Published every 6 years, the second edition of the MED QSR is the upshot of a collective endeavor involving the Contracting Parties, MAP partners, in particular the scientific community, the Secretariat and the MAP Components. The MED QSR series builds on a robust conceptual foundation and nationally sourced, quality-assured data submitted by the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention or other reliable sources, to provide an evidence-based intelligible assessment of Good Environmental Status (GES) of the Mediterranean Sea and coast, based on a GES /non-GES approach, as defined in the framework of the ecosystem approach and its Integrated Monitoring and Assessment Programme IMAP. The 2023 report has been officially approved by UNEP and now is one of the official UNEP reports for 2024. The preparation of the 2023 MED QSR has seen coordinated efforts on data acquisition covering the 9 Ecological Objectives and 23 Common Indicators of IMAP. The report blends national data with patterns observed at the regional level. By distilling new knowledge, the report also contributes to other relevant assessment exercises at global, regional and national levels, and the implementation of respective policies and regulatory framework. The 2023 MED QSR is divided into three main chapters, "The Mediterranean Sea" "Assessments of the Quality Status of the Mediterranean Sea" and "Main Actions and Measures to Support the UNEP/MAP Work for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea and Coast from 2017 Med QSR."The report is supported by its Executive Summary (approved by COP23 in Portoroz, Slovenia, in December 2023) and the Summary for Policy Makers which was recently developed and approved under the leadership of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention All 3 reports are hosted by a dedicated website developed by INFO/RAC, which is publicly available, to ensure that it can be easily accessible and used by policymakers, experts, the public, young people and scientists and indeed, everyone harboring an interest in the marine and coastal environment in the Mediterranean context. Web site> 2023 MED QSRVideo> 2023 MED QSR Watch the full video of 23th January 2025
This news batch contains no substantive sustainable construction development: no major breakthrough in low carbon construction materials, no new whole life carbon assessment mandate, no building-code reform, no retrofit programme, no procurement shift, no BREEAM v7 update and no significant project case study advancing net zero carbon buildings.
The relevant signal is indirect but important. COP31 debate over the timing of the next IPCC reports could shape the 2028 global stocktake, influencing national policy on whole life carbon, embodied carbon, lifecycle assessment, retrofit finance, planning standards and the carbon footprint of construction. Warnings over El Niño costs and weakening natural carbon sinks strengthen the case for climate-resilient, energy-efficient buildings, low carbon design and faster cuts to operational emissions and embodied carbon in materials.
For the construction sector, the absence is commercially revealing. Environmental sustainability in construction remains too often downstream of climate diplomacy rather than central to it, despite the built environment’s major role in energy demand, resource use and emissions. Sustainable building design, eco-design for buildings, circular economy in construction, sustainable material specification and building lifecycle performance need clearer policy treatment if governments are serious about decarbonising the built environment.
The practical agenda remains unchanged: net zero whole life carbon, credible environmental product declarations (EPDs), low embodied carbon materials, life cycle cost analysis, end-of-life reuse in construction, resource efficiency in construction and circular construction strategies must move from specialist practice into mainstream procurement. Without that shift, green construction and eco-friendly construction risk remaining policy aspirations rather than measurable progress in sustainable building practices.
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