Showing 1 - 10 of 33
Thailand should chart its own path on climate
News, Bjorn Lomborg, Published on 14/06/2025
» In recent years, climate anxiety has taken over many Western governments and most international organisations. The result has been ruinous policies that help little but undermine future prosperity needed to deal with a host of other problems. Fortunately, Thailand can avoid repeating these mistakes.
When tittle tattle lost the battle
Roger Crutchley, Published on 11/05/2025
» This past week there have been many moving ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe) marking the end of the war in Europe. I was born shortly after the war (a "bundle for Britain") but this week's celebrations brought to mind wartime slogans and expressions that surfaced between 1939-45 and remained in use for years to come.
Insurers must embrace AI tools
Oped, Pierre du Rostu, Published on 09/04/2025
» Over the past year and a half, insurers have been pulling out of high-risk areas at an alarming rate. Nowhere has this been more obvious than in California, where wildfires have become more frequent and intense -- the Los Angeles conflagration in January being only the latest in a series of devastating blazes. And it's not just wildfires: the Golden State is also prone to large, damaging floods.
Can new bonds mitigate disaster losses?
Oped, Rapeepat Ingkasit, Published on 05/02/2025
» Last year turned out to be one of the most expensive on record in terms of insurance payments resulting from natural disasters.
Feedback on climate – not in front of the kids
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 16/01/2025
» 'This does not mean the international +1.5ºC target has been broken because that refers to a long-term average over decades." If those carefully chosen words don't set your alarm bells ringing, you have not travelled much in the land of lawyers.
Climate action must rise above political fray
News, Nadia Calviño, Published on 18/11/2024
» This year's United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku is taking place against a tumultuous geopolitical backdrop. In addition to shifting strategic alliances, trade tensions, and violent conflict, the "year of elections" has ushered in a period of heated political rhetoric and led to changes of government.
Finance for a sustainable future
News, Jordan Schwartz, Published on 07/11/2024
» Whenever the world's financial and political leaders convene -- whether at the G20 summit, the United Nations General Assembly, or the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings -- the most urgent development challenges are nearly always on the agenda. Increasingly, the solution these leaders propose to such problems, from poverty alleviation and public-health crises to climate change and the energy transition, is more financing.
Strengthening vulnerable coastlines
Oped, Karen Sack, Published on 05/11/2024
» Roughly 40% of the world's population inhabits coastal areas. In addition to being home to 12 of the world's 15 largest cities, these regions serve as an essential lifeline for countless small villages and towns. With around 80% of international trade passing through seaports, coastal regions also play an outsize economic role, accounting for 60-70% of global GDP.
More affordable climate finance
Oped, Rebecca Ray & Ulrich Volz, Published on 14/03/2024
» Emerging-market and developing economies (EMDEs) will need an estimated US$2.4 trillion (86 trillion baht) in climate investment annually to meet climate goals, according to the Independent High-Level Expert Group on Climate Finance, with $1 trillion coming from external sources. Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require even more financing: an increase of $3.5 trillion in new investments annually by 2030. These are daunting figures. But they are also non-negotiable.
IMF must lead climate financing
Oped, Laurence Tubiana & Kevin P Gallagher, Published on 19/12/2023
» With their agreement at COP28 to "transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems", countries have made genuine progress on tackling climate change. But there is still much to do to mobilise the level of financing needed to turn the commitment into reality. International organisations -- especially the International Monetary Fund -- must step up. Though the IMF was relatively slow off the mark in the race to combat climate change, it has made great strides under Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. But it must take its climate leadership much further.