Buildings worldwide could become drastically more energy efficient in just the next decade, according to a report from the International Energy Agency.This would require energy efficiency targets being achieved across households and businesses around the world by reducing carbon emissions, lowering utility bills, and boosting energy security.Prepared at the request of Türkiye and Australia under the strategic partnership of the COP31 presidency, this special report assesses a proposal aimed at improving the energy intensity of the global buildings sector by at least 25 percent by 2035. The IEA determined that this target can technically be achieved with existing policies and available technology, although meeting it will require more than doubling the current annual rate of improvement worldwide.“More energy-efficient buildings can cut emissions worldwide while making a tangible difference to people’s daily lives,” stated IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “By accelerating progress, we can lower energy bills and help more people access secure, affordable energy. This report shows that we already have the technologies and policy tools to deliver these benefits. The priority now is to put them to work.”Four pillars for accelerating building efficiencyThe analysis by the IEA outlines four main intervention points to accelerate efficiency gains: improving building envelopes, electrifying end uses, strengthening equipment efficiency, and expanding access to clean cooking solutions.In the IEA pathway, higher-efficiency equipment represents the single largest contributor, accounting for 40 percent of the total energy intensity reduction. Expanding access to clean cooking solutions contributes another 25 percent, primarily by replacing highly inefficient traditional use of biomass with clean alternatives.Upgrading building envelopes through high-performance insulation and advanced glazing accounts for 20 percent, while direct electrification, including residential heat pumps, contributes up to 15 percent.Taken together, these four measures could lower the building sector’s energy intensity by more than 25 percent by 2035, even as heating, cooling, and electrical demand increases due to global growth in income and population. Direct carbon dioxide emissions from the sector could also be cut by nearly 40 percent.Aligning building policy with global climate targetsThe buildings sector plays a critical role in international decarbonization efforts. Currently, the sector accounts for 2.8 gigatonnes of direct carbon dioxide emissions annually while consuming roughly 30 percent of total final energy across the world and nearly half of global electricity consumption.The IEA roadmap aligns with commitments made at COP28 in Dubai to double global energy efficiency improvement rates by 2030, as well as discussions for COP31 aimed at raising electricity’s share of total final energy consumption to 35 percent by 2035.Because buildings have long lifespans, the choices made today for designing and regulating them will shape energy consumption for decades to come. To secure these long-term benefits, governments must implement stricter enforcement of building energy codes, accelerate retrofits of aging structures, and scale up minimum energy performance standards.