Take in the northern Great Barrier Reef 🪸
Located in Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef system in the world. Coral reefs are one of the most important ecosystems in the world. Together they support over a quarter of all known marine species, protect coastlines during storms, and help local economies through fisheries and tourism.
However, decades of data, collected in part from @NASA’s airborne and satellite missions, show that corals are declining rapidly. Human actions, like burning fossil fuels, are shifting our global climate by warming the air and ocean. But that isn’t the only way: Pollution and physical damage from ships and divers also play a role.
Satellites provide scientists with important information on the environment around coral reefs, including ocean temperatures and water quality. This helps them understand changes to corals over time.
Image Descriptions:
A satellite image of the northern Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The water is a dark blue with the reefs are turquoise in color. In the second image, the reefs are labels top to bottom Undine Reef, St Crispin Reef, Rudder Roof, Opal Reef, Tongue Teef, and Batt Reef.
#CoralReef #EarthFromSpace #NASA #ClimateChange #GreatBarrierReef
Sustainable construction is moving from ESG aspiration to financial discipline. More than 830 companies and investors now back TNFD nature-risk disclosure, including investors with $26tr under management and listed firms worth $10.5tr. For developers, designers and material suppliers, environmental sustainability in construction is becoming inseparable from balance-sheet risk, whole life carbon, embodied carbon and credible whole life carbon assessment.
Climate exposure is also redefining sustainable building design. Insurers are reported to be retreating from some climate-risk cover, making life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and resilience central to investment decisions. Satellite evidence of uneven urban subsidence, including coastal Jakarta sinking by up to 7cm a year in some areas, underlines the need for sustainable design, low carbon design, robust foundations, drainage and green infrastructure from the earliest project stages. Southern England’s severe water stress and tougher regulatory checks on corporate water use reinforce the commercial case for energy-efficient buildings, water-conscious eco-design for buildings and sustainable urban development.
Materials transparency is becoming a decisive test for green construction. Think Timber’s new pricing and supply-chain data platform points to the practical data needed to scale renewable building materials, green building materials and low carbon construction materials beyond flagship schemes. Stronger visibility over timber supply, sustainable material specification and embodied carbon in materials supports lifecycle assessment, environmental product declarations (EPDs), resource efficiency in construction and more reliable procurement for net zero carbon buildings.
The defence of the EU emissions trading system by energy and business groups signals intensifying pressure on cement, steel and other carbon-heavy inputs. The carbon footprint of construction will be priced more directly, accelerating demand for low embodied carbon materials, carbon footprint reduction, carbon neutral construction and decarbonising the built environment. Firms pursuing net zero whole life carbon will need circular economy thinking, circular economy in construction, circular construction strategies and end-of-life reuse in construction rather than isolated product substitutions.
UK construction output fell 1% in the second quarter, sharpening the commercial test for sustainable building practices. The strongest firms will make low-impact construction, eco-friendly construction and net zero carbon delivery repeatable rather than bespoke. BREEAM, BREEAM v7 and similar frameworks will matter most where they support life cycle thinking in construction, measurable building performance and lower environmental impact of construction. Green building is no longer a marketing claim; it is risk management, insurability and long-term asset protection.
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