The World Meteorological Organisation, its members and partners are ramping up action against extreme heat in Western Europe, parts of North America, North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia. Meanwhile, a cold spell in South America could also be a health threat.
Author: admin
Post
The UN Sec-Gen sees three ways to fix the world
UN Chief, António Guterres, has issued a warning that sustainable development underpinned by international cooperation is in trouble. Addressing the opening session of the 4th Financing for Development Conference, he noted that multilateralism is struggling, as is trust between the major actors. He said he saw three areas of action:
Post
The Climate Finance Vulnerability Index shows how hot the world is
The Climate Finance Vulnerability Index (CliF-VI) provides a comprehensive understanding of nations' climate vulnerability to help improve the targeting and provision of climate change adaptation financing. It shows a country’s climate and financial vulnerability as well as governance considerations that may impact lending.
Post
£833m net zero Teesside contract for UK’s Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has announced that it has been awarded an £833m contract by Technip Energies to act as the construction partner for Net Zero Teesside Power – an onshore power, capture and compression project and poised to be the world’s first gas-fired power station with carbon capture and storage.
Post
UK to become sustainable finance capital of the world
The UK Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, has outlined plans to support banks and large companies in developing climate transition plans. To date, about 70% of FTSE 100 companies have voluntarily developed many of the key elements of a transition plan. The UK Government says that widespread transition planning will help provide long-term certainty and clarity to help scale the sustainable finance industry.
Post
WMO: Asia is warming twice as fast as global average
Asia is currently warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The WMO’s 'State of the Climate in Asia 2024' report says that 2024 was the warmest or second warmest year on record (depending on the dataset), with widespread and prolonged heatwaves. The warming trend between 1991-2024 was almost double that of the 1961-1990 period.
Post
UK Gov announces new era of clean energy transformation
Hot on the heels of the UK Government’s commitment to the most significant programme of investment in homegrown clean energy in the UK’s history, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, has talked through what energy transformation means for the UK in coming years.
Post
UN Conference: oceans are essential to mitigating climate change
The third United Nations Ocean Conference has adopted a political declaration entitled: “Our ocean, our future: united for urgent action”, stressing that the ocean plays an essential role in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change.
Post
Wilful blindness: turning a blind eye to planetary insolvency
The global economy could face a 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090 unless immediate policy action on risks posed by the climate crisis is taken. This is the stark warning set out in ‘Planetary Solvency – finding our balance with nature’ by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) in collaboration with climate scientists.
Post
OECD: accelerated climate action can drive growth and development
Ambitious climate targets that are underpinned by robust implementation and investment plans can provide economic opportunities, unlock investment, and support sustainable development and growth, while facilitating low-emission transitions, according to a new joint report by the OECD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Post
Climate silence: does it matter or is it golden?
Anyone who has read the article “Why well-off Brits who think collapse is coming still stay silent” will recognise the scenarios it calls out. Those silent Brits are familiar to us all: they know the planet is hurtling towards existential crisis but they do not use their voice to influence others while they live comfortably within a system that cannot endure (and they know it).
Post
£86bn boost to science and tech to turbocharge UK economy
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will announce a transformative £86bn in the Spending Review to turbo-charge the country's fastest growing sectors, from tech and life sciences, to advanced manufacturing and defence, as part of the the UK Government’s plan to invest in Britain’s renewal through its Modern Industrial Strategy.
Post
Planning for climate; planning for security
Severe climate impacts can come from nowhere. Their effects can cascade across society, and create a bigger problem than the sum of their individual parts. These impacts are similar to those resulting from pandemics or traditional security threats. That is why we need to plan for climate like we plan for security – at the national level, supranational level and across continents.
Post
Big shout out to growing list of companies committing to DEI
Impactivize has published a long list of companies who have publicly stated their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. The list includes some big names. Amongst them are: Adidas, American Express, Apple, AstraZeneca and Audible. And that's only in the section under 'A'.
Post
Anti-microbial resistance? New antibiotics are not the only answer
AMR (anti-microbial resistance) is a world health issue. Many believe there cannot be too much investment in and coordination globally on this issue. Standards and regulation – across the use by humans and animals of antibiotics and antifungals – are one thing; but are they the only way forward?