NAIROBI – 22 November 2023 – The Environmental Rule of Law: Tracking Progress and Charting Future Directions report provides a comprehensive assessment of developments since the release of the First Global Report on Environmental Rule of Law in 2019. Through collecting and analysing data from a survey of 193 UN Member States regarding their laws, institutions, civic engagement, rights and justice, the report highlights the most prevalent aspects of environmental rule of law across countries and tracks progress in addressing the triple planetary crisis. Six cross-cutting findings are highlighted: the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on environmental rule of law, both positive and negative; the recognition and integration of environmental rights has accelerated; there is growing attention to specialised environmental enforcement, particularly in the development and capacity building of institutions; women are champions of environmental rule of law; environmental rule of law is undergoing a technological revolution; and climate change continues to be both a dominant context for environmental rule of law efforts and a driver of actions to advance it. Further, the report makes four recommendations: standardize and track environmental rule of law indicators; develop guidance on environmental rule of law in emergencies and disasters; integrate social justice in environmental institutions; and establish a technology-policy interface. This report seeks to fulfil the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) mandate to promote and advance environmental rule of law pursuant to UNEP’s 2013 Governing Council Decision 27/9, the 2019 United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Resolution 4/20 which adopted the Fifth Montevideo Programme for the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law, as well as the Political Declaration of the special session of the UNEA to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of UNEP.
Record-breaking heat across Europe has forced a decisive shift in sustainable construction from awareness to immediate adaptation. Research from the University of Reading indicates that site practices remain inadequately prepared for extreme temperatures, risking productivity, worker safety, and the environmental sustainability of construction activity. With embodied carbon and whole life carbon now central to regulatory and design reform, the sector is moving toward a data-led response where lifecycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis determine both risk and value.
The EU’s implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive has accelerated low carbon design and large-scale retrofit strategies, positioning net zero carbon buildings as an economic imperative rather than a technical experiment. Governments, including the UK’s, are integrating whole life carbon assessment into policy frameworks to support resilient, energy-efficient buildings that meet net zero whole life carbon benchmarks. This alignment between climate security and the built environment is driving a new generation of sustainable building design, where embodied carbon in materials, resource efficiency in construction, and circular economy principles guide investment decisions.
Capital flows are following these trends toward greener supply chains and low embodied carbon materials. The UK’s £50 million commitment to critical minerals reflects a pivot to renewable building materials and carbon neutral construction pathways. Advances in eco‑design for buildings and sustainable material specification are moving from concept to deployment through innovations such as green concrete and thermally adaptive composites. BREEAM and BREEAM v7 certifications increasingly shape procurement, linking sustainable building practices to measurable carbon footprint reduction.
The momentum toward environmental product declarations, circular construction strategies, and end‑of‑life reuse in construction is reinforcing market confidence that sustainability can coexist with competitiveness. The industry is transitioning from incremental improvement to structural change, using life cycle thinking in construction to balance resilience, cost, and long‑term carbon footprint. Sustainable building design has become a strategic necessity, ensuring that decarbonising the built environment underpins every stage of a project’s lifecycle performance—from specification to reuse—creating a credible pathway for green construction and a truly circular economy in construction.
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