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NEWS: Coastal wetlands are unable to adapt to the rate of sea-level rise and are constrained by infrastructure

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Wetlands, precious ecosystems that shield coastlines, safeguard drinking water from saltwater contamination, and nourish diverse wildlife, face a dire threat from the accelerating pace of sea-level rise, driven by global warming. Wetlands have historically adapted to rising sea levels by expanding upward and inland. However, predictions indicate that the waterline will soon shift far too rapidly for wetlands to keep pace. Consequently, future decades may witness the tragic loss of these vital wetland ecosystems. Wetlands along coastlines have historically played valuable roles for people and wildlife, but are now facing the threat of sea-level rise. As temperatures rise, sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, and wetlands are unable to keep pace by building upward and migrating inland. This is due to human-induced climate change and the burning of fossil fuels, which has warmed the oceans and melted glaciers. Sea levels are now rising at about 10 millimeters per year, and are
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NEWS: The construction sector has one of the biggest carbon footprints in the world

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Construction's high emissions are not only based on fossil fuel driven energy consumption, also the reliance of concrete or steel as building materials has a very negative impact on the overall carbon footprint.


A new report from Allianz Commercial,, is taking a closer look at a much more sustainable building material: mass timber. 

This material has the potential to be a critical building component for the cities of the near future. It is renewable, comes with lower costs and less  CO2 emissions. But, even if mass timber has so many advantages, there are still risks such as fire, floods, earthquakes or termites that need to be mitigated.

These are the key findings:

Sustainable construction: use of mass timber offers a short and medium-term solution for the construction industry to lower its massive carbon footprint. Mass timber emits significantly less  CO2  with around 50% less than concrete and more than 25% less than steel. Furthermore, it is more cost-efficient but as durable as concrete and steel.

Growth potential: Although the global mass timber construction market is still a niche market, it has an enormous growth potential. It generated US$857 million in 2021 and is forecast to hit $1,5 billion  by 2031, with a CAGR of 6%

Fire as main risk for mass timber: Mass timber is still wood, and fire is the primary hazard concern. Fire is already the most expensive cause of all construction / engineering insurance losses, accounting for more than a quarter (27%) of the value of 22 000 claims analyzed over a five-year period, according to Allianz.

Mass timber reduces construction’s carbon footprint, but introduces new risk scenarios

Mass timber has the potential to be a critical building component for the cities of the near future given the need for the construction sector to reduce its reliance on concrete and steel to lower its  CO2 emissions.

However, as this market grows and mass timber buildings evolve to greater heights, the construction risk landscape will also be transformed, bringing risk management challenges for companies, according to the new Emerging Risk Trend Talk report from Allianz Commercial.

“The emergence of mass timber as a sustainable construction alternative represents a significant opportunity for the building sector to reduce its carbon footprint while also satisfying a demand for a material that is more cost-efficient but as durable as steel and concrete,” says Michael Bruch, global head of risk advisory services at Allianz Commercial. 

“However, in any industry, deployment of new materials or processes can result in new risk scenarios, potential defects, or unexpected safety consequences, as well as bringing benefits, and mass timber is no different. Given this market’s expected future growth, companies should do all they can to develop a greater understanding of their exposures including fire, water damage, repetitive loss scenarios and even termite infestation, and ensure they have robust loss prevention measures in place to combat these.”

The source for this hardhatNEWS article is CBN

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