Denmark phases in stricter CO₂ emissions rules for building sector

Denmark has updated its national building regulation framework (BR18) to introduce stricter whole-life carbon emissions limits for new buildings, effective from 1 July 2025. The revised requirements reduce the average permitted climate impact of new construction to 7.1kg CO₂e/m²/year, down from the prior threshold of 12 kg CO₂e/m²/year for buildings over 1,000m². 

The new regulations expand the scope of covered building types to include almost all new constructions larger than 150m². Previously, only buildings over 1,000 m² were subject to the limit. Emissions associated with the construction process (modules A4 and A5) are now separately regulated, with a dedicated limit set at 1.5kg CO₂e/m²/year from the construction phase alone. The regulation also introduces typology-based differentiated limits: for example, single-family houses, townhouses, and holiday homes over 150 m² are assigned a limit of 6.7kg CO₂e/m²/year in 2025, tightening further to 6.0kg in 2027 and 5.4kg in 2029. 

The regulation aims to give earlier-stage design decisions greater influence on carbon outcomes, with civil and structural engineers, material suppliers and construction contractors needing to optimise foundation design, structural systems, material selection (e.g., timber vs concrete vs steel), transport of materials and construction-site operations to comply.

These tighter limits are part of Denmark’s broader national sustainable-construction strategy, and the regulatory updates include an ongoing phase-in: further tightening of threshold values will occur in 2027 and 2029.  While the measures mark progress, analysts note the current thresholds still fall short of the more stringent values advocated by industry initiatives aligned with the Paris Agreement and planetary-boundaries science, which call for limits closer to 5.8kg CO₂e/m²/year.