Changing the Tide
Crews have broken ground on a $113-million undertaking to replace seawalls around the Tidal Basin and along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Large portions of the walls have fallen into disrepair after being subject to years of battery from high tides, storm surges and sea level rise.
The Great American Outdoors Act National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund is backing the project, which “has been a top priority of the National Park Service for years,” according to National Mall and Memorial Parks Superintendent Jeff Reinbold. “The GAOA funding…will ensure these special places are protected for generations to come.” Stretches of the seawalls have settled approximately five feet since their construction more than a century ago, rendering them structurally unsound and threatening visitor safety.
Cianbro Construction of Pittsfield, Maine, will install 700 pilings to form a sturdy basis for the new seawall, salvaging and reusing stones from the historic wall wherever possible. The improvements are expected to provide 100 years’ worth of protection and should wrap in late spring of 2026.
Going Green
An international consortium of world-leading green building rating system organizations recently published “Financing Transformation: A Guide to Green Building for Green Bonds and Green Loans,” the first global financing guide to meeting sustainable energy goals. The guide sets a trajectory for the built environment to facilitate the $35-trillion investment needed by 2030 to meet global energy transition goals and achieve a sustainable 1.5°C climate threshold.
“While meeting our global decarbonization goals is an essential driver, investment in sustainable buildings and portfolios will also deliver measurable improvements to occupant health, community resilience and ecosystem restoration,” says Peter Templeton, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council.
Buildings account for more than 30% of global energy usage and more than a quarter of emissions—and according to the International Energy Agency, many of them will still be standing in 2050, necessitating large-scale capital investments to support sustainable retrofits and meet climate targets.
To read the full guide, visit: usgbc.org/resources/financing-transformation-guide-green-building-green-bonds-and-green-loans.
