Scientists have looked back in time to reconstruct the past life of Antarctica’s “Doomsday Glacier” — nicknamed because its collapse could cause catastrophic sea level rise.
Experts knew it had been losing ice at an accelerating rate since the 1970s, but because satellite data only goes back a few decades, they didn’t know exactly when significant melting began. Now there is an answer to this question, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
By analyzing marine sediment cores extracted from beneath the ocean floor, researchers found the glacier began to significantly retreat in the 1940s, likely kicked off by a very strong El Niño event. Since then, the glacier has been unable to recover.
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📸: Robert Larter, Jeremy Harbeck/OIB/NASA
The United Nations COP30 summit in Brazil has amplified global scrutiny of environmental sustainability in construction, accelerating the industry’s alignment with climate imperatives. The UK Environmental Audit Committee’s drive to integrate whole life carbon assessment into the planning system, supported by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, marks a significant shift toward measuring embodied carbon throughout the entire project lifecycle. This focus on whole life carbon moves beyond operational efficiency, placing embodied carbon in materials and construction methods under stricter evaluation. It signals stronger accountability across sustainable building design, resource efficiency in construction, and life cycle cost analysis.
National governments’ endorsement of integrity principles for voluntary carbon markets could redirect climate finance toward projects demonstrating clear contributions from sustainable construction and low carbon design. Clean construction must demonstrate not only carbon footprint reduction but also verifiable outcomes, reinforcing the demand for lifecycle assessment and environmental product declarations (EPDs) across the supply chain. This momentum aligns with the developments described in Governments Endorse Principles for High-Quality Carbon Credits.
Ofgem’s £164 million investment in the UK’s hydrogen backbone underscores the urgency of developing net zero carbon buildings and energy-efficient buildings capable of integrating renewable heating technologies. These measures are shaping the long-term path toward net zero whole life carbon while influencing sustainable material specification and low carbon construction materials adoption.
Innovation remains essential to maintaining public confidence in sustainable urban development. Reports emphasising smarter renewable deployment encourage life cycle thinking in construction to prevent grid strain as solar infrastructure expands. Photovoltaic systems installed on public buildings illustrate how decentralised generation can reinforce green infrastructure and eco-design for buildings while improving lifecycle performance outcomes, a trend highlighted in Great British Energy announces latest wave of 250 solar school projects.
More than six million small and medium-size enterprises that underpin construction supply chains now call for policy support to sustain the shift toward carbon neutral construction and green building materials. Their role in advancing circular economy in construction, end-of-life reuse in construction, and circular construction strategies remains decisive. Without robust frameworks supporting sustainable building practices and the circular economy, the ambition to decarbonise the built environment and achieve green, low-impact construction risks losing momentum, as echoed in COP30: SMEs demand more support from governments to help them reach net zero.
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