Building space heating and cooling in NDCs 4.0

Calls and initiatives for incorporating the building stock into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement indicate the large potential to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. With the update of NDC 4.0 for 2030, the opportunity exists to include national building stocks as an action area in NDC 4.0. Worldwide, the GHG emissions caused by national building stocks are dominated by energy consumption for the operation of buildings, especially for heating and cooling. In the Global North, the expenditure of energy and GHG emissions for heating must be further drastically reduced. Worldwide, and especially in the Global South, it is a matter of limiting the increase in mechanical cooling (i.e. air-conditioning) demand by finding a compromise with the safeguarding of thermal comfort. The first step is to account for the GHG emissions associated with space heating and cooling, including emissions from the electricity and district heating used in buildings. This briefing note argues that including space heating and cooling in NDC 4.0 is feasible and desirable and it proposes a staged approach for policymakers.