COP30, recently held in Belem, Brazil, was labelled by many as a disaster. Although attendees agreed to collective efforts to tackle climate change, the agreement didn’t include a framework for reducing fossil fuel production.
However, though the outcome might not be as pivotal as some hoped, COP30 signalled a decisive shift for commercial real estate, said Katie Whipp, chief business officer at re:sustain. The sector can no longer rely on disclosures, ratings and commitments but needs to move towards analysing real performance, including energy efficiency and climate resilience.
“The insights shared at COP30 show that the winners will be those who deliver operational decarbonisation today and who treat data as a strategic asset,” she said. “The laggards will see increasing costs, declining liquidity and tightening insurance markets.”
Bisnow asked Whipp about the top five takeaways from COP30 for the real estate sector.
Landlords Will Need To Offer Hard Proof
Throughout COP30, real estate was repeatedly identified as a sector where technical solutions to improving environmental performance exist but deployment lags, Whipp said. The reasons for this include data fragmentation, slow capital flows and the lack of incentives.
However, investors, insurers and regulators increasingly want to see hard evidence of measurable climate performance at asset level, not just through ratings or audits, she said. This includes stronger calls for science-based, data-driven disclosures that are linked to financial decision-making.
“The clear move here is that buildings must be understood as dynamic systems, rather than static assets,” Whipp said. “While the industry is moving towards collecting better data on operational energy use, for example, there’s a long way to go. But it won’t be long before the accuracy of data will impact access to capital.”
Collect Data Once, Use Many Times
A major theme of COP30 was that data collection must become more efficient, Whipp said. By doing so, property owners and managers will be able to make higher-quality submissions to the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the International Sustainability Standards Board.
Overall, there was a push for harmonisation between reporting mechanisms, which the ISSB has been developing since 2024.
“This would mean real estate owners can create standardised operational datasets that work for all disclosure schemes,” Whipp said. “They can provide greater consistency across asset portfolios and really focus on providing data on operational performance.”
To collect data, property owners and managers need to create efficient digital infrastructure, Whipp said. Increasingly, artificial intelligence can deliver major energy savings by optimising building systems while digital twins reduce demand-side emissions.
Transition Plans Take Centre Stage
Creating a strategy to transition towards net zero has moved from being a box-ticking exercise to forming part of board-level strategy, Whipp said.
“The EU is leading the way here because transition plans are required under CSRD and regulators are urging investors to evaluate companies based on this,” she said. “Boards are expected to act on scenario analysis, not merely report it.”
One of the factors behind this push is that insurers gave strong warnings at COP30 about the cost of climate-related losses, Whipp said. This is outpacing premium growth, which means traditional underwriting models are becoming untenable.
“Premiums and insurability will increasingly reflect operational performance, resilience measures and investment in adaptation,” she said. “This means that insurance brokers will play a larger part in the climate transition than many property owners currently realise.”
Insurance companies have a huge amount of data to support transition plans and understand physical risk, Whipp said.
Private Capital Leading Where Public Funding Cannot
There is a greater emphasis on private capital funding a climate transition, Whipp said. When public funding is limited, it should focus on de-risking real estate, while private money should be used to scale climate solutions that also deliver commercial returns.
Attendees at COP30 discussed access to capital for decarbonisation in different geographies. One of the major disparities is the investment in renewable energy sources.
For example, while Africa has 60% of the world’s best solar resources, the continent only attracts 3% of global energy investment. Emerging markets also account for 80% of the growth in global energy demand.
Many countries lack the infrastructure they need to deliver renewable energy, often due to grid bottlenecks, Whipp said. Even where renewable generation is abundant, there is often a lack of transmission capacity.
“For real estate, there needs to be a better understanding of on-site energy optimisation and load flexibility to deal with grid constraints,” she said. “Smart buildings can support grid stability and make the most of the growing market for energy flexibility.”
Back To Nature
The UN Economic Commission for Europe used COP30 as a platform to launch a report promoting nature-based solutions. It outlined how NBS can replace current infrastructure used to reduce floods, heat and pollution, while helping countries meet biodiversity goals.
The CSRD already requires companies to assess their impact on nature, but there is likely to be more pressure to consider ecosystem degradation in the future from insurers, Whipp said.
“There is growing recognition that NBS are a mainstream pillar of climate planning,” she said. “Landlords should expand valuations and planning regimes to reward those that incorporate nature-positive design, even more than they do now.”
This article was produced in collaboration between re:sustain and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.
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