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The world’s getting warmer and people are feeling the heat. Hong Kong, where I’m basting today in 33°C temps, recorded its hottest month on record in July. Heatwaves have struck Europe, the U.S., the Middle East and even Siberia this year, where temperatures peaked at 38°C and sparked wildfires.
The world’s getting warmer and people are feeling the heat. Hong Kong, where I’m basting today in 33°C temps, recorded its hottest month on record in July. Heatwaves have struck Europe, the U.S., the Middle East and even Siberia this year, where temperatures peaked at 38°C and sparked wildfires.
With global temperatures on the rise, heat-related deaths will increase too—killing as many people a year as all infectious diseases combined, a new report says.
The research from Climate Impact Lab shows worldwide heatwaves could kill an average 73 people per 100,000 in 2100 if climate change is left unabated. That’s the same as the current mortality rate for all infectious diseases. In hotter countries, the rate could be as high as 200 per 100,000.
MIT Technology Review, however, contends the death rate can be lowered by up to 29% if regions invest in air conditioners and other urban cooling structures. But, as Fortune reported in a March feature on the African AC boom, cooling cities poses its own challenges for climate change. Electricity to power those cooling machines often comes from burning fossil fuels, which intensifies the world’s greenhouse effect.
Relying on AC to provide lifesaving cooling isn’t an option for those who can’t afford it. In New York City—which last week instructed the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to begin measuring and reporting on the impact of extreme heat—data already shows people living in low income areas are more likely to die from heatstroke than those in more affluent neighborhoods.
There could be an architectural solution to these issues. Modern skyscrapers, for instance, favor glass facades, which increase the need for air conditioning. Last year, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio threatened to ban glass skyscrapers from the city, unless those buildings can meet much stricter requirements for energy efficiency. Debate on whether improvements in glass technology will ever make it energy efficient enough to justify its sweeping usage rages on.
Some architects have begun eschewing the material. Others are crafting building designs that allow for natural cooling—such as The Star shopping complex in Singapore, the curves of which reportedly create a natural breeze.
Figuring out how to cool cities without warming the world is a life and death issue.
More below.
Eamon Barrett
eamon.barrett@fortune.com
CARBON COPY
China's green fund
China’s first dedicated environmental fund raised $12.5 billion in an initial fundraising round last week, according to the Ministry for Environment and Ecology. The National Green Development Fund will be used to invest in (somewhat vague) national strategic programs, such as financing the green development of the Yangtze River basin—a major economic zone currently suffering its worst flooding in decades. Reuters
Oil losses
BP laid out its strategy to reach net zero emissions by 2050 on Tuesday, six weeks ahead of schedule, while reporting a $6.7 billion loss for the second quarter. The oil giant committed to no exploration in new countries, lowering gas and oil production 40% by 2030 and developing 50 gigawatts of renewable energy sources by the end of the decade. Rival Shell also reported Q2 losses last week, at $18.4 billion—down from a $3 billion profit the same time last year. CNBC
As easy as ESG
Google parent Alphabet made a record ESG bond sale of $5.75 billion, the largest corporate ESG bond to date. According to Bloomberg, the money raised will be used to fund organizations that support Black entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses impacted by COVID-19, affordable housing, as well as clean energy projects. Bloomberg
How to divest
An investor group managing more than $16 trillion in assets launched the Net Zero Investment Framework this week—a step-by-step action plan for how to align portfolios with the Paris Agreement. Reuters
Emerald green
Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled in favor of an environmental group that sued the Irish government over the country’s climate action plan. The court found that Ireland’s National Mitigation Plan, passed in 2017, failed to provide enough detail on how it would meet the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement. BBC
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
‘Historic opportunity’: Governments are facing a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transition to clean energy by Katherine Dunn
China’s U.S. energy imports are 95% below what it promised in the Phase One trade deal by Eamon Barrett
To recharge America’s job market, build a green electric grid by Saul Griffith and Alex Laskey
America needs a major infrastructure overhaul—and it must be green by Ban-ki Moonand Patrick Verkooijen
How the coronavirus is testing the stakeholder business model by Karen S. Lynch
A call to action for America’s CEOs: Show your commitment to inclusion of people with disabilities by Jill Houghton and Rod Martin
How the government could boost women- and minority-owned businesses—while turning a profit by Dale Mathias and Agnes Dasewicz
CLOSING NUMBER
25%
At least a quarter of Bangladesh is underwater as of last week, as torrential rains caused the Brahmaputra River to break banks while the surrounding basin was saturated. Roughly 4.7 million people have been affected by the floods, losing their homes, while 54 have died. Closer to the coast of Bangladesh, rising seas have consumed whole villages. Worldwide, flooding—particularly coastal flooding—is predicted to increase 50% over the next 80 years. A report last week estimates the rising sea levels threaten assets worth 20% of the world’s GDP.