New data confirms 2024 will be the hottest year on record and the first...

CNN Climate 2 years ago

New data confirms 2024 will be the hottest year on record and the first calendar year to exceed the Paris Agreement threshold — devastating news for the planet that comes as America chooses a president that has promised to undo its climate progress both at home and abroad. Nearly all the world's countries pledged to strive to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius in the Paris Agreement, which scientists said would prevent cascading and worsening impacts such as droughts, heat waves and catastrophic sea level rise. They warn at that level, the human-caused climate crisis — fueled by heat-trapping fossil fuel pollution — begins to exceed the ability of humans and the natural world to adapt. Data released Wednesday by Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service shows 2024 is "virtually certain" to shoot above that threshold. President-elect Donald Trump, a noted climate denier, pulled the US out of the Paris Agreement during his first term and has vowed to do it again in his second. But the new data makes it clear further delays in climate action from leading global economies will ensure even higher levels of warming are reached, and with it, ever worsening impacts. Read more at the link in @cnn's bio. 📸: Apu Gomes/Getty Images

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 5 hours ago



The UK’s sustainable construction industry is entering a phase of measurable decarbonisation driven by policy reform and data‑led innovation. The UK Green Building Council has advanced its Whole Life Carbon Framework, embedding whole life carbon assessment across all project stages to ensure full accountability for embodied carbon and the carbon footprint of construction. Developers are being compelled to integrate life cycle cost evaluation and lifecycle assessment methodologies that expose environmental impacts long hidden in material supply chains.

A notable step forward in low carbon design has emerged through new trials in North London where a residential scheme achieved a verified reduction in embodied carbon in materials using a calcined‑clay cement blend. This demonstrates the transition from theoretical eco‑design for buildings to commercially viable low carbon building solutions. The breakthrough aligns with the sector’s wider adoption of green construction and sustainable building practices that promote circular economy in construction principles, resource efficiency in construction, and end‑of‑life reuse in construction strategies.

Internationally, rising renewable energy generation is transforming how sustainable building design interacts with the grid. As nations pursue net zero carbon buildings and enforce environmental sustainability in construction regulations, the focus is shifting from individual efficiency to collective infrastructure decarbonisation. COP31’s priorities on resilient, low‑impact construction add clear momentum towards net zero whole life carbon goals and transparent environmental product declarations (EPDs).

Together these developments define a market where sustainable design and carbon neutral construction are commercial imperatives. Advances in green building materials, low embodied carbon materials, and sustainable material specification point towards a genuine circular economy while frameworks such as BREEAM and the forthcoming BREEAM v7 provide the benchmarks for building lifecycle performance. Sustainable architecture and green infrastructure are evolving from aspiration to measurable practice that positions environmental sustainability in construction as the foundation of global sustainable urban development.

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