Rising global temperatures are set to devastate food crops across the world, with particularly alarming impacts projected for the United States, where production of key crops could plummet 50% by the end of the century, according to a sweeping new analysis.
Of the many impacts of the fossil fuel-driven climate crisis, damage to the global food system is one of the most terrifying. But the overall impact of climate change on crops — and how much it can be offset by farmers' adaptations — has been hard to establish and hotly debated.
The new analysis, eight years in the making, is "the first attempt to really tackle both of those problems," said Solomon Hsiang, a study author and professor of global environmental policy at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.
The scientists also measured how real-world farmers are adapting to climate change, from changing crop varieties to adjusting irrigation, to calculate the overall impact of global warming.
Their findings are stark. Every 1 degree Celsius the world warms above pre-industrial levels will drag down global food production by an average of 120 calories per person per day, according to the study, published Wednesday in Nature.
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📸: Charlie Riedel/AP; Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post/Getty Images
The University of Derby has launched the UK’s first Institute of Carbonomics to pioneer research around carbon quantification and reduction, with strong industry backing. This initiative aims to improve accuracy in Whole Life Carbon Assessment, offering construction firms a more precise route to tackling Whole Life Carbon in materials and processes. By integrating carbon metrics into decision-making, the institute could transform how sustainable building design is delivered and support the shift towards net zero Whole Life Carbon strategies.
Clean energy investment is gaining momentum as Gresham House expands its portfolio through the acquisition of SUSI Partners, lifting assets under management to over £10 billion. This injection of capital into renewable infrastructure and green construction signals a positive outlook for sustainable building practices. As investors look to align with environmental Climate Change sustainability in construction, the financial market is playing a key role in scaling up energy-efficient buildings and low carbon construction materials.
The London Stock Exchange has highlighted a reduction in the carbon intensity of portfolios; yet overall emissions across real estate and infrastructure remain high. This underlines the gap between ambition and measurable impact within the built environment. Greater adoption of lifecycle assessment and Whole Life Carbon methodologies is required to close this gap, ensuring that Life Cycle Cost and carbon footprint reduction are integrated into mainstream investment and design strategies.
The shift to hydrogen at the UK’s Bacton gas terminal illustrates how existing infrastructure and skills can be repurposed for the clean transition. For construction, this demonstrates the importance of resource efficiency in construction, the potential of Circular Economy in construction approaches, and the upskilling of the workforce to deliver net zero carbon buildings. Embedding eco-design for buildings alongside low carbon design practices will be central to this transformation.
Broader developments such as the ratification of the global oceans treaty reinforce the urgency of protecting biodiversity and ecosystems. Though not directly tied to sustainable construction, these frameworks influence shoreline planning and climate resilience strategies. Sustainable urban development and green infrastructure increasingly require life cycle thinking in construction to balance resilience, functionality, and environmental impact of construction activities.
Climate pressures continue to escalate, with extreme weather and rising temperatures reinforcing the urgency for carbon neutral construction pathways. From decarbonising the built environment to advancing circular construction strategies and sustainable material specification, the sector must keep accelerating change. Net zero carbon now depends not only on technical innovation but also on embedding sustainable design principles and green building materials into every aspect of building lifecycle performance.
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