BBC (August 17)
“Unprecedented levels of dam building and water extraction by nations on great rivers are leaving countries further downstream increasingly thirsty, increasing the risk of conflicts.” During the 20th Century, “global water use grew at more than twice the rate of population increase.” As a result, water crises have consistently ranked high in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks and look poised to become an increasing source of conflict.
Tags: Conflict, Conflicts, Crises, Dam building, Downstream, Extraction, Population, Risk, Rivers, Thirsty, Unprecedented, Water, Water use
The Economist (November 18)
“A market exists for rooftop solar panels and electric vehicles; one for removing an invisible gas from the air to avert disaster decades from now does not.” But it must and fast. The need for negative emissions technology “will be gargantuan. The median IPCC model assumes sucking up a total of 810bn tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2100, equivalent to roughly 20 years of global emissions at the current rate. To have any hope of doing so, preparations for large-scale extraction ought to begin in the 2020s.”
Tags: CO2, Disaster, Emissions, EVs, Extraction, IPCC, Market, NET, Solar panels
Institutional Investor (August Issue)
“Investors confront the risk of a carbon bubble fueled by stranded oil and gas assets” should major governments decide to impose strict carbon legislation to combat climate change. One recent report asserts that “to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius between now and 2050, only 20 percent of the world’s fossil fuel reserves can be extracted and burned.”
Tags: Carbon, Climate change, Extraction, Fossil fuel, Gas, Global temperatures, Governments, Investors, Legislation, Oil, Reserves, Risk