Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders

The document argues that improving building efficiency is a cost-effective way to reduce global energy consumption and CO2 emissions while creating jobs and improving urban livability. It outlines eight specific actions for city leaders—ranging from implementing building codes and setting targets to engaging utilities and the private sector—and provides a strategic framework for developing integrated action plans to overcome market and institutional barriers.

• Buildings have a significant global environmental footprint, accounting for 32 percent of energy consumption and 25 percent of CO2 emissions. Globally, they are responsible for nearly 40 percent of energy use, 12 percent of water use, 40 percent of waste by volume, and 40 percent of material resources.
• Building efficiency offers substantial economic returns, where every $1 invested saves $2 in electricity generation and distribution costs. Doubling the global rate of energy productivity improvements from 1.5 to 3 percent per year could save US $2 trillion by 2030.
• Energy efficiency in buildings is a significant driver of employment. A 27 percent increase in energy efficiency in Europe by 2030 could create 2 million new jobs, while retrofitting 40 percent of the United States' building stock could result in at least 600,000 long-term jobs.
• Global implementation of energy efficiency measures in the building sector could reduce CO2 emissions by 83 percent below business-as-usual scenarios by 2050, potentially saving 5.8 billion tonnes (Gt) of emissions.
• The document recommends eight specific actions for urban leaders: implementing building efficiency codes and standards; setting efficiency improvement targets; providing performance information and certifications; utilizing incentives and finance; leading by government example; engaging building owners, managers, and occupants; engaging technical and financial service providers; and working with utilities.
• Local governments face an "efficiency gap," which is the difference between technically possible savings and those easily achieved, caused by market, financial, technical, institutional, and awareness-related barriers.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders. https://www.wri.org/research/accelerating-building-efficiency

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/accelerating-building-efficiency.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders |url=https://www.wri.org/research/accelerating-building-efficiency |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendaccelerating, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/accelerating-building-efficiency}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }