Saudi Arabia is bowing to the inevitable. Aramco is launching radical plans to switch its oil output from cars to petrochemical use over the next decade, implicitly accepting that the curtain is coming down on the era of petrol and diesel.
The worst-case scenario for global warming just got 14°F worse | Think Progress
And halfway through the book he says, in all caps, “If you have made it this far, you are a brave reader.” He admits that any of those chapters contains, “enough horror to induce a panic attack in even the most optimistic of those considering it.”
Climate change-related litigation was once seen as a joke, but could soon become business reality | ABC
Emma Herd, chief executive of the Investor Group on Climate Change and member of the global Steering Committee for the Climate Action 100+, said the change in sentiment was because of greater recognition by CEOs that climate change is not just an ethical issue.
"This is about financial risk, as well a company's social licence to operate," she said.
Brian Preston: The activist judge shaking the climate change world | AFR
In what lawyers say is one of the most important parts of the decision, Preston rejected Fisher's "market substitution" argument. There was no proof other mines would go ahead, he asserted, and wealthy countries such as Australia have a responsibility under the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris agreement "to take the lead" on climate change.
Alan Pears: The Politics of Confusion on Achieving the Paris Commitment | John Menadue
Why Glencore's Ivan Glasenberg buckled on coal | Financial Review
Glasenberg said the coal production cap was part of the company's climate change policy, which could also see it dropping its support of the World Coal Association.
"Our commodity portfolio and its key role in enabling the energy and mobility transition for a low-carbon economy enables us to look ahead with confidence and to remain focused on creating sustainable long-term value for all our shareholders," he said.
Suncorp calls for climate action as profits slump | Financial Review
Suncorp CEO Michael Cameron: "The facts support undeniably that change is occurring in our climate, and we need to make sure that the communities are resilient."
Shell faces lawsuit in the Netherlands, a new legal front in climate battle | Climate Liability News
“for decades, Shell has been aware of the impact of burning fossil fuels on the climate. Like ExxonMobil, Shell had studied the problem and acknowledged the danger in internal documents, yet publicly downplayed the risk while funding climate denial groups.”
The truth about big oil and climate change | The Economist
"Yet amid the clamour is a single, jarring truth. Demand for oil is rising and the energy industry, in America and globally, is planning multi-trillion-dollar investments to satisfy it. No firm embodies this strategy better than ExxonMobil, the giant that rivals admire and green activists love to hate."
Facing up to the age of environmental breakdown | IPPR
“In the extreme, environmental breakdown could trigger catastrophic breakdown of human systems, driving a rapid process of ‘runaway collapse’ in which economic, social and political shocks cascade through the globally linked system – in much the same way as occurred in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2007-08,” the paper warns.
What is the role of central banks in managing climate change? | London Institute of Banking and Finance
Dr Paul Fisher, well known to many at Climate Alliance has written a very interesting article for the London Institute of Banking and Finance. He asks the question whether central banks should play a role in managing the risks presented by climate change.
Greenhouse gas emissions contribute to coal mine refusal | Norton Rose Fulbright
In an Australian first, development consent for a new coal mine was refused by the Land and Environment Court of NSW (the Court) for reasons that included its material greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribution to climate change.
It’s Official: 2018 Was the Fourth-Warmest Year on Record | NY Times
NASA scientists announced Wednesday that the Earth’s average surface temperature in 2018 was the fourth highest in nearly 140 years of record-keeping and a continuation of an unmistakable warming trend.
New Zealand sea level rise: Councils' $8b climate change warning | Stuff
"Costs will likely go far beyond tangible measures; not only will infrastructure be exposed, but so will potential economic development and growth, community health and safety and social support systems."
Companies Most Exposed to Climate Change Risks | Barrons
“We’re steadily moving toward a new normal where billion-dollar disasters are a regular occurrence,” says Emilie Mazzacurati, founder and CEO of Four Twenty Seven. “This combination of extreme weather events and growing pressure from asset owners and regulators is pushing a lot of businesses to look for a way to understand their exposure and start managing their risks.”
Greta Thunberg at the WEF in Davos
The Global Risks Report 2019 | World Economic Forum
Extreme weather is again out on its own in the top-right (high-likelihood, high-impact) quadrant of the Global Risks Landscape 2019. The year 2018 was another one of storms, fires and floods.19 Of all risks, it is in relation to the environment that the world is most clearly sleepwalking into catastrophe.
You can download the report here, or go to the WEF webpage for more information.
2018’s Costliest Natural Disasters | Insurance Journal
A report from Munich Re on last year’s natural disasters pointed to “clear indications” that man-made climate change is a factor in California’s wildfires.
Great Ocean Road at risk from erosion and rising sea levels | The Guardian
Yes, let’s pretend nothing has changed....
“The road has been there for 100 years and will continue to be there for many many years, decades to come.”