International Code Council’s Building Safety Mission Takes a Global Stage at COP29

From November 11-22, 2024, the International Code Council joined global stakeholders participating in the UN Global Climate Change Conference (COP29) for the fourth consecutive year to advance the safety and resilience of the built environment globally to increasingly frequent and severe hazards.

While government climate negotiators discussed important issues related to transition, finance, loss and damage and preparation for the next round of carbon reduction commitments, the International Code Council joined with other private sector companies, non-governmental organizations, multilateral financial institutions, standards development organizations and building, construction and disaster mitigation ministry representatives to advance concrete action on building-related initiatives designed to help countries achieve their commitments.

The flagship sectoral initiative is the Buildings Breakthrough, which was launched one year ago at COP28. This year, to further enhance global collaboration in the buildings and construction sector and to bolster the activities advancing under the Buildings Breakthrough, the inaugural meeting of the Inter-governmental Council on Buildings and Climate (ICBC) was held on November 20.

The presence and recognition of the International Code Council in the action agenda area has grown over the years, and the key messaging of the importance of resilient and right-sized building regulations, capacity building for effective compliance and high-quality standards and reliable data, was strong, consistent and well-received.

The Buildings Breakthrough: Towards Near–Zero Energy and Resilient Buildings

The buildings and construction sector contributes to approximately 40 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions according to the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). Therefore, countries must address climate mitigation within this sector to achieve their emissions reduction commitments outlined in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) pledged under the Paris Climate Agreement.

This is especially critical in the emerging economies of the “Global South,” because 50 percent of the buildings that will be standing in 2050 have not yet been built, and most of those will be constructed primarily in the heavily urbanizing regions of Africa and Asia. Additionally, countries around the world are facing the immediate need to adapt their built environments to protect against growing weather-related threats like extreme heat, wildfires, flooding and high wind events.

The Buildings Breakthrough is a cross-sectoral campaign to support governments in the universal adoption and implementation of near-zero emission and resilient buildings by 2030. It is supported by 19 private sector-led initiatives, including the Building Capacity for Sustainable and Resilient Buildings Initiative led by the International Code Council.

To achieve the goals of the Breakthrough, five Priority Action areas have been identified including: 

• Standards & Certification 
• Demand Creation 
• Finance & Investment 
• Research & Deployment 
• Capacity & Skills 

The International Code Council is the lead organization moving the Capacity & Skills Priority Action forward and is also heavily engaged in the Standards & Certification Priority Action as a member of the steering committee. In this leadership role, the International Code Council is collaborating closely with organizations like the World Green Building Council, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the International Finance Corporation, UN University, the One Planet Network, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and C40 Cities, all coordinated through the United Nations Environment Programme’s GlobalABC.

At COP29, the International Code Council joined with the other Priority Action area leads to present a comprehensive update of the work done over the past year to advance the Buildings Breakthrough including an interim report mapping the institutional and personnel needs to realize the goals of the Buildings Breakthrough.

Ongoing Collaboration Among Global Construction Ministers

As groundbreaking as the launch of the Buildings Breakthrough was at COP28, the initiation of a regular dialogue among construction ministries (or their equivalent – in the U.S., the Department of Housing and Urban Development has been the primary representative), is perhaps even more notable, because generally this government function is largely domestically-focused.

However, through the strong efforts of the French Government and the GlobalABC, over 80 countries have recognized the value in global collaboration to address common challenges. The Inter-governmental Council on Buildings and Climate will also rely on contributions and support from the private sector, and non-governmental organizations like the International Code Council will likely have the opportunity to introduce solutions to the ICBC that can be leveraged around the world to achieve safe, sustainable, resilient and affordable buildings.

Additional Engagement at COP29

Over the two-week period, the International Code Council presented messaging on the importance of resilient and right-sized building regulations, capacity building for effective compliance, and strong standards and reliable data, during 15 different sessions.

Staff experts expanded the number of venues at which the messaging was delivered (and thus the number and breadth of stakeholders reached), to include the U.S. Center (one session each with senior representatives from HUD and NOAA), the America Is All In Action Center, the WTO Trade & Investment House, the Global Cement and Concrete pavilion, and the NDC Partnership pavilion, in addition to the Buildings & Cooling pavilion, which is supported in part by the International Code Council.

An overview of the International Code Council’s activities at COP29 and prior COP meetings, along with session recordings, is available here.