The building construction industry holds a crucial role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions globally. The targets for greenhouse gas emissions may not be achieved without a defined strategic plan to meet up with the set targets from various sectors of the economy. Recognizing the enormous potential that the building industry holds in contributing to global greenhouse gas GHG emission reduction, this study describes a framework on how optimization techniques can be used as a guide for emission reduction targets for the housing sector using illustrations of the onsite and offsite building construction industry. Given that some of the GHG gases are also sources of air pollution, this study includes a discussion on how the effort to address air pollution can be used to find a consensus towards addressing the concern about GHG emissions. This study presents procedures for simplified methods of estimation of GHG emissions that various municipalities around the globe can use to estimate and report the emissions from the building construction industry. The study presents a unifying strategy for emission management. The study also demonstrates how programming methods can be applied to GHG emissions management. The approach used in this study is transferable to other industries. The study recommends a unifying strategy for the management and control of emissions in the building construction industry. The study also recommends a coordinated effort in sharing best practices for emission control and management from all jurisdictions globally. In the effort to reduce global emission targets, further studies like this and its expansion is recommended for all sectors of the global economy. It is recommended that these studies should be followed by a concrete effort to achieve good implementation of sustainable emission reduction targets globally.

The economic and social effects that the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated measures to address it are having in Latin America may lead to serious long-term consequences that would affect the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. In this article, the collaboration of environmental economists from eight countries in the region discusses the possible effects of the pandemic on air pollution, deforestation, and other relevant environmental aspects related to the SDGs. In addition to presenting an account of some of the initial effects of the health crisis on the environment, the paper discusses potential effects in terms of environmental regulations and public policy interventions. Finally, the paper presents an agenda on new research topics that arise due to the pandemic or have gained greater importance due to it, including the impacts on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Briefly, this paper is a novel view of the sustainable development in Latin America and the Covid-19 impacts on this process.

Air pollution is currently considered a global problem in both developing and developed countries. Substances that invade our spaces are components of air pollution that cause a strong negative impact on health for those who are exposed, not only in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems but are being related to the etiology of pathologies throughout the body, with a decrease in life expectancy and even an increase in mortality and alterations of the genetic material. This literature review aims to collect employing a search the implications that the components of air pollution have on the health of those exposed, from a clinical and molecular point of view. For the search, the DeCS descriptors created by BIREME were used: air pollution, cardiovascular system, respiratory diseases. The following databases were consulted: PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus. The search criteria considered the year of publication and whether the original language was English or Spanish. It was concluded that the study of the different particles and the consequences that exposure to them entails is of vital importance for the development of control, prevention, and treatment mechanisms; since they can generate pathologies that range from something as tangible as lung diseases and occlusive heart disease to epigenetic changes that affect health.

After the outbreak of the covid-19 disease in the world of human life, living organisms and their environment were affected in various ways. The outbreak of the covid-19 virus has posed many opportunities and challenges to the world environment. This article aims to investigate the effects of the outbreak of covid-19 disease on the environment. This research has studied the effects of the covid-19 virus on the environment through library and review methods. It has been studied and analyzed in the form of articles and related researches. The results of published sources show that quarantine and the requirement of humans to stay at home to break the covid-19 transmission chain caused the animals to feel safe, move out of their natural territory and into urban and rural areas. Reducing noise and air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by reducing vehicle traffic and shutting down factories are other positive effects of the covid-19 outbreak that has helped improve air quality and reduce global warming. In addition to these positive effects, reducing conservation activities during the Covid-19 era in some areas has increased habitat destruction and poaching. Increasing household and hospital waste production, increasing the consumption of plastics and disposable materials, and decreasing waste recycling are the negative effects of the covid-19 virus epidemic, which, by destroying resources, puts pressure on the environment. Increased consumption of detergents and disinfectants will have many detrimental effects on the environment. In general, the positive effects of the covid-19 virus on the temporary and short-term environment seem to be small compared to the long-term consequences. Therefore, by overcoming covid-19, we should focus on rebuilding society and a healthy economy, and by fully understanding the opportunities and threats of this virus, we should consciously train environmental behaviors.