The world's ice sheets are on course for runaway melting, leading to multiple feet of sea level rise and "catastrophic" migration away from coastlines, even if the world pulls off the miraculous and keeps global warming to within 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to new research.
A group of international scientists set out to establish what a "safe limit" of warming would be for the survival of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. They pored over studies that took data from satellites, climate models and evidence from the past, from things like ice cores, deep-sea sediments and even octopus DNA.
What they found painted a dire picture.
The world has pledged to restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to stave off the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
However, not only is this limit speeding out of reach — the world is currently on track for up to 2.9 degrees of warming by 2100. But the most alarming finding of the study, published Tuesday in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, is that 1.5 might not even be good enough to save the ice sheets.
Even if the world sustains today's level of warming, at 1.2 degrees, it could still trigger rapid ice sheet retreat and catastrophic sea level rise, the scientists found.
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📷: Sebnem Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images; Mario Tama/Getty Images
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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