The UK Is Losing the Race Against Devastating Floods
December 13th, 2024
Via Bloomberg, a look at how a first-of-its-kind insurance program bought some in the UK time to shore up flood defenses, but exclusive data shows that isn’t happening quickly enough: About 900 years ago, Medieval monks began resurrecting an expanse of land in southwest England that languished underwater for half the year. Stone by stone, […]
Read more »Roof Greening In Cities Offers Significant Carbon Sink Potential
December 9th, 2024
Via Terra Daily, a report on how roof greening in Chinese cities offers significant carbon sink potential: Chinese cities, accounting for approximately 85% of the nation’s carbon emissions, face a pressing need for innovative solutions to reduce urban CO2 levels. Conventional emission reduction measures alone fall short of addressing the challenge given China’s rapid economic […]
Read more »Dubai To Be Transformed Into Pedestrian-Friendly City Under New Masterplan
December 8th, 2024
Via The National News, a look at Dubai’s strategy to create more than 3,000km of pedestrian paths as part of major adaptation strategy: Dubai on Saturday announced a major project to transform the emirate into a “year-round pedestrian-friendly city”, with more than 3,000 kilometres of walkways and 110 new bridges and tunnels. Dubai Walk Master Plan, […]
Read more »Copenhagen’s Biggest Climate Threat: Water
December 6th, 2024
Via Terra Daily, a look at how Copenhagen takes on its biggest climate threat — water: In low-lying Copenhagen where rising sea levels, groundwater and rainfall pose a risk to infrastructure, the Danish capital is trying to adapt and protect urban areas from climate change.And Karens Minde park is one of the more than 300 projects […]
Read more »The Great Green Building Makeover
December 6th, 2024
Via Knowable Magazine, a look at how getting our homes and workplaces to be energy efficient has major benefits — but not when it is done one window at a time. Here’s why deep retrofits and biomaterials are key to more sustainable living: Eat less meat, fly less, don’t use plastic: The changes we […]
Read more »New Orleans’ Striking Advantage in the Age of Climate Change
November 30th, 2024
Courtesy of the New York Times, commentary on New Orlean’s coastal/water challenges in the face of climate change: A unifying theme of this year’s extremely active Atlantic hurricane season, which officially concludes on Saturday, has been the disbelief echoing from the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Ozark plateau. “I had always felt like we were safe from […]
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.