The “Venice of Africa” Is Sinking Into The Sea
June 25th, 2024
Via The Economist, a look at how many of Africa’s megacities are being swamped by rising oceans: It may not look like much anymore, but in its heyday La Chaumière was the “premier nightclub in all Saint Louis”, recalls Cheikh Badiane. When the ocean tide was low, the long beach extending far into the distance […]
Read more »The U.S. Is Finally Making Serious Efforts To Adapt To Climate Change
June 25th, 2024
Via Yale Climate Connections, a report on a major bill before U.S. Congress which could help the country prepare for the coming climate storm: Like an approaching major hurricane whose outer spiral bands are only just beginning to hit, an approaching climate change storm has begun and will soon grow to ferocious severity. This immense […]
Read more »In Graphic Detail: As Sea Levels Rise, Insurance Retreats
June 20th, 2024
Courtesy of Hakai Magazine, an illustrated look at when insurance companies will call it quits on New Zealand’s coastal communities: West of New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland, the coastal community of Muriwai, population 1,410, is well known for its black-sand beach, gannet colony, and relaxed vibe. But in February 2023, Cyclone Gabrielle devastated the settlement. […]
Read more »Could the Global Boom in Greenhouses Help Cool the Planet?
June 20th, 2024
Via Yale e360, a look at how – as agricultural greenhouses proliferate – researchers are finding that their reflective roofs are having a cooling effect. Some experts see this as an unintended experiment with lessons for cooling cities, but others point to the environmental damage that greenhouses can cause: The world is awash with greenhouses […]
Read more »Toronto Homes Can’t Go Carbon-Neutral Unless Developers Get On Board
June 20th, 2024
Via Narwahl, a report on how buildings are Toronto’s largest source of greenhouse gases but, while the city has ambitious plans to fix that, developers are balking at the price tag: In the hollow of the Don Valley, on the site of a historic brickyard and quarry, stands a nearly 70-year-old, 53,000-square-foot testament to the […]
Read more »$10B Bezos Earth Fund Director: ‘Next Wave’ In Green Finance Is Climate Adaptation
June 20th, 2024
Via GreenBiz, a report that the ‘next wave’ in green finance is climate adaptation, particularly resilience to warming temperatures and phasing down fossil fuels: Corporations and investors are doing a first-rate job of investing in clean energy, according to Paul Bodnar, director of sustainable finance, industry and diplomacy at the Bezos Earth Fund. But the […]
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.