• Climate negotiators on Friday were mulling a European Union proposal aimed at resolving an impasse over financing for countries hit by climate-fueled disasters and pushing the U.N. climate summit in Egypt closer to a final deal.
• The EU proposal agreed to set up a special fund for covering loss and damage in the most vulnerable countries - but funded from a "broad donor base," suggesting that high-emitting emerging economies like China would have to contribute, rather than having the fund financed only by rich nations that have historically contributed the most to global warming.
• The loss and damage issue has dominated this year's summit, with more than 130 developing countries demanding that the meeting deliver a deal on a new fund to help them cope with the irreparable damage of floods, drought, and other climate impacts.

• A Biden administration proposal focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions among federal contractors has raised the ire of some construction groups, who worry that firms that fail to properly comply could be barred from bidding on federal projects.
• The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council published a proposal Nov. 14 that would require federal contractors that meet certain thresholds to disclose their operational greenhouse gas emissions and set targets for emission reductions.
• Contractors with an annual volume of $50 million or more in federal work—categorized as “major” contractors—would be required to disclose Scope 1, Scope 2 and some Scope 3 emissions each year. Contractors with an annual volume between $7.5 million and $50 million—categorized as “significant” contractors—would have fewer reporting requirements. Contractors with an annual volume of less than $7.5 million would be exempt.

• Overall construction starts are expected to be flat in 2023, following a 17% increase in 2022, Richard Branch, chief economist at Dodge Construction Network, said during the 2023 Dodge Construction Outlook. Branch presented the outlook on Nov. 15, noting that the forecast assumes the U.S. will narrowly avoid recession.
• Rising interest rates have weakened the residential market, with single-family housing, measured in number of units, expected to decline 12% by the end of this year. Dodge predicts a decline of 6% to follow in 2023. In the multi-family sector, starts are expected to finish the year up 16%, but will drop 9% next year.
• Dodge forecasts that the dollar value of commercial construction—which includes warehouses, offices, retail and hotels—will finish 2022r up 24% before dropping 3% in 2023. Retail is up 31% in 2022, which Branch attributes to increased single-family building in suburban areas in the last several years. Just as residential construction slowed, he says retail will also, with Dodge predicting just a 4% increase next year.

Duke Street LLP (Duke Street), a UK-based private equity group, has agreed to acquire Suir Engineering (Suir), an Ireland-based provider of mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation engineering services. The transaction, which includes investment by Suir’s senior management team, will enable it to enhance the services it offers to clients, while operations will continue as normal from its main base in Waterford and its other offices in Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Frankfurt. Suir, which has nearly four decades of engineering expertise in its core sectors of Pharma, Energy & Utilities, Food & Beverage and Data Centers, has an annual turnover of around €300m. Paul Adams, Partner at Duke Street, commented: “We are delighted to acquire Suir Engineering, a market-leading business that is a great fit for our investment program. The Duke Street team has previous successful experience in industrial services as well as Suir’s underlying sectors […]”

Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. (JMT), a Maryland-based multi-disciplined engineering firm offering a full array of planning, design, and construction phase consulting services for infrastructure projects, has acquired Civil Consulting Group, PLLC (CCG), a Texas-based engineering consulting firm specializing in transportation-related civil engineering design. The acquisition of CCG will help to strengthen JMT’s operating footprint in Texas and enhance its local and regional transportation design capabilities. MT President John A. Moeller, PE, said: “Our staffs have collaborated for years, so we know CCG’s reputation for high-quality work has been earned through their sincere commitment to each and every client. We look forward to continuing and building on the great relationships CCG has established.”