Data show how bad the climate insurance fees will become

Look at the evolution of your insurance fees. Yes, climate change is responsible for a steady increase in your insurance charges since the 80s. Mind that all risks of losses due to poor crops, declining fish populations, illness, poor water quality, erosion, floods, droughts, thunders, hurricanes, wildfires, etc and all the uncertainties in the estimation process of risk estimation are deeply affecting insurance costs all around the world, but very particularly and visibly in the fragile American market.

This year, five hurricanes hit the US, causing $500 billion in damage. Floods destroyed mountain towns on the East Coast, and wildfires burned nearly 3 million hectares across the country. As these disasters become more frequent and severe, homeowners are facing higher insurance costs or losing their coverage entirely. For those with insurance, premiums rose 44% between 2011 and 2021. No state saw a decrease over that time.

Fixing old buildings and infrastructure and making new ones stronger will be important for improving insurance markets. The real long-term problem is that we are trying to insure infrastructure that was never made to handle the risks they face now.

Sustainable Construction: the builders' perspective

The book "Construção Sustentável: A perspetiva dos construtores" is now on sale! The book on Amazon costs less than 5 euros and the profits go to donations to schools.

In collaboration with Dr. Marco Pais Neves dos Santos, we explored the vision of newly qualified Portuguese builders regarding the issue of sustainability, especially in the realm of green construction. Our mission was to bridge a knowledge gap in the field and contribute to the rich tapestry of research in architecture and engineering.

This is not a typical study – it is an invitation to rethink sustainable construction as a force for positive change in the environment, society, and the very landscapes we build upon. We are sparking a conversation about the changes needed in Portugal's construction scene, envisioning a future where sustainability is not just a buzzword but a transformative way of viewing our surroundings.

We found that while many builders were conscious of energy efficiency and reducing environmental impact, embracing a holistic sustainability perspective is still on the rise. Our hope is that, through sharing these insights, we can inspire a shift towards a more sustainable construction culture.

Climate contrarians and skeptics: who is who?

There are a number of individuals who have been identified as prominent climate change skeptics in the scientific community. Some of the more well-known names include: 

• Judith Curry is a retired American climatologist who was a professor at Georgia Institute of Technology. She has been known for her skeptical views on certain aspects of climate change, particularly the level of certainty surrounding the causes and potential impacts of global warming.
• Garth Paltridge is an Australian atmospheric physicist and emeritus professor at the University of Tasmania. He has been critical of some of the more extreme projections of future climate change, but agrees that human activity is causing warming.
• John Christy and Roy Spencer are both climatologists at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. They have been known for their work on satellite measurements of global temperature trends, which they argue do not support the idea that the Earth is experiencing such a rapid warming.
• Freeman Dyson is a British-American theoretical physicist, mathematician and statistician, who is known for his skepticism on the catastrophic effects of climate change. He argues that there are many doubts on the accuracy of computer models.
• Bjørn Lomborg is a Danish statistician and political scientist who is the director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center. He is known for his skeptical views on the potential impacts of climate change, arguing that the costs of reducing emissions would outweigh the benefits.

It is difficult to find a lot of active climate researchers with a strong contrarian attitude. Some of the most vociferous climate change skeptics include politicians and journalists linked to populist think tanks or the FUD agenda of fossil fuel and mining companies. Not all climate contrarians are linked to lobbies or think tanks, but some of them have been known to receive funding or support from these organizations. Fossil fuel companies, such as ExxonMobil, have been criticized for funding organizations and researchers that promote climate change skepticism in order to delay policy action on climate change. The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, has also been criticized for its promotion of climate change skepticism and its opposition to government regulations on greenhouse gas emissions.

Last but note least, it is important to note that the scientific community that is active overwhelmingly agrees that climate change is real and is caused by human activity. The vast majority of peer-reviewed scientific studies support the idea that climate change is happening now and was caused as a result of our greenhouse gases. 

Presentation of research project at ICE Spain

The current research project was presented with occasion of the 10th annual meeting of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in Spain.

The event took place at AECOM’s Madrid Headquarters on Friday the 17th of November. Special thanks to AECOM for hosting the event and to all those who have taken part in participating in the meeting and dinner.

Estudio sobre palabras clave en noticias recientes sobre cambio climático, agua y pesca.