Two Sides of the Equator: Extreme Heat in the Southern Hemisphere
April 11th, 2024
Via the Clean Cooling Collaborative, a report on extreme heat in the southern hemisphere: In the colder months of winter, it is understandable to let global temperature rise and the risks of extreme heat temporarily slip our minds. In the Northern Hemisphere, October to May can often provide a welcomed respite, with the heat of […]
Read more »Mass Timber Construction Approved For More Builds In B.C.
April 11th, 2024
Via Global News, a report on the approval of mass timber for more builds in British Columbia where the province is making building-code changes allowing for use of mass timber in buildings up to 18 storeys, an increase from the previous 12-storey limit: The use of mass timber in British Columbia is moving up and expanding to schools, libraries and other construction. The […]
Read more »To Slash Building Emissions, Biomaterials Are Our Friends
April 10th, 2024
Via Anthropocene Magazine, an article on new research that indicates swapping conventional insulation with straw or hemp, and firing up wood pellets or a heat pump for warmth could slash Swiss building emissions by almost 90 percent: Buildings should be front and center in efforts to tackle climate change. Buildings account for 40 percent of global energy […]
Read more »Investors Tap Into Demand For Electric Buses With New Funding Model
April 10th, 2024
Courtesy of The Financial Times, an article on a fund that will help finance the electrification of London’s iconic red buses: A group of investors has launched a £100mn fund to help finance the electrification of London’s iconic red buses. Insurer Aviva and Rock Rail, a UK-based owner and asset manager of rolling stock, have […]
Read more »When Climate Goals, Housing Policy, and Corporate R&D Collide, Social Good Can Emerge
April 10th, 2024
Via Harvard Business School, an article on how grants designed to improve housing can make homes more energy efficient and save money for low-income families, providing a powerful way to confront climate change: For almost four years, Omar Asensio and his colleagues have been studying the impact of federal energy programs on low-income neighborhoods. The intersection of […]
Read more »Green Steel: Structural Change
April 10th, 2024
Via Quartz, an interesting interview examining how steelmaking could be 95% cleaner with the use of hydrogen: Gabriela: Green tea has a variety of health benefits. Green houses use humidity, sunlight, warmth to grow plants. But green steel, I don’t know, is it steel, you’ve painted green? I’m actually just grasping at straws on that last […]
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.