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World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency | Bio Science

Scientists have a moral obligation to clearly warn humanity of any catastrophic threat and to “tell it like it is.” On the basis of this obligation and the graphical indicators presented below, we declare, with more than 11,000 scientist signatories from around the world, clearly and unequivocally that planet Earth is facing a climate emergency.

Rising Seas Will Erase More Cities by 2050, New Research Shows | NY Times

Further loss of land to rising waters there “threatens to drive further social and political instability in the region, which could reignite armed conflict and increase the likelihood of terrorism,” said General Castellaw, who is now on the advisory board of the Center for Climate and Security, a research and advocacy group in Washington.

“So this is far more than an environmental problem,” he said. “It’s a humanitarian, security and possibly military problem too.”

Has Australia ‘over-invested’ in renewable energy? | Renew Economy

No. Minister Angus Taylor clearly hasn’t looked at the history of our electricity infrastructure. Renewable energy policy has been poorly designed, to some extent because of politicisation, and to some extent because no-one imagined it would grow this fast, driven by astounding cost reductions and technology developments.

Thinking Ahead Institute reveals top fifteen extreme risks for investors | GARP

Non-financial threats loom larger, relative to economic or banking worries, according to the Thinking Ahead Institute.

Global temperature change ranks No. 1 on a list of 15 extreme risks compiled by the Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI).

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The institute, a not-for-profit outgrowth of Willis Towers Watson Investments' Thinking Ahead Group, which dates back to 2002, raised the climate issue two places higher than it was in a 2013 ranking of “potential events that are very unlikely to occur but could have a significant impact on economic growth and asset returns should they happen.”

Currently placing second is global trade collapse, up from fifth in 2013, followed by a new entry, cyber warfare.

Tim Hodgson, head of the Thinking Ahead Group, pointed to a general trend of “financial risks falling down the rankings and non-financial extreme risks growing in significance. Global temperature change becomes the highest-ranked risk due to our assessment of higher likelihood coupled with significant impact – in the extreme this would mean mass extinction.”

Continue reading on GARP website.

Australia has dodged global attention on fossil fuels because of assiduous diplomatic efforts | The Guardian

It’s a testament to the effectiveness of Australia’s assiduous diplomatic efforts on behalf of the fossil fuel industry. Not only does Australia encourage other countries to buy its toxic coal and gas, but it works tirelessly in international forums including the G20 and the UN climate system to ensure that its huge fossil fuel exports are not discussed, let alone criticised.