The Turkish President of COP31 has launched yet another call for climate funding, this time for buildings. Every developing country has lots of buildings so the call is truly universal compared to specialty causes like wind and solar, droughts and floods, etc.

It is called the “Antalya Compact for Energy Efficient Buildings” but that is misleading because supposed energy efficiency is just part of it. It includes electrification which may well not be efficient. In any case it takes tons of money which is really the point.

See the Antalya Compact at https://globalabc.org/sites/default/files/resources/2026-10/cop31-energy-efficient-buildings-compact-text.pdf

The Compact is a proposed multinational agreement to do the following by 2035 which is very soon from an engineering and construction point of view:

“Pursue at least a 25 per cent reduction in the operational energy intensity of the global building stock by 2035 relative to 2020 levels.

Accelerate efficient electrification in buildings in support of the COP31 Presidency’s objective of increasing electricity’s share of global final energy consumption to 35 per cent by 2035.”

Electrification in buildings mostly means replacing the use of natural gas and fuel oil in existing buildings which is very expensive plus prohibiting it in new buildings. Both green efforts are already at work in America.

The more-money part of the Compact goes like this:

“We commit, in accordance with our respective national circumstances, priorities and capacities, and in support of the Compact’s 2035 objectives, to:

Mobilise finance, markets and implementation capacity, inter alia by increasing investment; using targeted public and concessional finance and technical assistance to mobilise private investment; reforming subsidies and taxation; and using sustainable public procurement, energy-service companies, performance contracting, green mortgages and property-linked finance to create demand.”

The inclusion of energy-service companies reflect the fact that they are major sponsors of this effort. The Compact comes from the “Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC)” which is hosted by the UN Environment Program.

GlobalABC boasts over 440 members which is a great list of the kind of folks that will get the money.

https://globalabc.org/members/our-members

There are three primary groups — (1) developing countries, (2) activist groups and (3) construction trade associations. Here are three illustrative examples from the beginning of the list:

BANGLADESH – MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND PUBLIC WORKS

ALLIANCE FOR AN ENERGY EFFICIENT ECONOMY

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS

Some seem a bit odd like the AMERICAN CONCRETE INSTITUTE as I do not see concrete as part of energy efficiency or electrification. Then there is the intriguing BUILD WITH HEMP but I digress.

Surely a 25 per cent reduction in the operational energy intensity of the entire global building stock by 2035 is impossible. Not only would the cost be astronomical, the required labor and materials could not be mobilized that quickly. Plus of course there is no one to pay for it. As a civil engineer I would love to see an engineering cost estimate.

There is also a bit of a contradiction here which is common throughout net zero energy efficiency proposals. If you are going to electrify the buildings and get the juice from wind and solar what is the green point in reducing energy usage? It does not reduce emissions as these are already zero.

In any case it will be worth watching COP31 to see how this latest wacky climate money sink progresses. Given that impossible targets are free it may do very well.

Stay tuned to CFACT to see how this green building circus goes.