For around 2,000 years, global sea levels varied little. That changed in the 20th century. They started rising and have not stopped since — and the pace is accelerating.
Since 1993, satellites have kept careful watch over the world's oceans, allowing scientists a clear view of how they are behaving. What they have revealed is alarming.
Sea level rise was unexpectedly high last year, according to a recent NASA analysis of satellite data. More concerning, however, is the longer-term trend. The rate of annual sea level rise has more than doubled over the past 30 years, resulting in the global sea level increasing 4 inches since 1993.
The world can adapt to slow sea level rise, Dirk Notz, head of sea ice at the University of Hamburg. said: "We might have to relocate cities; you might have to move people around," but there are ways to build and prepare. However, if the pace accelerates rapidly, "it will be very, very difficult to adapt to, because things unfold too quickly," he said. As ever, it will be the most vulnerable who feel the biggest impacts, he added.
📸 : Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Sustainable construction is redefining its priorities as environmental sustainability in construction shifts from technology-driven solutions to place-based, resource-conscious design. Across climate-stressed regions, the focus is turning to whole life carbon assessment, lifecycle assessment and life cycle cost as essential tools to measure and control the carbon footprint of construction. Developments in the US Mountain West are embedding low carbon design principles, addressing drought and urban growth constraints through sustainable building design that integrates water efficiency, green infrastructure and renewable building materials into district-scale masterplans.
In India, reconstruction efforts in landslide-prone regions expose the financial and environmental risks of neglecting embodied carbon in materials and sustainable building practices. Resilient schemes now apply eco-design for buildings and life cycle thinking in construction to avoid repeating failures, reinforcing that whole life carbon and embodied carbon metrics must guide future housing strategies.
Urban housing demonstrates the growing viability of net zero carbon buildings and low carbon construction materials, supported by sustainable material specification and green building products that deliver measurable performance improvements. Investors are tying building lifecycle performance to life cycle cost benefits, transforming sustainable design into a mainstream financial metric rather than a niche initiative.
Corporate campuses and mixed-use retrofits are consolidating a retrofit-first logic. The drive to decarbonise existing stock is aligning with circular economy in construction principles, end-of-life reuse in construction and circular construction strategies that minimise demolition and embodied carbon losses. Achieving net zero whole life carbon and BREEAM V7 certification is becoming the benchmark for responsible modernisation, integrating resource efficiency in construction and environmental product declarations (EPDs) into procurement systems.
Uneven policy frameworks and material supply constraints are prompting adaptive low-impact construction strategies that incorporate circular economy thinking and carbon footprint reduction across borders. Designs must allow flexibility to meet differing lifecycle assessment standards while maintaining alignment with global goals for decarbonising the built environment.
Future-ready sustainability depends on district-level efficiency, hazard-aware land planning and community-led stewardship. Success belongs to those who demonstrate environmental sustainability at the level that truly counts—the whole place—delivering net zero carbon outcomes through sustainable construction that unites performance, resilience and economic viability.
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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