COP31 Presidency Launches Antalya Compact to Cut Building Energy Intensity 25 Percent by 2035

Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of global energy-related carbon emissions and energy demand, according to UNEP's Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction. That single statistic explains why the built environment has moved from the margins of climate diplomacy to the center of debates about energy security, affordability and urban resilience. On October 29, 2026, the Turkish COP31 Presidency launched the Antalya Compact for Energy Efficient Buildings, a framework intended to turn that attention into measurable action across the global building stock.

The Compact is open for endorsement by all Parties and was developed under the leadership of the COP31 Presidency of Türkiye with support from the secretariat of the UNEP-hosted Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, known as GlobalABC. Its two headline goals are a 25 percent reduction in the operational energy intensity of the global building stock relative to 2020 levels and faster efficient electrification in support of the Presidency's target to raise electricity's share of global final energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035. The launch took place ahead of COP31, which is scheduled for November 9 to 20, 2026, in Antalya.

The framework did not emerge from a vacuum. It builds on the Déclaration de Chaillot, which more than 70 countries endorsed in 2024, and on the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate, or ICBC, which was created later that year. The ICBC was set up at COP29 in Baku, according to Sustainability Magazine. The new Compact is meant to convert the political signal of those earlier steps into a working agenda for governments, cities, financial institutions and sector stakeholders.

The timing reflects a difficult arithmetic. UNEP's Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025 to 2026 estimates that global building floor area grew 1.7 percent in 2024 to 272 billion square meters. New construction is still outpacing decarbonization, and renovation of existing buildings is far too slow, Martin Krause, director of UNEP's Climate Change Division, wrote in the report's foreword. The Compact therefore has to influence both the buildings that already exist and the many more that will be built in the coming decades.

Key Facts

The COP31 Presidency reported on October 29, 2026 that the Antalya Compact is open for endorsement by all Parties. Murat Kurum, COP31 President-Designate and Türkiye's Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, said that buildings are at the heart of cities and of the energy transition, and that the Compact marks a shift from ambition to implementation. The Presidency presented the initiative as a practical framework for delivery.

The first target is a 25 percent reduction in the operational energy intensity of the global building stock by 2035, measured against 2020 levels. The second supports efficient electrification, with the aim of lifting electricity to 35 percent of global final energy consumption by 2035. The Presidency describes both goals as COP31 Global Targets for 2035, and links them to the wider set of COP31 targets for that year.

The Compact sets out six action areas. They cover integrating efficiency and electrification into national strategies; strengthening the energy and carbon performance of new and existing buildings; accelerating renovation; reducing demand and electrifying heating, cooling, cooking and appliances; improving actual performance and making buildings flexible energy assets; and mobilizing finance, markets and implementation capacity. The measures range from stronger energy codes and renovation programs to investment in social housing, schools, hospitals and public infrastructure.

Energy Digital reported on October 29, 2026 that UNEP estimates an additional US$3.6 trillion in cumulative investment in energy efficiency is needed by 2030 to align with the 2050 net zero pathway. The same report puts buildings at almost 40 percent of energy-related carbon emissions and energy demand. Yves-Laurent Sapoval, co-chair of GlobalABC, said the transition is about homes people can afford to heat and cool, schools where children can learn comfortably, and hospitals that can deliver essential services without wasting energy.

Sustainability Magazine reported on October 29, 2026 that the Presidency is urging countries to endorse the Compact at the ICBC ministerial meeting on November 12, 2026, during COP31. EFE reported on October 29, 2026 that the document sets out measures for governments, cities, financial institutions and stakeholders, and that endorsement will be possible at that meeting. The Compact also sits alongside other COP31 targets, including halving projected growth in global municipal solid waste by 2035 and reaching a minimum 15 percent global circular material use rate by 2035.

Analysis

What this really means is that the Compact's value will depend less on its two headline percentages than on whether governments turn its six action areas into enforceable codes, funded retrofit programs and usable performance data. The 25 percent target is clear enough to communicate, but operational energy intensity is measured across an enormous and uneven global stock. Countries with fast-growing construction, weak enforcement and limited metering will need different tools from countries with mature building stocks and slow replacement cycles.

The explicit link between efficiency and electrification is one of the framework's stronger design choices. The Compact does not present electrification as a simple fuel swap. It pairs electrification with demand reduction, better actual performance and building flexibility, which matters because heating, cooling, cooking and appliances are among the uses the text identifies for electrification. That combination gives governments a way to talk about emissions, energy bills and grid pressure in the same conversation.

The investment gap is the hardest test. The US$3.6 trillion estimate from UNEP covers cumulative energy efficiency investment needed by 2030, a horizon far shorter than the 2035 targets. Public budgets alone are unlikely to close a gap of that scale, which is why the Compact includes finance, markets and implementation capacity as an action area. The reference to social housing, schools, hospitals and public infrastructure is important because those buildings are named in the Compact's measures and are central to public service delivery.

The bigger picture here is that the Antalya Compact is a coordination instrument, not a compliance regime. It is open for endorsement by all Parties, and its success will be judged by the number and quality of endorsements, the policies that follow, and the measurable changes in building performance. A framework that attracts broad endorsement but few binding national measures would be a weak result. A framework that starts with a smaller group of committed governments and cities, then expands as codes, finance and data improve, could be more durable.

Why It Matters

Buildings are too large a share of global energy demand to be treated as a side issue. With nearly 40 percent of energy-related carbon emissions and energy demand, the sector can move global totals through incremental improvements across millions of structures. The Compact's 25 percent target is therefore not a niche efficiency goal. It is an attempt to change the trajectory of a sector that shapes urban growth, public health and household costs.

The social dimension is central. Kurum said efficiency and electrification can lower energy costs, strengthen energy security and deliver more affordable, comfortable and healthy homes, schools, hospitals and workplaces. Sapoval noted that half of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have yet to be built and that most existing buildings need to be renovated. Those two observations explain why the Compact addresses new construction and renovation at the same time, rather than choosing between them.

For cities and national governments, the Compact offers a common vocabulary for policies that are often fragmented. Energy codes, retrofit programs and investment in public buildings can all be linked to the same 2035 goals. The framework also gives financial institutions and sector stakeholders a way to align investment with national strategies. That alignment matters because UNEP has identified a large investment gap.

Next Up

The immediate test comes on November 12, 2026, when the ICBC ministerial meeting on buildings and climate takes place during COP31 in Antalya. The Presidency has invited Parties to endorse the Compact there. The meeting will show whether the framework attracts broad support from countries with very different building stocks, construction rates and financial capacities.

After endorsement, the work moves to national strategies, building codes, renovation programs and finance. COP31 runs from November 9 to 20, 2026, so the Compact will be one strand of the wider agenda in Antalya. The measurable outcomes to watch are the number of endorsements, the strength of the policies that follow and the investment committed to efficiency and electrification. Without those steps, the 25 percent and 35 percent targets will remain statements of intent rather than a delivery plan.