The World Meteorological Organization's State of the Global Climate report lists alarming records that scientists say should shock the world into taking drastic action – but they warn they probably won't, given the lack of urgency displayed by global leaders to date.
The report found the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide – as well as methane and nitrous oxide – are at the highest levels in the last 800,000 years.
"We need to stop hitting snooze on our alarm, which is the now regularly occurring record-breaking global temperatures," says Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a professor at the Australian National University's Fenner School of Environment and Society. "How much more do we need to scream and shout that climate change is happening, it's because of us, and without any serious action, it's only going to get worse? The longer this goes in, the harder it will be to make things better."
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📷: Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times/Getty Images; Sirachai Arunrugstichai/Getty Images; Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu/Getty Images; Salman Saeed/CNN
Material supply chains showed renewed complexity as Europe delayed enforcement of deforestation rules, affecting traceable sourcing of mass-timber and the embodied carbon in materials that underpin sustainable building practices. The deferral reinforces the need for lifecycle assessment and end-of-life reuse in construction, ensuring renewable building materials meet the standards of environmental product declarations (EPDs). Clients now prioritise deforestation-free, rights-respecting, low embodied carbon materials supported by circular economy in construction frameworks and robust whole life carbon assessments.
Rising energy prices across North America increase attention on energy-efficient buildings, deep retrofit strategies and life cycle cost optimisation. Developers are integrating eco-design for buildings that enhance operational performance while lowering the carbon footprint of construction. Water resilience is shaping sustainable building design in the UK, with drought prediction and reuse systems becoming part of life cycle thinking in construction and sustainable urban development.
The transition demands resource efficiency in construction and carbon neutral construction models that directly address the environmental impact of construction. Developers and contractors must commit to building lifecycle performance monitoring, circular construction strategies and sustainable material specification aligned with BREEAM v7 and similar frameworks. Environmental sustainability in construction now depends on design teams treating embodied carbon and whole life carbon as defining metrics for low-impact construction and durable, eco-friendly assets.
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