The new trees meant to provide much-needed shade in Rome's Piazza Risorgimento were burnt to a crisp. Benches in dark plastic and wood were searingly hot. Several of the large flower pots had been gutted of their foliage entirely. The bushes lining the entrance were a burnt orange color.
This park, under the shadow of St. Peter's Basilica, was supposed to be a green oasis for tourists and locals alike, but when CNN visited earlier this week it looked parched.
Combating climate change-driven extreme heat has become a top priority facing European cities this summer as parts of the continent have been roiled by a succession of heat waves. Providing adequate shade, building cooling centers, removing asphalt and adding more trees are among the solutions advocated for by climate activists and urban planners. But, as Rome’s piazza shows, it is hugely challenging to build for brutal heat, which arrives earlier, lingers longer and is more intense.
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📸 : Barbie Latza Nadeau/CNN
UK uncertainty over the ZEV mandate risks stalling a core enabler of sustainable construction. Trade bodies warn that weakening the policy could defer about £1.5bn of home‑charging investment and remove up to 12GW of flexible capacity by 2034, undermining grid‑interactive homes, demand response and the pathway to net zero carbon buildings. Developers and housing providers cannot plan energy‑efficient buildings, managed charging or low carbon design while investment signals fluctuate, slowing progress on decarbonising the built environment.
Heat resilience is now a frontline design issue. With largely unconditioned schools, educators are questioning term dates to cope with hotter periods—evidence that passive measures were neglected. Passivhaus is moving into mainstream aspiration as households seek summer comfort and winter efficiency.
Fabric‑first sustainable building design, effective shading and natural ventilation deliver the best life cycle cost outcomes, cutting operational energy and whole life carbon. Robust whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment should be standard from concept stage.
Public sector clients are using procurement to accelerate change. NHS sites in Warrington and Halton are adding rooftop solar within a £74m programme to upgrade public buildings, signalling how estates can scale green infrastructure. Procurement should prioritise low embodied carbon materials with environmental product declarations (EPDs) to reduce the carbon footprint of construction and support circular economy in construction, end-of-life reuse in construction and circular construction strategies.
Industry priorities: design for heat and electrification together; wire new homes and retrofits for demand flexibility; normalise rooftop generation on public and private assets; align with BREEAM and BREEAM v7 pathways to net zero whole life carbon; specify renewable building materials and eco‑design for buildings; measure embodied carbon in materials and whole life performance; optimise resource efficiency in construction. Policy certainty will unlock capital and deliver resilient, low carbon building stock.
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