Last week, the Trump administration delivered a catastrophic blow to US climate...

CNN Climate 5 months ago

Last week, the Trump administration delivered a catastrophic blow to US climate policy by repealing the longstanding scientific finding that planet-warming pollution poses a danger to humans. Getting to this point was one of the administration's most audacious deregulatory goals. But it doesn't represent a complete success — yet. Now comes the years-long race through the courts to see if they really can pull off kneecapping the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating climate pollution ever again. They are facing a phalanx of opponents. Last week, more than a dozen major environmental and public health groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration's repeal of the greenhouse gas endangerment finding. Those organizations are setting up a high-stakes legal battle that could go all the way up to the Supreme Court. Ironically, that's the place this all began. In 2007, a major Supreme Court case, Massachusetts v. EPA, found that greenhouse gases met the definition of an "air pollutant" under the Clean Air Act, and that the EPA had the authority to regulate them. That ruling gave birth to the endangerment finding two years later. Now, environmental legal experts say, the Trump administration is hoping a far more conservative court will undo it all. If they are ultimately successful, the administration can more easily overturn other rules that reduce climate pollution emitted from power plants and oil and gas operations — and make it much harder for a future administration to put the rules back in place. Read more at the link in @cnnpolitics’ bio. 📷: Jon Cherry/Getty Images; Evan Vucci/AP

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 19 days ago



Financial institutions are accelerating sustainable construction by aligning lending with measurable environmental performance. Santander UK’s decision to adapt mortgage models for Octopus Energy’s Zero Bills homes integrates credit policy with energy-efficient buildings, translating net zero carbon ambitions into mainstream financial metrics. This shift signals the emergence of whole life carbon assessment as a determinant in property valuation and positions embodied carbon and life cycle cost analysis as standard tools of risk management across the sector.

Digital transformation is amplifying the movement. The Monklands digital hospital project in Scotland demonstrates how offsite manufacturing, lifecycle assessment and connected data platforms enhance building lifecycle performance, minimise waste, and verify embodied carbon in materials. Durham’s adoption of digital planning and assessment tools reflects a broader drive toward resource efficiency in construction and environmental sustainability in construction. Together these initiatives redefine sustainable building design by embedding whole life carbon accountability into design and delivery workflows.

Policy remains an enabling force but the centre of momentum is shifting from government mandates to operational proof. A renewed national emphasis on green affordability and the integration of social equity with decarbonising the built environment are reinforcing the transition toward net zero whole life carbon outcomes. These developments illustrate a maturing circular economy in construction where sustainable building practices, low carbon design and eco-design for buildings converge to deliver verifiable carbon footprint reduction. The industry’s direction is now measurable—kilograms of CO₂, minutes saved, resources reused—evidence that green construction is evolving from aspiration to tangible low carbon building performance.

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