Larry Fink, Did You Know that 84% of CK Hutchison Ports are Vulnerable to Just 1m of Sea Level Rise?
April 24th, 2025
Via China Water Risk, analysis of which CK Hutchison ports are vulnerable to sea level rise riks, and if ports in the Americas are more vulnerable than in Europe: 84% of the 43 CK Hutchison ports are vulnerable to just 1m of sea level rise which given current high emissions could happen in the next […]
Read more »Managed Retreat: Preparing Coastal Cities For Sea Level Rise
April 24th, 2025
Via China Water Risk, a look at how – given the rapid rate of sea level rise – perhaps a ‘managed retreat’ is the best option. The Authors of The Ocean Climate Platform & Sea’ties latest report breakdown the pros & cons of this adaptation strategy: Sea levels could rise by >1m without drastic GHG […]
Read more »In 15 Years, 80,000 Homes in the New York Area May Be Lost to Flooding
April 7th, 2025
Via the New York Times, a report on how – by 2040 – dozens of neighborhoods and suburbs are likely to have lost thousands of homes to floods: More than 80,000 homes on Staten Island, in southeast Queens and in the suburbs east of New York City could be lost to floods over the next […]
Read more »How Do You Stop A Megacity From Going Under Water?
April 1st, 2025
Via BBC, a report on Bangkok, a megacity going under water: Bangkok is a mega city of more than 10 million people, the economic powerhouse of Southeast Asia and one of the world’s most visited cities. Billions of dollars worth of new luxury real estate is planned as huge skyscrapers pierce the sky and become […]
Read more »Flood and Drought Risk Increasing In Cities
March 18th, 2025
Via BBC, a look at the growing water-related risks facing cities: The world’s 100 most populated cities are becoming increasingly exposed to flooding and drought, according to new research. Charity WaterAid worked with the University of Bristol and Cardiff University on a study using data on climate hazards. The research found that 17% of the […]
Read more »The Sea Is Swallowing An African Island
March 3rd, 2025
Via The Economist, a look at how Sierra Leone is finding that adjusting to a warmer climate is getting harder: Standing on the shores of Nyangai, a small island off the coast of Sierra Leone, Melvin Kargbo points to his old football field, now below an expanse of seawater. Never large, Nyangai has shrunk from around […]
Read more »'Black Swans' are highly improbable events that come as a surprise, have major disruptive effects, and that are often rationalized after the fact as if they had been predictable to begin with. In our rapidly warming world, such events are occurring ever more frequently and include wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and drought.
'Green Shoots' is a term used to describe signs of economic recovery or positive data during a downturn. It references a period of growth and recovery, when plants start to show signs of health and life, and, therefore, has been employed as a metaphor for a recovering economy.
It is my hope that Black Swans / Green Shoots will help readers understand both climate-activated risk and opportunity so that you may invest in, advise, or lead organizations in the context of increasing pressures of global urbanization, resource scarcity, and perils relating to climate change. I believe that the tools of business and finance can help individuals, businesses, and global society make informed choices about who and what to protect, and I hope that this blog provides some insight into the policy and private sector tools used to assess investments in resilient reinforcement, response, or recovery.