On Sept. 26, 2024, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released the third annual Breakthrough Agenda Report. The report provides an annual update on progress against the Breakthrough Agenda, which is a collaborative framework supported by 59 national governments aimed at accelerating action on climate change. The Buildings Breakthrough was adopted at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 28^th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai last year. The Buildings Breakthrough calls for the achievement of near-zero emissions and resilient buildings by 2030.

The 2024 Breakthrough Agenda Report assesses progress made from the previous year and provides recommendations for additional progress that is needed and opportunities for tangible and collective action. Some of these opportunities include several of the International Code Council’s initiatives mentioned specifically in the 2024 Report.

The Code Council launched the Building Capacity for Sustainable and Resilient Buildings initiative in support of the Buildings Breakthrough at COP28. The Initiative focuses on capacity-building resources (e.g. policies, tools, organizational entities) needed to create a regulatory ecosystem for the effective implementation and enforcement of building codes, including energy codes.

In addition to the Initiative, the report also highlights the collaboration between the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Code Council to jointly develop an international standard (ASHRAE/ICC Standard 240P). This standard will support quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the lifecycle of a building to provide consistency in verification and reporting and is expected to open for public review later this year.

“The Code Council has consistently emphasized the vital influence buildings have on the sustainability and resilience of the built environment,” said Code Council Vice President of Innovation Ryan Colker. “Having our efforts recognized by global leaders as part of the solution to both reducing global GHG emissions and improving building resiliency acknowledges the potential global impact of the solutions that we have developed. We will continue to develop and deploy solutions that will assist governments and organizations seeking to achieve climate adaptation and mitigation goals.”