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
Climate damage and material waste are reshaping sustainable construction more forcefully than certification culture. The loss of 38 homes to wildfire in the Midlands has exposed the need for sustainable building design that treats fire resilience, flood resistance and passive survivability as core requirements. Shropshire fire crews’ warnings over escalating wildfire and flooding extremes underline a decisive shift for green construction: buildings must be designed for volatility, not historic weather patterns.
Large-scale migration would intensify pressure on housing delivery, infrastructure finance, sustainable urban development and supply chains for low carbon construction materials. Adaptation is now a construction pipeline issue, requiring life cycle thinking in construction, robust building lifecycle performance and a clearer link between resilience, life cycle cost and whole life carbon.
Materials innovation is moving towards the circular economy in construction. Plans for a wind turbine recycling facility at the Port of Inverness show renewable infrastructure confronting end-of-life reuse in construction. The sector’s claims on circular economy performance will increasingly depend on measurable circular construction strategies, resource efficiency in construction and sustainable material specification, not marketing language. Embodied carbon, embodied carbon in materials and the carbon footprint of construction must be assessed alongside operational energy if net zero carbon buildings and net zero whole life carbon targets are to be credible.
Research converting waste plastics, packaging and old CDs into polymer networks that harvest moisture from air points to future green building products and construction-adjacent materials for water-stressed regions. The science remains early stage, yet it supports the wider move towards low embodied carbon materials, renewable building materials where appropriate, and practical eco-design for buildings.
Laboratory findings showing duct tape outperforming sandbags as a flood defence reinforce a key lesson for sustainable architecture: resilience can come from inexpensive, rapidly deployable measures as well as major green infrastructure. The direction is clear. Sustainable construction is expanding beyond carbon accounting into whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle assessment, low carbon design, circular economy principles and climate practicality. The strongest projects will combine energy-efficient buildings, lower embodied carbon, carbon footprint reduction and durable adaptation to a harsher world.
Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry—both in the UK and internationally. We track the latest publications, debates, and events related to whole life guidance and sustainability. If you have any enquiries or opinions to share, please do
get in touch.
Let's chat!
WLC Assistant
Ask me about sustainability
Hi! I'm your Whole Life Carbon assistant. I can help you learn about sustainability, carbon assessment, and navigate our resources. How can I help you today?