Carbon Counter: Cool Heads Needed for Air-Conditioning Conundrum
July 2nd, 2023
Courtesy of The Financial Times, commentary on how increasing air-con penetration could have significant impacts on emissions — but there is plenty that can be done to mitigate it: Climate change is full of vicious feedback loops. Take air conditioning. The hotter it gets, the more of it we will need, leading to additional energy […]
Read more »Burning Question: Will Texas Become Too Hot For Humans?
July 1st, 2023
Via BBC Future, commentary on how much hotter Texas – currently in the grip of a relentless heatwave – could get in years to come: It’s 9.15 pm in San Antonio on 17 June. At this time, young children would usually be asleep and their parents enjoying a balmy summer’s evening. But not this year, […]
Read more »Boston’s Summer Heat Is An Issue of Racial Equity. ‘Greening’ The City is One Solution
June 28th, 2023
Via WBUR, a look at the negative impacts of urban heat and importance of city “greening”: Summer has officially arrived, and so has the heat. The numbers are alarming: New England has already warmed 1.83 degrees Celsius, far more than the rest of the country. And a report by the city of Boston found that Boston could have more […]
Read more »When Heat Becomes Deadly: The Importance of Next-Generation Air Conditioning
June 26th, 2023
Via Rocky Mountain Institute, a look at the need to search for next-generation cooling technologies plus evolving testing standards and performance ratings: As climate scientists predict 2023 to be the world’s hottest year, people are bracing for heat waves around the world. More countries are facing extreme temperatures that pose a threat to human health, including higher humidity […]
Read more »Cities ‘Critical Battlegrounds’ For A Sustainable Future
June 25th, 2023
Via the UN, a report on the importance of cities in the battle against climate change and the positive effect that public green space has upon biodiversity, climate, wellness and air quality: When it comes to fighting for a sustainable future, the world’s cities are “critical battlegrounds” and more important than ever to making multilateralism […]
Read more »Urban Forests of Melbourne
June 25th, 2023
Via Medium, an article on the potential for urban forests and vegetation to intercept and filter stormwater runoff, absorb airborne pollutants, provide windbreaks to protect buildings from wind damage, regulate urban heat island effects through shading and evaporation, provide wildlife habitats and ecosystem services, and mitigate climate change by storing carbon dioxide: Urban forest programmes […]
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.