The federal Council on Environmental Quality will ask agencies to include climate change when evaluating new projects.
Agencies must quantify the climate impacts of their decisions, when possible. The directive also asks decision-makers to consider alternative ways to approach or design a project that could better prepare the U.S. for a changing climate.
Some federal agencies had been considering the impact on climate change when making decisions. They tended to operate from earlier draft guidance, and did not always apply them uniformly, though.
New guidance suggests trying to calculate how many carbon dioxide emissions a new project, permit, or other agency action would cause. It also may involve calculating how much carbon may be sequestered as the result of a decision.
Related Stories
Resiliency | Aug 19, 2021
White paper outlines cost-effective flood protection approaches for building owners
A new white paper from Walter P Moore offers an in-depth review of the flood protection process and proven approaches.
Sustainability | Aug 3, 2021
Construction Association launches new initiative to address climate change by pushing for construction of fewer carbon-intensive projects
While the new initiative includes steps construction firms can take to operate more efficiently, the bulk of the effort is focused on pushing for public and private project owners to build more efficient projects.
Wood | Jul 16, 2021
The future of mass timber construction, with Swinerton's Timberlab
In this exclusive for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield sat down with three Timberlab leaders to discuss the launch of the firm and what factors will lead to greater mass timber demand.
Industrial Facilities | Jul 2, 2021
A new approach to cold storage buildings
Cameron Trefry and Kate Lyle of Ware Malcomb talk about their firm's cold storage building prototype that is serving a market that is rapidly expanding across the supply chain.
Resiliency | Jun 24, 2021
Oceanographer John Englander talks resiliency and buildings [new on HorizonTV]
New on HorizonTV, oceanographer John Englander discusses his latest book, which warns that, regardless of resilience efforts, sea levels will rise by meters in the coming decades. Adaptation, he says, is the key to future building design and construction.
Sustainability | Jun 23, 2021
The world’s first Passive House Certified cidery completes
River Architects designed the project.
Education Facilities | Jun 4, 2021
Three ProConnect events coming this fall: Sustainability (Nov 2-3), Education (Nov 16-17), Multifamily (Dec 12-14)
SGC Horizon ProConnect 2021 schedule for Education, Multifamily, Office, and Single Family events.
Sustainability | May 28, 2021
Nexii builds the first sustainably constructed Popeyes restaurant in Canada
The new restaurant was built in under two weeks.
High-rise Construction | May 27, 2021
The anti-high rise: Seattle's The Net by NBBJ
In this exclusive video interview for HorizonTV, Ryan Mullenix, Design Partner with NBBJ, talks with BD+C's John Caulfield about a new building in Seattle called The Net that promotes wellness and connectivity.
Wood | May 14, 2021
What's next for mass timber design?
An architect who has worked on some of the nation's largest and most significant mass timber construction projects shares his thoughts on the latest design trends and innovations in mass timber.