Costs for climate disasters to reach $145 billion in 2025, and other nature and climate news
- This weekly round-up contains the key nature and climate news from the past week.
- Top nature and climate news: Insured loses from extreme weather to reach $145 billion in 2025; India and Pakistan face extreme heat; Climate crisis causes Arctic ecosystem upheaval.
1. Extreme weather could cause $145 billion in insured losses in 2025
‘Primary perils’ like hurricanes and earthquakes pose the biggest risks, potentially driving insured losses to $300 billion or more in a peak year, says the reinsurer.
The most recent peak year was 2017, driven by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
The effects of the climate crisis “are playing a role in compounding losses for some weather perils and regions”, according to Swiss Re.
Close collaboration between the public and private sectors is vital for effective protection measures to reduce losses.
—Jérôme Haegeli, Swiss Re’s Group Chief Economist
”0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 90%
2. India and Pakistan face extreme heat earlier than usual
In New Delhi, India, temperatures surpassed 40°C during the same time period, up to 5° higher than the seasonal average.
This heatwave hit earlier than typically anticipated for this time of year, and left many residents without power.
The report cited risks to human health, agriculture and food security, power supply and education.
The scientists concluded that the India-Pakistan heatwave was “an event driven by very exceptional meteorological conditions whose characteristics can mostly be ascribed to human-driven climate change”.
3. News in brief: Other top nature and climate stories this week
Climate change is causing ecosystem upheaval, a study into Arctic plants published in Nature has revealed. Shifts in temperatures and growing seasons of different shrubs, grasses and flowering plants show how the climate crisis is impacting this remote region.
Accept our marketing cookies to access this content.
These cookies are currently disabled in your browser.
Extreme weather is impacting music festivals around the world, with a report from Green Music Australia highlighting the danger it poses to Australian festivals. In a survey of over 1,100 festival goers in the country, 85% reported experiencing what they considered to be extreme weather at a music festival in the past 12 months.
How is the World Economic Forum fighting the climate crisis?
The Global Risks Report 2023 ranked failure to mitigate climate change as one of the most severe threats in the next two years, while climate- and nature- related risks lead the rankings by severity over the long term.
The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate is a multistakeholder platform that seeks to safeguard our global commons and drive systems transformation. It is accelerating action on climate change towards a net-zero, nature-positive future.
Learn more about our impact:
- Scaling up green technologies: Through a partnership with the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, and over 65 global businesses, the First Movers Coalition has committed $12 billion in purchase commitments for green technologies to decarbonize the cement and concrete industry.
- 1 trillion trees: Over 90 global companies have committed to conserve, restore and grow more than 8 billion trees in 65 countries through the 1t.org initiative – which aims to achieve 1 trillion trees by 2030.
- Sustainable food production: Our Food Action Alliance is engaging 40 partners who are working on 29 flagship initiatives to provide healthy, nutritious, and safe foods in ways that safeguard our planet. In Vietnam, it supported the upskilling of 2.2 million farmers and aims to provide 20 million farmers with the skills to learn and adapt to new agricultural standards.
- Eliminating plastic pollution: Our Global Plastic Action Partnership is bringing together governments, businesses and civil society to shape a more sustainable world through the eradication of plastic pollution. In Ghana, more than 2,000 waste pickers are making an impact cleaning up beaches, drains and other sites.
- Protecting the ocean: Our 2030 Water Resources Group has facilitated almost $1 billion to finance water-related programmes, growing into a network of more than 1,000 partners and operating in 14 countries/states.
- Circular economy: Our SCALE 360 initiative is reducing the environmental impacts of value chains within the fashion, food, plastics and electronics industries, positively impacting over 100,000 people in 60 circular economy interventions globally.
0 seconds of 1 minute, 56 secondsVolume 90%
Want to know more about our centre’s impact or get involved? Contact us.
4. More on the nature and climate crisis from the Forum
At the centre of Indonesia’s labour market strategy is the fostering of green jobs and training its workers with the right skillsets for these jobs. Yet despite the popular belief that vocational schools in Indonesia prepare students better for employment, these graduates face the highest unemployment rates. The Indonesian government has several strategies to revitalize vocational training, focusing on improving training and educators and fostering partnerships. Explore them here, in this article from Rachmat Pambudy, Indonesia’s Minister of National Development Planning.
A historic deal has been signed to cut global shipping emissions. Learn more in this video below:
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 90%
These eight start-ups have come up with innovative solutions to recover metals and minerals, in this video below:
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 90%