Photograph by James Whitlow Delano @jameswhitlowdelano for...

Every Day Climate Change 3 years ago

Photograph by James Whitlow Delano @jameswhitlowdelano for @everydayclimatechange: A water world as the sea rises and land sinks in and around Manila Bay, Philippines. A fisherman navigates a raised bamboo walkway that remains above the high tide water mark connects two parts of Binuangan Island. Bulacan Province, Philippines The Philippine capital, Manila, and Manila Bay, are part of one of the most vulnerable metropolitan areas in the world due to climate change-driven sea rise. Less than 15 km (10 miles) north of Manila, coastal communities are sinking faster than the climate crisis is raising sea levels. "What is being projected 50 years from now or 100 years from now for many parts of the globe", Fernando P. Sirinagan, director of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute told Reuters, " is actually happening right now at even faster rates", in low-lying areas in Bulacan Province. Due to climate change, the UN estimates the global average sea level rise of 3 mm (0.11 inches) every year compounds the effect of land subsiding, in a region that is hit by, on average, 20 typhoons annually. That makes flooding at high tide a daily occurrence while rendering it extremely vulnerable to storm surges. . #climatecrisis #globalwarming #climatechange #searise #manilabay #philippines #water #coastalsearise #jameswhitlowdelano

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 4 hours ago



Sustainable construction is being reshaped by grid capacity, whole life carbon and circular economy delivery rather than isolated material innovation. The UK approval of National Grid’s 2GW Sea Link, a 138km high-voltage connection between Suffolk and Kent, reinforces the dependence of net zero carbon buildings and energy-efficient buildings on resilient low-carbon infrastructure.

Electrification, heat pumps, smart systems and low carbon building strategies need a stronger renewable grid if sustainable building design is to translate into credible operational performance.

WRAP’s estimate that stronger circular economy measures could generate more than £93bn in gross value added and support 550,000 jobs gives new commercial weight to circular economy in construction. For developers, contractors and designers, embodied carbon, embodied carbon in materials and the carbon footprint of construction are becoming procurement priorities.

Designing for disassembly, using low embodied carbon materials, specifying reclaimed components, requiring environmental product declarations (EPDs) and planning end-of-life reuse in construction are moving from best practice to core sustainable building practices.

Policy pressure on biodiversity is tightening the definition of environmental sustainability in construction. Planning consent, insurance risk and investment confidence will increasingly depend on lifecycle assessment, whole life carbon assessment, life cycle cost and building lifecycle performance. BREEAM, BREEAM v7, net zero whole life carbon and low carbon design are set to gain greater influence as clients seek measurable carbon footprint reduction, resource efficiency in construction and nature-positive outcomes. The strongest businesses in green construction will treat eco-design for buildings, sustainable material specification and circular construction strategies as foundations for competitiveness, not compliance.

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