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• Halocarbon emissions in the building sector is increasing. • Non-Annex parties become bigger emitter instead of Annex parties. • Building sector accounts for more than half of global HFCs emissions. • Data sufficiency is key barrier for policy making. • Building cooling demand increase will push further halocarbon emissions. Estimates of the non-CO 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contributed by the buildings sector are necessary to evaluate this sector's potential for climate change mitigation. As data is lacking on fluorinated gases (F-gases) and hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions from the buildings sector, this study aimed to estimate these emissions. First, the share of total global GHG emissions represented by buildings-sector emissions was estimated. Then, the HFC emissions of the buildings sectors in several countries (USA, EU, Japan, and China) are compiled. Next, based on necessary assumptions, global buildings-sector HFC emissions were estimated. Finally, this paper discusses implications for policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]