Climate change is stressing out coral 🪸
Ocean heat and carbon dioxide (CO2) are both absorbed by the ocean as greenhouse gas levels increase. When CO2 is absorbed, the water becomes more acidic. This makes it harder for corals and some other marine life to grow shells and protect themselves. Plus, marine heat waves are making it too warm for many corals to survive.
NASA is helping by sharing its decades of data with the world. For example, in a recent NASA-partnered study, scientists used satellite data to give people important information about their local reefs so that they could take actions to protect them.
Image Description: The Landsat 8 satellite’s Operational Land Imager captured this image of coral reefs in the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia, on August 22, 2020. Against the dark blue ocean, are neon green reefs of different shapes and sizes.
#NASA #NationalOceanMonth #ClimateChange #Earthdata #Coral #CoralReefs
A tightening regulatory and technical landscape is redefining sustainable construction across the UK and beyond. The Building Safety Act is reshaping project governance by requiring transparent reporting and accountability that link safety with environmental sustainability in construction. Compliance processes are driving a shift toward whole life carbon assessment, embedding sustainable building design principles at the earliest design stage and quantifying both operational and embodied carbon.
Digital systems such as the government’s waste‑tracking initiative are enabling circular economy in construction practices, mandating traceable material flows and revealing the carbon footprint of construction through verified lifecycle assessment. These data‑driven mechanisms enhance resource efficiency in construction and reinforce the wider transition to low embodied carbon materials and eco‑friendly construction.
Investment is converging on decarbonisation at scale. A new £120 million waste‑to‑hydrogen facility is designed to transform residual waste into clean fuel, supporting low carbon design and resilient net zero carbon buildings. Growth in grid‑balancing storage improves the stability of renewable‑powered operations, a prerequisite for energy‑efficient buildings and low carbon building performance across portfolios.
Governance frameworks are also advancing. The creation of a dedicated leadership structure for the Greenhouse Gas Protocol elevates global consistency in measuring whole life carbon and encourages transparent benchmarking using environmental product declarations (EPDs). This maturity strengthens sustainable building practices, fosters green construction aligned with BREEAM v7 standards, and supports decarbonising the built environment through life cycle cost and performance management.
The cumulative effect signals a transition to net zero whole life carbon imperatives governed by robust data, certified materials, and measurable outcomes. The progress may appear administrative, yet it represents the essential infrastructure of sustainable material specification, circular construction strategies, and long‑term green infrastructure supporting a truly carbon neutral construction sector.
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
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