Latest Climate Change Headlines
All the headlines from our Climate Change Topic Page, ordered by recency.
UK Climate Change Adviser to Recommend Target of Zero Emissions by 2050: Sources
Apr 30 2019 // The U.K. government’s official adviser on climate change is set to recommend the country adopt a target to drive net fossil fuel emissions to zero by 2050, according to people familiar with the plan. If adopted, the...
Washington D.C. Plans to Confront Climate Change by Retrofitting Flood-Prone Buildings
Apr 29 2019 // Washington is announcing a goal of retrofitting or removing all of its flood-prone buildings by 2050, the first major U.S. city to set such a policy. The proposal is part of a broader plan to protect Washington, which is...
California Insurance Commissioner Rejects Petition to Require Fossil Fuel Underwriting Disclosure
Apr 23 2019 // California’s new insurance commissioner wasn’t getting along so well on Earth Day with groups of climate change and consumer activists. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who put battling climate...
Municipalities Try to Reassure Investors on Climate Risks in Bond Offerings
Apr 23 2019 // When Miami Beach borrowed $162 million from Wall Street this week, it wanted investors to know rising seas and extreme weather are a real risk to the city and that it’s doing something about it. An increasing number...
S&P Will Issue ‘Environmental, Social and Governance’ Evaluations Including on Insurance Sector
Apr 18 2019 // If you’re among those who regard “environmental, social and governance” as just another in a long line of trendy buzz-phrases, then you may want to rethink. ESG standards, which companies use to highlight...
New Crop of Satellites Will Identify Biggest Contributors to Climate Change
Apr 18 2019 // A wave of satellites set to orbit the Earth will be able to pinpoint producers of greenhouse gases, right down to an individual leak at an oil rig. More than a dozen governments and companies have or are planning to launch...
30 Central Banks, Minus U.S., Call for More Green Financing, Better Climate Risk Assessment
Apr 18 2019 // With insurers shouldering a record $160 billion in climate-related losses from last year alone, a group including 30 central banks called for measures to spur green finance and better assessment of the risks from higher...
Experts Give Texas Mixed Reviews on Disaster Preparedness
Apr 17 2019 // More than a year and a half after Hurricane Harvey slammed into Texas, killing dozens, the state is still waiting on billions in federal recovery dollars. In the meantime, Texas lawmakers are looking to prepare the state...
Insurers Pitch Quick-Paying Parametric Disaster Insurance to Public Sector
Apr 9 2019 // Some of the world’s largest insurers are eagerly pitching cities, states and even school districts on policies designed to pay out quickly with few questions in the event of extreme weather. The catch: Even a...
From Insurers to Traders to Retailers, More Industries Depend on Weather Tracking
Apr 1 2019 // Every uptick in wind speed along the Gulf of Mexico shoreline is of enormous interest to Mike Eilts. Eilts, senior vice president for weather at DTN, a Minnesota-based analytics firm, knows that an unexpected cold front in...
Mozambique City of Beira Tried to Battle Climate Change – Then Cyclone Idai Hit
Mar 29 2019 // Long before Cyclone Idai roared in and tore apart Mozambique’s seaside city of Beira, the mayor dreamed of protecting his people from climate change. It would be a huge challenge. Large parts of the city of 500,000...
California Commissioner Yet to Move on Petition from Climate Activists for More Insurer Regs
Mar 28 2019 // Nobody’s saying much as California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara considers how he will respond to a petition submitted by climate change activists urging him to place new regulations on insurers to disclose...
How One Company, AT&T, Is Using Models to Prepare for Natural Disaster Costs
Mar 28 2019 // By 2050, residents of southern Florida could become familiar with storms borne on 90-mph winds. Water levels during floods will rise by an average of 5 percent across the Southeast. And it will not be out of the ordinary...
Bank of England to Issue Rules for How Banks, Insurers Should Manage Climate Risk
Mar 22 2019 // The Bank of England will soon spell out how it wants banks, insurers and investment companies to manage the financial risks from climate change, Governor Mark Carney said on Thursday. The central bank under Carney has been...
Washington High Court Hears Case on Carbon Pollution
Mar 21 2019 // The Washington Supreme Court heard arguments this week on whether the state Department of Ecology has the authority to cap carbon pollution from major industrial emitters, something business groups and utilities have...
BNP Paribas’ Insurance Unit Cuts Exposure to Coal on Climate Change Concerns
Mar 19 2019 // The Cardif insurance division of BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank, on Monday outlined new targets to reduce its exposure to coal as companies around the world step up fossil fuel divestment plans to improve the...
NYC Mayor Proposes $10B Plan to Flood-Proof Manhattan as Climate Risk Grows
Mar 15 2019 // New York Mayor Bill de Blasio proposed a $10 billion plan to push out the lower Manhattan coastline as much as 500 feet, or two city blocks, to protect from flooding that’s expected to become more frequent as global...
Climate Activists to Pressure U.S. Insurers Underwriting Fossil Fuel Industry
Mar 14 2019 // Expect calls for the insurance industry to stop investing in or insuring the fossil fuel industry and fossil fuel projects to grow louder in California and throughout the U.S. A new petition by several climate change and...
Federal Flood Insurance Premiums Could Rise in Flood-Prone Areas Under Trump Plan
Mar 12 2019 // Flood insurance premiums could rise and property values fall in the most deluge-prone areas under a plan the Trump administration intends to roll out in coming weeks to change the way risk is calculated under the National...
Former California Commissioner Named Fellow at ClimateWorks Foundation
Mar 11 2019 // ClimateWorks Foundation has tapped former California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones as a distinguished fellow. In his eight years as commissioner, Jones made climate risks in the insurance industry a priority, including...
