Category:

Climate, Environment, Renewable Energy

Nearly 1Bln children at ‘extremely high risk’ globally because of climate change: UNICEF

“Approximately one billion children, nearly half the world’s 2.2 billion children – live in one of the 33 countries classified as ‘extremely high-risk’,” UNICEF said. The risk factors considered in the study included flooding, cyclones, heatwaves, water scarcity, air pollution, lead pollution, and infectious diseases.

“Climate and environmental shocks are undermining the complete spectrum of children’s rights, from access to clean air, food, and safe water; to education, housing, freedom from exploitation, and even their right to survive. Virtually no child’s life will be unaffected,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.

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AXA XL adds pollution insurance underwriters in the US; promotes environmental claims leader

According to MaryAnn Susavidge, Chief Underwriting Officer for AXA XL’s Environmental insurance business, “The Environmental insurance market continues to show growth opportunities, largely driven by increased construction and M&A activities.  Companies looking to minimize their potential environmental liabilities find that pollution insurance is an effective risk management option. “

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Natural disasters spurred by climate volatility remain a focus area for Asian reinsurers:Fitch

The protection gap signals vast potential for reinsurance growth, but Asian reinsurers face challenges in enhancing their risk mitigation capability and managing premium pricing adjustments in light of the frequent catastrophe losses.

The Covid-19 pandemic has dampened Asia’s economic growth and development, but it has also raised the importance and demand for reinsurance.

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Pandemic has IFC pumping $1.7 billion into local companies, up 51%

The impact of the pandemic coupled with the region’s vulnerability to climate change, has highlighted the need for a collaborative, resilient and climate friendly recovery that can withstand future shocks, said its new regional director for South Asia, Hector Gomez Ang.

While South Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, estimates suggest that climate impacts could reduce its annual GDP by an average of 1.8 percent by 2050, rising to 8.8 percent by 2100 if the region failed to take adequate corrective measures. The region is also estimated to have an untapped climate investment potential of USD3.4 trillion by 2030, Ang said.

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Shell will pay $111 million to end Nigerian oil-spill case

The Anglo-Dutch energy giant will pay the Ejama-Ebubu people 45.7 billion naira ($111 million) in compensation to end a legal case that began in 1991, the community’s lawyer, Lucius Nwosu, said by phone.
The origin of the Ejama-Ebubu community’s grievance against Shell dates back to a rupture in one of the company’s oil pipelines in 1970. Shell said it maintains that the environmental damage was caused by “third parties” during a civil war that was raging at the time.

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PM announces Hydrogen Mission, self-reliance in energy by 2047

Hydrogen is produced predominantly through Steam Methane Reforming, or SMR, which utilizes fossils fuels, such as natural gas or coal, and through Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using a current of electricity.

Currently, all hydrogen consumed in India comes from fossil fuels. By 2050, three-fourth of all hydrogen is projected to be green — produced by renewable electricity and electrolysis.

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Worst Algeria wildfires in decades kill 65

While wildfires are a relatively regular occurrence in Algeria, this week’s were the country’s biggest and deadliest in several decades. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced three days of national mourning on Wednesday.French-language TSA Algerie, which visited Kabylie on Wednesday, said the wildfires left a trail of desolation all along the usually lush road linking Tizi Ouzou to Bouira. Several villages were abandoned.

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