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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Italian holiday island set to see 48 degrees this week following Cyprus wildfires
An Italian holiday hotspot popular with Brits could see temperatures soar to near-record highs as soon as this week, including a potential 48C in southern regions. The heatwave, dubbed the third 'African blaze' of the summer, is expected to bring record-breaking temperatures to Sicily and Sardinia throughout July and August. The extreme heat is also expected to hit other parts of Italy, with temperatures in central regions like Rome and Florence nearing 36C, reports El País. Authorities have warned temperatures will sit above average throughout the week, with highs of 42C expected in Italy's southern regions, such as Puglia, Basilicata, Sardinia, and Sicily. The heatwave is expected to push temperatures close to the European record of 48.8C, which was recorded in Floridia, near Syracuse, Sicily, in August 2021, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Filippo Anelli, president of Italy's National Federation of the Orders of Physicians, ordered 'maximum attention' to vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and people with chronic illnesses during the heatwave. Meanwhile, northern Italy is bracing for unstable weather conditions due to the clash between incoming African heat and a low-pressure system over northern Europe. This collision is likely to result in severe thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, and hailstorms, particularly over the Alps and Prealps. Europe is in the grip of an unforgiving bout of extreme weather that is battering popular holiday destinations just as British tourists prepare to head abroad for the summer. Searing heatwaves, devastating wildfires and violent storms are sweeping the continent, threatening lives, scorching landscapes and putting emergency services under immense pressure. Tourist hotspots in Italy and Spain are contending with several punishing blazes, with hundreds of firefighters and water-carrying aircraft dispatched to quell the flames. Sicily battled six separate wildfires last week, with soaring temperatures leading authorities to issue red alert warnings for four provinces this week. Sicily's Forestry Corps and Civil Protection workers were engaged last weekend as they worked to extinguish the fires, with six water-dropping aircraft drafted into control the flames. Yesterday, two people were killed and hundreds evacuated as a massive wildfire tore through southern Cyprus, destroying homes and threatening communities amid an intense heatwave. At least 100 square kilometres (39 square miles) was razed to the ground in a wine–producing region north of the city of Limassol, near popular tourist hotspots, after the blaze broke out around midday on Wednesday, with several fronts still active on Thursday morning. Two people have died after they were burned alive in their car. Local reports say police are now attempting to identify the pair who were trying to escape in the vehicle. At least 10 people were injured, two of them seriously, police said.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Science
- Irish Times
We are banking on costly, speculative ‘negative emissions technologies' to make climate strategies add up
In May, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) published a report projecting that global temperatures are expected to continue at or near-record levels over the next five years . As global heating accelerates, there is even a small chance (1 per cent, the WMO said) that the temperature rise could exceed 2 degrees in this period. For decades, scientists have been warning about the devastating consequences that even a 1.5-degree increase in global temperatures would bring. You would think that no effort would be spared in implementing workable, scalable solutions and in eliminating fossil energy as quickly as possible. However, international agencies and EU governments are still heavily relying on costly and speculative negative emissions technologies (NETs) to make their climate strategies add up. These technologies are controversial because they often prolong our dependence on fossil energy, cannot be deployed at scale quickly or are hugely expensive compared to energy efficiency and renewables. They include carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS), direct air capture (DAC) and bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS). READ MORE CCUS was hyped up after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, but has consistently underperformed since then. The International Energy Agency's 2024 analysis said CCUS roll-out remained nowhere near what was needed to deliver under the Agency's Net Zero Scenario. CCUS would need to capture and store around one gigatonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year by 2030, but current projections estimate the removal of only 430 megatonnes of CO2 by then. To meet the 2050 target, CCUS would have to scale up a hundred-fold. The EU's 2040 target of 90 per cent emission reductions relies heavily on NETs for 'hard-to-abate' sectors such as aviation and industry, projecting that 400 megatonnes of CO2 will be removed permanently. The small number of working DAC projects globally – including an innovative Irish project in Co Waterford called Neg8 Carbon – remove carbon at a steep cost of anywhere between €200 and €1,000 a tonne of CO2 removed. Their potential is largely determined by the price of carbon credits on voluntary carbon markets. The current pipeline of projects will at best remove around three megatonnes of CO2 globally by 2030, which is a drop in the ocean when you consider that global carbon-dioxide emissions last year were about 38 billion tonnes. Enhanced weathering is another carbon removal technology that works, but can at best deliver 30 megatonnes of CO2 a year by 2030. Most of these industrial-sector NETs come with high energy demands, high capital and operational costs and the need for significant CO2 storage infrastructure. As things stand, these technologies are not delivering carbon reductions that are needed. Global emissions of greenhouse gases are still dominated by fossil fuel combustion; until coal, oil and gas are replaced by renewable energy sources we do not stand a chance of averting climate disaster. That is simply physics, not an opinion. Given the timescales available for meaningful action – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that global CO2 emissions need to be halved by 2030 – the reliance on unproven technological solutions to meet near-term targets is ethically and politically disastrous. We should not stop researching them, but policymakers should be acutely conscious of their limitations for staying within the increasingly constrained global and national carbon budgets. We need a technological strategy that is humble and agile. The road to climate neutrality is paved with great ideas that failed to reach the market in time to make a difference or had unintended negative consequences such as job displacement or 'sacrifice zones' to extract critical raw materials. Moving from the laboratory to market requires massive capital investment and a stable, science-based policy framework underpinning research and investment. It also requires public acceptance or what is termed a 'social licence'. Part of the policy challenge is that we take the convenience and availability of fossil energy and chemical fertilisers for granted. To decarbonise the energy system, we will need to redesign it and adapt our use of energy to its availability. For householders, that might mean only using the washing machine when the sun is shining on PV panels or a smart grid and smart tariffs that determine the optimal time to do so. For a manufacturing plant, it means generating and even selling its own power or deploying entirely new production systems, for example, electric arc furnaces. This will require behavioural shifts, organisational modifications and energy market redesigns that are much more complex than the actual technologies involved. Even 'cost-effective' solutions require an implementation pathway, and many proven measures face barriers to market entry, often due to the dominance of fossil incumbents or the lack of grid infrastructure and storage. As long as national policies are pulling in different directions, we won't have the net zero-aligned financial and regulatory framework that new technologies require to make a real impact. But the truth is that many emerging technologies simply can't compete with the growing affordability of solar PV, wind and battery technologies. So what are we waiting for, except the displeasure of the fossil fuel industry? Sadhbh O'Neill is a climate and environmental researcher
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Climate
- Hindustan Times
We must stay prepared for extreme heat and flooding
In March 2025, the World Meteorological Organization confirmed what climate scientists had warned: 2024 was the first year to exceed 1.5 °C above pre‑industrial levels, reaching roughly 1.55–1.6 °C nationwide. That translated into more than 150 unprecedented weather disasters worldwide: heatwaves, floods, storms which displaced over 800,000 people in 2024 and inflicted grave damage on life, livelihoods, crops and infrastructure. The intensity of the incessant rainfall was higher in the eastern suburbs of Ghatkopar, Mankhurd, Govandi, LBS Road in Vikhroli and Bhandup, which are considered chronic flooding spots. (Praful Gangurde /HT Photo) Sea levels rose at 4.7 mm/year in 2024 twice the rate of the early 2000s while global ice losses, record ocean heat, and shrinking Arctic and Antarctic sea ice reached unprecedented lows (WMO). The resulting extremes of heat, drought, storms, flooding affected societies from Asia to the Americas. According to Climate Central and other agencies, about half of humanity some 4 billion people experienced at least one extra month of extreme heat between May 2024 and May 2025 compared to historical norms. In nearly every country, extreme heat days have at least doubled due to global warming. Meanwhile globally, heatwaves remain the deadliest weather event. Asia recorded 1,301 deaths during a June 2024 heatwave near Mecca. Japan's 2024 heatwaves caused 123 deaths and over 37,000 heatstroke hospitalisations. In North America, the 2024 heatwaves killed over 1,000 people in the US and 155 in Mexico, with Death Valley hitting 54°C. Europe endured record heat in 2024–25 causing approximately 2,300 deaths across 12 cities including Spain, Portugal, and the UK. Extreme rainfall and flooding were equally widespread. Floods in Pakistan, Senegal, Italy and Brazil destroyed homes and crops. These disasters also triggered the highest level of climate-related displacement since 2008, over 824,000 people in 2024. As part of the global maelstrom, India has become a climate flashpoint, with nearly 60% of districts representing 76% of the population fall into high or very high heat-risk categories. IIT Gandhinagar reports some 10,000 flash-flood events annually even in central and western India impacting over 90 million hectares. Between April and July 2025, an early heatwave peaked at 48 °C in Rajasthan, linked to at least 455 heat-related deaths. Extreme weather occurred on 88% of days in 2024, killing almost 3,000 people and destroying 80,000 homes (Centre for Science and Environment). These qualify as part of a larger global pattern: warming disproportionally impacting South Asia, Africa, Latin America and the island-State regions least responsible for emissions yet most vulnerable. While mitigation remains vital, adaptation building resilience now is a matter of survival. The UN's Adaptation Gap Report 2023 estimates that developing countries need $194–366 billion annually by 2030, yet receive less than 10% (WMO, UNEP). Every $1 spent on adaptation yields $13 in avoided damage (WMO). As climate extremes become more frequent and severe, countries must shift from reactive relief to proactive resilience. Across the globe, innovative strategies are emerging that offer replicable models of adaptation and preparedness. These best practices, drawn from diverse geographies, highlight both the urgency and opportunity to act now. * Cool cities: Urban heat islands amplify the deadly impact of rising temperatures. Cities like Ahmedabad in India have pioneered early interventions. Its Heat Action Plan focused on public education, early warnings, and hydration stations has significantly reduced heatstroke fatalities over the past decade. Elsewhere, Melbourne combats urban heat by planting over 3,000 shade trees annually, while Paris has designated more than 800 public cooling centres. These low-cost, high-impact urban strategies demonstrate how city design and green infrastructure can save lives and enhance liveability amid rising heat extremes. * Flood protection via nature-based solutions: Flood management need not rely solely on grey infrastructure. The Netherlands' Room for the River programme, which restores floodplains and allows rivers to flow more naturally, has proven effective in mitigating flood risks while enhancing ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines are restoring mangroves to shield vulnerable coastlines. In India, the East Kolkata Wetlands naturally treat wastewater and absorb stormwater, while Chennai and Bengaluru have seen success with Miyawaki forests that not only reduce runoff but also cool microclimates. These examples reveal how nature-based solutions can build dual resilience: protecting lives while restoring biodiversity. * Smarter warning systems and community-based responses: According to the World Meteorological Organization, only about half of the world's countries have effective early warning systems in place. Bangladesh, however, has become a global leader in this space. Through improved cyclone forecasting, pre-emptive evacuations, community drills, and a network of shelters, it has drastically reduced cyclone-related deaths over the years. Countries like India, Nepal, and Brazil should scale up similar models that combine SMS-based alerts, local volunteer brigades, and decentralised command centres to ensure faster and more inclusive responses. * Health system readiness: Climate events often turn into public health crises. Heatwaves exacerbate risks of heatstroke, dehydration, and respiratory illness, while floods lead to outbreaks of waterborne and vector-borne diseases. Japan has institutionalised its heat alert system into school protocols, urban planning, and public health advisories, setting a global benchmark. In India, there is an urgent need to establish district cooling hubs, hydration centres, and train primary healthcare workers to respond to heat- and flood-related illnesses. Post-disaster mental health support also deserves more systematic integration into national health strategies. * Financing resilience: A major bottleneck in scaling preparedness is finance. However, innovative models are emerging. From 2028, Indian banks will mandate climate-risk disclosures and stress testing for businesses, a critical first step toward climate-informed financial systems. Kenya offers another powerful model through its County Climate Change Funds, which decentralise adaptation finance and align spending with local priorities. Globally, climate adaptation finance must scale through tools like green bonds, local climate funds, and weather-indexed insurance schemes that offer quicker recovery and risk-sharing mechanisms, especially for the most vulnerable. * Empowering local communities: At the frontlines of every climate disaster are local communities often under-resourced but deeply adaptive. Grassroots organisations, such as self-help groups in India, climate response brigades in Spain, and youth volunteer corps in Latin America, are proving to be first responders, educators, and long-term resilience builders. Providing these groups with climate training, microgrants, and institutional support can dramatically expand the reach and relevance of adaptation programmes. Climate resilience must be seen not as a top-down mandate, but as a collaborative effort rooted in local knowledge and leadership. Collectively, these strategies underscore a central truth: resilience is local, contextual, and most effective when co-created. While global climate conventions continue to guide broad policy frameworks, it is these grounded, tested, and community-centric models that offer the most hope in a rapidly warming world. The world passed the 1.5 °C threshold in 2024. Without urgent emissions reductions, we are on track for 2 °C warming by 2030, which would multiply climate extremes. That means hotter summers, erratic monsoons, rising seas, degraded food systems, and population migrations on a scale few nations are prepared to handle. From the Philippines to Pakistan, from Sardinia to Sahel, people have been displaced, injured, or killed by disasters already made more likely by human-caused warming. We have solutions and examples. What is lacking is the political will, financing, and collective urgency. Whether in Delhi, Dhaka, Dakar, or Denver, adaptation is now the frontline of the climate crisis. Adaptation is not a fallback, it is the defence. How hardened are our cities, health systems, communities and economies? That will determine how many lives are saved, and how much suffering is averted. The question is no longer will we be hit? How hard and how ready are we? This article is authored by Ananya Raj Kakoti, scholar, international relations, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Bangkok Post
17-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Taking stock of nation's climate finance
If the ravages of extreme weather worldwide were not enough to convince anyone of the need to urgently address and adapt to climate change, consider a sobering fact delivered by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). In its "State of the Global Climate 2024" report, it said last year was "likely the first calendar year to be more than 1.5C above the pre-industrial era, with a global mean near-surface temperature of 1.55 ± 0.13C above the 1850-1900 average". This makes 2024 the warmest year in the 175 years that have been observed, according to this seminal report which was released in March. The record-breaking year "underlined the massive economic and social upheavals from extreme weather and the long-term impacts of record ocean heat and sea-level rise". Leading concerns Thailand serves as a microcosm of this urgent need. The country has already ranked 30th in this year's list of countries that are most vulnerable to climate change, according to human rights organisation Germanwatch. The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap) estimates that Thailand's average annual damage from climate change will amount to almost 1 trillion baht, or 6.6% of the country's GDP per year, under the 2-degree scenario. The cumulative damage of climate change on Thailand's agriculture sector alone is estimated to be between 17.5–83.8 billion baht per year between 2021-2045. Naturally, Thailand needs significant investments in climate mitigation to keep up its commitment on the global stage. In 2024, the Department of Climate Change and Environment estimated that a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 would require a 5 trillion baht investment in climate finance, while a 40% reduction would require an investment of 7 trillion baht. Tracking finance flows One major drawback for Thailand is the lack of any sense of urgency as well as the financial resources for both climate mitigation (to lower greenhouse gas emissions) and climate adaptation to reduce the negative impacts of climate change. Thailand still lacks a clear picture of the current climate finance flows in the country. As Climate Finance Network Thailand (CFNT) was founded in 2024 with the aim of catalysing more meaningful climate finance in Thailand, we took it upon ourselves to compile as much data from publicly available sources to construct a public "Climate Finance Tracker" (henceforth referred to as the "Tracker") for Thailand -- akin to the Global Landscape of Climate Finance report produced annually by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), the US-based organisation that focuses on climate finance and policy. We focus on two main activities: climate mitigation and climate adaptation. We found sources of climate finance come from various areas such as government bodies, multilateral development banks, national and multilateral climate funds, state-owned enterprises, specialised financial institutions, domestic public funds, and international financial institutions. These funds are typically directed through official development assistance (ODA), concessional loans, grants, or public investment programmes. On the other hand, private climate finance also comes from the private sector, for example, commercial financial institutions, corporations, impact investors (including philanthropy), institutional investors, and other non-state actors. It includes investments aligned with clear climate-related objectives through mechanisms such as green bonds, green loans, and blended finance. One key principle used by the CPI that we adopted for our Tracker is the focus on direct investment aligned with climate mitigation and adaptation efforts within the country. In line with the CPI's methodology, the Tracker also excludes any financial flows that do not represent new investments targeting climate-related outcomes. Investments we excluded from our calculation are secondary markets, refinancing, the transfer of ownership of existing assets, and public subsidies that are primarily designed to reimburse initial investment costs, such as those supporting private research and the development of new technologies. Like the CPI, we exclude "carbon emissions lock-in" projects. This refers to cases where investment clings to fossil-fuel based infrastructure despite the low-emission alternatives available that could be deployed. One example of a carbon lock-in project would be an upgrade to improve the efficiency of coal-fired power plants. Financing challenges Climate adaptation is a much more complicated affair to track. Each activity has its own context and characteristics, and a lot of time, effort and resources are needed to monitor adaptation activities to judge whether they are "successful" or not. CFNT attempts to address this challenge by using the Tailwind Taxonomy, a publicly available model to audit the performance of climate adaptation and resilience projects. The model was developed by Tailwind Futures, a strategic venture fund. We chose climate adaptation projects that address the specific vulnerabilities to climate change and climate-related risk, and make assessments from the evidence-based outcomes of these activities. What have we found? From tallying over 2,800 project-level and organisation-level data carried out from year 2018 to May of this year, we conclude that at least 1.7 trillion baht has been invested in climate mitigation projects. Some 82% of this sum derives from corporations, commercial banks, and state-owned enterprises. In terms of contributions by sector, 64% of total investment comes from energy and transport. Zooming into sub-sectors, the most popular climate mitigation activities are rooftop solar installations (17% of the total), electric vehicles (10%), and mass transit and mass railway projects (8%). We also look into climate adaptation activities and projects. Based on data from 670 projects, we estimate that during 2020-2024, Thailand spent 148 billion baht on climate adaptation projects. Some 95% of the money came from Thailand's central government, followed by multilateral climate funds (1.8%). Zooming into sectors, sustainable water management, urban resilience, and sustainable agriculture are key focal areas for climate adaptation. Those who are interested in perusing our Tracker -- reading our detailed methodology and downloading slides featuring our key highlights -- can do so by visiting our website at By making the Tracker publicly accessible and updating the database annually, we hope to assist policymakers in identifying the gap between existing climate finance flows and demands. We seek to jumpstart conversations on climate finance, as well as enabling better allocation of funds into the most urgently needed sectors and sub-sectors in Thailand, especially to those that are the most vulnerable to the worsening impacts of climate change.
Zawya
15-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Fondation Lombard Odier launches funding programme for international environmental projects
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Fondation Lombard Odier is celebrating its 20th anniversary and underlining its long-term commitment to strategic philanthropy with a new environmental programme. Building on two decades of experience in targeted project funding, from 2025 the Foundation will support international initiatives that combine climate protection with tangible social benefits. The focus will be on new partnerships with organisations such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Giving to Amplify Earth Action Awards (GAEA), with the aim of measurably advancing innovation, the use of climate data, protecting biodiversity and strengthening protected areas worldwide. The Fondation Lombard Odier was established in 2004 to unite the philanthropic activities of the founding families and the Group under one roof. Since then, the Foundation has embodied the Group's humanist values and carried forward the families' long-standing philanthropic endeavours with an innovative vision of philanthropy – a tradition that dates back to the mid-19th century. To date, it has supported almost 350 projects and institutions in Switzerland and globally. Among the first supported initiatives: A WMO project improving humanitarian planning in refugee camps through precise climate data. ZSL research using chemical and satellite data to trace the origin of tropical wood and rubber, helping enforce environmental standards. Support for GAEA to spotlight system-changing climate collaborations, including fossil-free steel and low-carbon agriculture. Hubert Keller, Chairman of Fondation Lombard Odier and Senior Managing Partner, Lombard Odier Group, says: 'As we celebrate the Foundation's 20th anniversary, we reflect with pride on past achievements and look ahead to new challenges, bold projects and powerful alliances that will enable us to continue driving sustainable transformation.' Dr Maximilian Martin, Global Head of Philanthropy, Lombard Odier Group and Secretary-General of Fondation Lombard Odier, adds: 'Our anniversary provided an opportunity to reflect on what truly works in philanthropic practice. We focus our support where early-stage commitment, expert partners and innovative thinking converge. The new environmental programme exemplifies this approach and marks the beginning of a long-term commitment to systemic solutions in the environmental space.' About Lombard Odier Lombard Odier is a global wealth and asset manager. For over 225 years and through more than 40 financial crises, the Group has aligned itself with the long-term interests of private and institutional clients. It has a strong balance sheet with a CET1 ratio of 32% and a Fitch rating of AA-, the highest possible rating for a bank of its size. Structured as an independent partnership, Lombard Odier is solely owned by its Managing Partners. This governance model allows the Group to remain completely client-focused and innovative at the highest level in the organisation. Lombard Odier is an investment house that provides a comprehensive offering of discretionary and advisory portfolio management, wealth services and custody. Asset management services are offered through Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM). The Group has created cutting-edge banking technology, which is also leveraged by other Swiss and European-based private banks and financial institutions. The Group had total client assets of CHF 327 at 31 December 2024. Headquartered in Geneva since 1796, at end-December the Group had 28 offices in 19 jurisdictions and employed 2,900 people. For more information: Lombard Odier Group Rue de la Corraterie 11 1204 Geneva – Switzerland Andreas Kessler Media relations Ellen Birch Media relations Important Information This media release has been prepared by Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd, a bank and securities firm authorised and regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) (hereinafter "Lombard Odier"). It is not intended for distribution, publication, or use in any jurisdiction where such distribution, publication, or use would be unlawful, nor is it aimed at any person or entity to whom it would be unlawful to address such a document. This media release is provided for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer or a recommendation to enter into a relationship with Lombard Odier, nor to subscribe to, purchase, sell or hold any security or financial instrument. This document may not be reproduced (in whole or in part), transmitted, modified, or used for any public or commercial purpose without the prior written permission of Lombard Odier. © 2025 Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd – All rights reserved
