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Water-related disasters throw up complex challenges, threaten lives and jobs

“For decades, natural disasters, [which] have been one of the major causes of worsening poverty, forcing some 26 million people into poverty each year and reversing developmental gains…are almost always connected to water, whether through floods, storms, droughts, tsunamis or landslides”, Secretary-General António Guterres told the Fifth UN Special Thematic Session on Water and Disasters.

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Agreement in principle reached over Suez Canal ship dispute

The SCA had demanded $916 million in compensation to cover salvage efforts, reputational damage and lost revenue before publicly lowering the request to $550 million.

“We agreed to settle this issue in a peaceful way without going through the courts and agreed on a final settlement. The deal is being drafted and will be reviewed,” Suez Canal Authority (SCA) Chairman Osama Rabie told a local Egyptian television programme late on Wednesday.

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G20 nations recommit to shaping human-centred recovery

“The crisis has impacted some sectors and groups much harder. In particular, it has hit women and youth, along with those in the informal economy.Those are also the groups facing the most difficult situations today and the biggest risk of being left behind in the months and years ahead,”ILO Director-General Guy Ryder said. 

Ryder outlined the cataclysmic impact of COVID-19, which has led to the loss of the equivalent of 161 million full-time jobs in the G20 nations. This, he said, represents a world of work crisis four times as severe as the one triggered by the financial crisis of 2008/09.

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EU watchdog tells banks to have a 10-year climate plan

Climate risks can include “physical” or weather-related events like floods, and “transition” risks from sudden changes in asset values.

A report from the European Banking Authority (EBA) on Wednesday set out recommendations for banks and their supervisors for approaching ESG risks and help the EU meet its goals of cutting carbon emissions by 2050.

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Bezos’ 2021 Space Odyssey a risk too far for insurers

There is a nearly $500 million market to insure satellites, rockets and unmanned space flight, but no legal requirement for an operator such as Blue Origin, which Bezos founded, to insure passengers for injury or death or for space tourists to have life cover, brokers and insurers said.

“We’re not aware of a case where anybody is insured against passenger liability,” Neil Stevens, senior vice president, aviation and space at Marsh, the world’s biggest insurance broker, told Reuters.

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Adani’s Bravus pushes ahead with new Australian thermal coal mine

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warned last month that investors should not fund new oil, gas and coal supply projects if the world wants to reach net zero emissions by mid-century.

But Australia, the world’s top coal exporter, is considered a global laggard in climate change policy as, unlike many other developed countries, its Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not set out a path to zero emissions by 2050.

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