Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from buildings and construction are jeopardising global goals to keep devastating climate change at bay, a U.N.-backed coalition warned, after data showed they hit an all-time high in 2019.

The use of coal, oil and natural gas for heating, lighting and cooking fuelled a rise in emissions from the operation of buildings to about 10 gigatons last year, including direct emissions and indirect emissions from power generation, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC) said.

Another key factor is growing energy demand for cooling as air-conditioner ownership rises with worsening extreme heat.

Together, building operations and construction now account for nearly 40% of global energy-related CO2 emissions, GlobalABC added in a report.

“In 2019, the buildings and construction sector moved away and not towards the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the global mean temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius,” said GlobalABC.

However, pandemic recovery packages and more ambitious emissions reduction pledges under the Paris accord, now being made in the run-up to the 2021 U.N. climate summit, provide opportunities to change course, it added.

GlobalABC’s new Buildings Climate Tracker also showed the annual rate of progress on decarbonising buildings is slowing down, almost halving from 2016 to 2019.

Failure to keep global warming under 2C could lead to catastrophic impacts such as food and water shortages, sea level rise and mass displacement, scientists have warned.

There have been positive developments in the buildings sector but “not enough to bend the curve”, said Martina Otto, head of the GlobalABC Secretariat, who also leads the U.N. Environment Programme’s cities unit.

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