square metres. This growth is roughly equivalent to a land area five times the size of Nairobi, or two times Delhi, four times Berlin or New York, respectively, or three times Rio de Janeiro. Growth in Europe and China has recently slowed down but remains robust in India and Southeast Asia,” the report noted.
“Much of this expansion is driven by the housing sector, which plays a central role in shaping the sector’s climate impact. More than three-quarters of building floor area are for residential use and residential buildings account for 70 per cent of total energy demand. In 2024, the residential building stock floor area increased 3.4 billion square metres, while the non-residential building stock grew 1.3 billion square metres. This highlights the relevance of this segment in the transformation of the buildings and construction sector”, it added.
At the same time, the operational emissions of buildings have increased by 1 per cent to 9.9 GtCO₂ in 2024, consistent with the trend over the last 10 years.
“Between 2015 and 2024, global buildings’ operational emissions rose by 6.5 per cent and energy demand increased by an estimated 11 per cent, while global floor area grew by 20 per cent,” it added.
It is therefore necessary, the report said, for governments to “leverage these existing improvements to accelerate progress”.
“Countries require a clear policy framework to transform the buildings and construction sector towards a zero-emission, efficient, resilient, and socially just sector. Developing comprehensive strategies in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) required under the Paris Agreement represents a key opportunity to guide this transformation,” the report said.
“By 2024, 20 countries had submitted an NDC with an extensive strategy for cutting the sector’s emissions, demonstrating that it is possible to integrate sector-specific pathways into national climate planning. But, as of January 2026, under the new NDC 3.0 round launched in 2025, no country has yet published extensive strategies for the sector, despite calls for more detailed pledges,” it added.
Also required is attention to building energy codes, which are said to be “a crucial mechanism to ensure that buildings are sustainable and future-proof”, as well as “voluntary instruments such as green building certifications” that can “mobilise the industry to drive greater sustainability in buildings”.
Ultimately, the report said, “a clear direction of travel is critical to put the buildings and construction sector on track”.
“Roadmaps are an effective tool to decarbonise and future-proof the buildings sector,” it noted.