The Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) and the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) have entered a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance their move towards sustainable and resilient buildings and construction.
This strategic partnership aims to use the strengths of both networks, including advocacy, policy development, and capacity-building, to achieve shared sustainability goals.
The collaboration between WorldGBC, representing more than 75 national Green Building Councils and more than 48,000 private sector members, and GlobalABC, a platform with more than 330 members including 42 countries, is set to leverage their collective influence.
Hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme, GlobalABC's engagement in this partnership is pivotal as the sector seeks to align with the 2030 climate goals.
This partnership comes at a time when the building and construction sector is under pressure to adjust its course to meet the impending climate targets.
This collaboration is a direct response to the recent signs of political progress, including two multi-national cooperation agreements: the Buildings Breakthrough and the Declaration de Chaillot.
The two organisations are already making strides through their joint efforts on Priority Action B1 of the Buildings Breakthrough, focusing on Standards and Certification.
They are assembling a working group of GBCs, international organisations, and countries to establish common principles for ‘near-zero emission and resilient buildings to be the new normal by 2030’.
In preparation for COP30, WorldGBC and GlobalABC are committed to ensuring this partnership amplifies the ambition for the built environment within national climate action plans, also known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
WorldGBC is developing an ‘NDC Scorecard for Sustainable Buildings’ to help countries measure their national plans against a 1.5ºC trajectory, drawing on insights from the recent GlobalABC report 'NDCs for the Built Environment'.
Furthermore, both organisations are coordinating the rollout of national roadmaps for the built environment, a crucial tool to expedite industry and political action towards zero carbon and resilient buildings.
WorldGBC's #BuildingLife project has facilitated the publication of 12 national roadmaps in Europe, while GlobalABC supports the development of regional and national roadmaps in Africa and Asia.
The announcement of this partnership was made at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, during a joint event by GlobalABC, WorldGBC, and the Cool Coalition, focusing on Nationally Determined Contributions for Sustainable, Inclusive Buildings and Cooling.
GlobalABC head Gulnara Roll said: “Our partnership with the World Green Building Council marks a significant step forward in uniting global efforts for a sustainable and resilient built environment. By leveraging our combined networks, we can accelerate impactful action, particularly in developing countries where the need for climate-resilient infrastructure is critical. Together, we’re committed to supporting countries in setting ambitious standards and roadmaps to achieve net-zero emissions, ensuring that the building sector aligns with the 1.5ºC climate trajectory and leaves no community behind.”
