Environmental Damage Could Cost You a Fifth of Your Income Over the Next 25 Years
April 19th, 2024
Via Ars Tecnnica, a look at how climate damages by 2050 will be 6 times the cost of limiting warming to 2°: The world is already committed to warming that will undercut the global economy by 20 percent between now and 2050. That’s six times the price of limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Almost […]
Read more »Is China Ready To Power Crowded Coastal Cities With Ocean Solar?
April 19th, 2024
Via Dialogue Earth, a look at China’s evaluation of ocean solar which could help power densely populated coastal cities with clean energy: China is increasingly seeking to put solar panels on the seas off its coastline, with some state-run companies experimenting as far offshore as 30 kilometres. A global leader in renewable energy, China has […]
Read more »Nearly Half of China’s Major Cities Are Sinking
April 19th, 2024
Via Reuters, a report on China’s growing challenge of subsidence: Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released on Friday. The authors of the paper, published by […]
Read more »Solar canopies in NYC?
April 19th, 2024
Via The Gothamist, an article on New York’s deliberation of a new program to deploy solar canopies in the city: The City Council is expected to vote Thursday on a pilot program to install solar canopies over city-owned parking lots — an idea that has been long in the conceptual stage and comes as the […]
Read more »India’s Big Bet On Electric Buses
April 18th, 2024
Via Yale Climate Connections, a report on India’s decision that its fast-growing cities need electric buses if the country is to meet its climate goals: Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that arrives earlier to wait for a smoother, […]
Read more »Deadly Heat Is Baking Cities. Here’s How to Cool Them Down
April 16th, 2024
Via Wired, a look at how urban areas can be 20 degrees hotter than the surrounding country. But green spaces and reflective pavement can make city life more bearable: IF YOU’VE EVER driven from the country into the city and marveled at how the temperature dramatically spiked, you’ve felt the urban heat island effect. The streets […]
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.