ICareClimate

What is the Global Plastic Action Partnership?

The Global Plastic Action Partnership or GPAP, is an initiative by the World Economic Forum to shape a more sustainable future through the eradication of plastic pollution. They work with organisations, partners and governments in Indonesia, Ghana, Vietnam and Nigeria to create conservations and provide funding for actionable solutions. GPAP is dedicated to creating a circular economy and closing the loop in the plastic lifecycle by supporting grassroots plastic recycling initiatives in the Global South.

Researchers have high confidence that climate change will likely lead to worsening floods. Increasing rainfall is compounded by the emerging trend of storms getting stronger and moving more slowly, and coastal flooding will also likely worsen from increases in cyclone intensity and sea level. At the same time, regions that are prone to droughts will likely experience longer and more intense ones, contributing to heat stress, pressure on food and water availability, and more frequent and intense wildfires. As (re)insurers attempt to form a picture of what these changes mean for underwriting, there are associated larger-scale economic trends that will have a material impact on portfolios. For example, we may see mass migration of populations due to loss of dwellings or employment, making certain regions that haven’t historically experienced certain types of extreme events less economically viable and driving down the number of insured properties and property values. At the same time, on the investment side, climate change can have a significant impact on assets such as mortgage-backed securities and municipal bonds.

https://www.air-worldwide.com/publications/perspectives/a-forward-looking-perspective-on-the-interconnectedness-of-climate-risks/

A dish of freshly boiled, juicy & tasty, red & good looking Maine Lobster at the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Taken on March 28, 2010. Photo courtesy Bernt Rostad via Flickr. Used under a CC license.

Though it’s as tasty as ever, the lobster on your plate is coming from a different location than it did just 20 years ago. Warming sea surface temperatures from climate change are forcing populations of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) to higher latitudes than ever before—and upending fishing communities on the New England coast. 

https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-lobsters

The problem is political. A fascinating analysis by the social science professor Kevin MacKay contends that oligarchy has been a more fundamental cause of the collapse of civilisations than social complexity or energy demand. Control by oligarchs, he argues, thwarts rational decision-making, because the short-term interests of the elite are radically different to the long-term interests of society. This explains why past civilisations have collapsed “despite possessing the cultural and technological know-how needed to resolve their crises”. Economic elites, which benefit from social dysfunction, block the necessary solutions.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/14/earth-death-spiral-radical-action-climate-breakdown?CMP=twt_gu