Cooling the Heat: Can India Lead the World in Green Cooling Innovation
September 5th, 2023
Via the World Bank, commentary on India’s potential to help develop innovations to adapt to extreme heat: In recent months, India has broken several temperature records, recording its hottest February in 120 years. Heatwaves have devastating impacts on the health, economy, and environment of the nation, causing deaths, illnesses, crop failures, power outages, and water […]
Read more »New Air-Conditioning Technology Could Be the Future of Cool
September 4th, 2023
Via Scientific American, an article on new air conditioning technology that aims to reduce cooling’s impact to global warming: This past July was the hottest recorded month in human history. Heat waves smashed temperature records worldwide and even brought summer temperatures to Chile and Argentina during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter. It’s more than just a matter of sweaty […]
Read more »Solar Power Alongside California’s Highways
September 1st, 2023
Via Environment America, a report on the potential for California to take advantage of the vast, untapped solar energy potential next to its highways: California has long been a leader in renewable energy and particularly in solar power. In 2021 the state ranked number one in the nation for solar energy generation. From a successful Million Solar Roofs initiative […]
Read more »One of the World’s First Insurance Schemes for Extreme Heat
August 25th, 2023
Via The Print, a report on one of the world’s first insurance schemes for extreme heat in which poor workers in Gujarat can receive payouts when temperatures add up to between 134C and 138C over three days, assessed using satellite data. The policy can pay out multiple times, to a maximum of $85. A bright […]
Read more »BioDiverCity: Nature Based Solutions for Cities
August 24th, 2023
Via Greenroofs.com, a new resource for nature-based solutions targeting urban environments: Staff of Edward Elgar Publishing writes: Nature-based solutions (NBS) are increasingly being adopted to address climate change, health, and urban sustainability, yet ensuring they are effective and inclusive remains a challenge. Addressing these challenges through chapters by leading experts in both global south and […]
Read more »Down The Drain: A Promising Climate and Nature Solution
August 24th, 2023
Via Modern Diplomacy, a look at the potential of wastewater: Wastewater is a growing health and environmental threat, accounting for almost as much planet warming emissions as the aviation industry. Yet with the right policies, wastewater could provide alternative energy to half a billion people, supply over 10 times the water provided by current global […]
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.