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Extreme weather conditions and the danger they present to lives and livelihoods are the focus of today’s newsletter as flooding submerges entire villages in Fiji, and threatens similar conditions in Uganda, whilst Palestinians grapple with sweltering temperatures amid power cuts and residents in the U.S. state of Kentucky feel the force of torrential rains.
Village elders in Fiji’s Serua Island must consider the previously unthinkable possibility of evacuation as water breaches the seawall at high tide. Semisi Madanawa, tired of raising three children who must wade through their playgrounds, argues that the flooding, erosion, and exposure to extreme weather necessitates the relocation of the village inhabitants to Fiji’s main island to secure a future for the next generation. The community is running out of ways to adapt to the rising Pacific Ocean.
Leaders of 15 low-lying Pacific Island nations declared climate change their “single greatest existential threat” at a mid-July summit in Fiji’s capital, Suva. The nation’s representatives argued that developed nations – those contributing the most to global warming – must curb their emissions and pay for the steps islanders must take to protect their people from rising sea levels, a key point of contention at United Nations climate conferences.
It is not just Fijians feeling the effects of these meteorological conditions. Floods unleashed by torrential rains in eastern Kentucky, U.S., have killed at least 37 people, including four children, according to Governor Andy Beshear, who warned on Monday that more dangerous weather is approaching the region. Authorities continued to work to rescue residents and provide food and shelter for thousands who had been displaced. Officials say that efforts have been hampered by weather conditions.
Floods in parts of eastern Uganda resulting from torrential rains have killed at least 24 people, confirmed by the government and Uganda Red Cross. The flooding in parts of Bugisu, Mbale and Kapchorwa initially killed 10 people on Sunday, the State Ministry in charge of Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement late on Sunday – unfortunately, the death toll rose further on Monday.
Whilst some people are fighting off floods, others are melting in the heat: Palestinians living on the crowded Gaza Strip struggle with a searing summer heatwave which has been made worse by power cuts that leave them without electricity for as much as 10 hours a day. More than 2.3 million people are packed into the narrow strip of land squeezed between Egypt and Israel, an area that would normally require around 500 megawatts of power per day in summer, according to local officials. It receives 120 megawatts from Israel while the enclave's lone power plant supplies another 60 megawatts.
Heatwaves are still causing forest fires as a fast-moving McKinney Fire in northern California near the Oregon border has forced 2,000 residents to evacuate. The McKinney Fire in Siskiyou County has destroyed both homes and critical infrastructure since it broke out on Friday, scorching over 51,000 acres (20,640 hectares). It was 0% contained as of Sunday, according to the latest data shared by officials. Authorities recovered two bodies inside a burned-out car. | | | | | |  | | | | People attend a climate change demonstration in London, Britain, September 20, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sam Jackson, senior climate & environmental impact manager at UK-based environmental organization Ecologi | | | | “Earth Overshoot Day is moving in the wrong direction, that is - it’s moving up the calendar. This year it landed just 154 days into the year and is the earliest ever recorded. This, and the wildfires and record breaking temperatures we saw in the UK, should be treated as a cause for alarm. Instead, during the Tory leadership debate, more time was dedicated to discussing Liz Truss’ earrings and Rishi Sunak’s taste in suits and shoes than the climate crisis.
“The looming global recession also means companies are starting to lay off workers, including a disproportionate number of ESG staff as sustainability and climate action falls down the agenda.
“What can we - as business leaders - do about it? Despite the economic challenges facing people and business, it’s an issue that can’t take a backseat. We all need to step up and take responsibility when it comes to over use of resources and the emissions we produce. Becoming sustainable and reaching net zero goals needn’t be difficult or expensive.
“In fact, it’s never been simpler to track your emissions, measure your carbon footprint and understand the inefficiencies in your supply chain and internal business processes. All that’s needed is a drive to operate more efficiently and to raise awareness among your colleagues and business partners.
“Through collective action like this, we can effect real, positive change in spite of the political and economic climate, delaying Earth Overshoot Day further each year and pushing it back down the calendar.” | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Multinational financial services corporation Mastercard has appointed Ellen Jackowski as chief sustainability officer. Jackowski joins Mastercard from international information technology firm Hewlett-Packard, where she was the chief impact officer and head of sustainable impact. She serves on the advisory board of the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network, is a deputy advisor on the World Economic Forum’s Champions for Nature community and has served as a faculty member of The Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme at the University of Cambridge. | | | | | Broadcasting company Warner Bros Discovery has named WarnerMedia and UK corporate veteran Asif Sadiq as the company’s chief global diversity, equity and inclusion officer (DEI). Along with the executive hire, the company said it has formed a “creative diversity council,” with the goal of weaving DEI principles into the development, production and distribution process. Since April 2021, Sadiq had been a senior vice president for DEI at WarnerMedia, based in London. He held a similar post at Adidas and also has worked for the Telegraph Media Group, EY Financial Services and the City of London Police. | | | | | Dutch asset manager Robeco has appointed David Thomas as senior portfolio manager to complement its forthcoming biodiversity strategy. Thomas comes from Australia-based fund manager Ellerston Capital, where he was a portfolio manager. He brings 28 years of experience in financial markets, having worked for global corporations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Macquarie Bank, Morgan Stanley and CLSA. | | | | | Egon Zehnder, a global management consulting and executive search firm, has appointed Rachael De Renzy Channer as global head of sustainability. Prior to her new role, Channer led the firm’s sustainability practice for three years. She has extensive experience conducting executive search, leadership advisory, and sustainability work with clients. Before joining Egon Zehnder, Channer led strategy in several companies, including French multinational energy management company Schneider Electric. Earlier in her career, she served in the British Army for 12 years, where a large part of her military career was spent focusing on leadership and development. | | | | | | | | "It's astonishing to learn how much plastic we consume. The truth is, we are in the midst of a plastic crisis. And while it's easy to feel powerless, more and more people and brands are stepping up to face the challenge. I'm proud to play a part in supporting Grove's mission to become plastic-free by 2025 and to help households across America to do the same." | | | | Drew Barrymore, actor, investor and global sustainability advocate for Grove, a sustainable consumer products retailer | | | | | | | • | Look out for our Reuters visual explainer tomorrow looking at how sequoia trees have survived through a combination of natural defenses and human intervention. | | | | | • | Planned Parenthood will ask the Idaho Supreme Court to block an abortion ban triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade tomorrow. | | | | | • | The Bank of England will decide whether to join the ranks of central banks rushing out their biggest interest rate hikes in decades on August 4. | | | | | • | The French farm ministry will update grain production forecast for this year's crop on August 5 as concern has been rising that dry and warm weather conditions this month could have impacted France’s maize crops. | | | | | | | | | | The Great Reboot | | |  | | | As the third winter of the coronavirus pandemic looms in the northern hemisphere, scientists are warning weary governments and populations alike to brace for more waves of COVID-19.
In the United States alone, there could be up to a million infections a day this winter, Chris Murray, head of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), an independent modeling group at the University of Washington that has been tracking the pandemic, told Reuters. That would be around double the current daily tally. | | | | | | | | We think you may like these: | | |
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