Team Blitz India
A new report on climate risk, the result of a collaboration between actuaries and scientists, shows that global warming accelerated in 2023 and may not be temporary. This is now driving more severe impact across the planet, according to a statement from Government Actuary’s Department (GAD).
GAD actuary Georgi Bedenham is one of the report’s co-authors and a member of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries’ (IFoA) Biodiversity Working Party. The report was a collaboration between actuaries and Earth System scientists, it added.
‘Climate scorpion – the sting is in the tail’ is the second joint report focussed on climate risk from IFoA and the University of Exeter. It highlights some research-based findings alongside recommendations for actions to respond to these.
The report concludes that risk management techniques should be used to realistically assess and communicate climate change risks more effectively to policymakers. This in turn would support long-term policy decisions and accelerate positive tipping points.
The report put forward five key findings based on the latest climate research. These are that global warming accelerated in 2023 and may not be temporary; increased global warming is now driving more severe impact across the planet; it’s likely we will overshoot the 1.5 degrees celsius threshold, so we’ll need to recalibrate carbon budgets; earth’s climate may be more sensitive to greenhouses gases than previously thought; and further warming increases the risk of triggering multiple climate tipping points.
The report introduces a Planetary Solvency framework which would combine climate, nature, economic and societal risk assessments to assess the ability of nature to continue to provide ecosystem services to society both now and in the future, the statement added.
CO2 emissions down 5.4 pc in 2023
LONDON: UK greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.4 per cent in 2023, largely due to a reduction in the amount of gas used in power stations, according to official data.
Net emissions of all greenhouse gases were estimated to have been 384.2 million tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, compared to 406.2 million tonne in 2022, the government’s provisional figures showed. Carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 6.6 per cent annually to 302.8 million tonne, part of a 52.7- per cent decrease in total greenhouse gas emissions since 1990.
“Gas use for electricity generation fell 21.1 per cent in 2023, primarily due to higher electricity imports from France, as well as UK electricity demand continuing to decline,” said the report.
The reduced demand is mainly due to “greater efficiency resulting from improvements in technology and a decline in the relative importance of energy-intensive industries”, it added. High energy prices are also likely to have been a factor, with less fuel being used to heat buildings and by industry, said the report.
Nuclear and renewables accounted for 56.7 per cent of fuel used for electricity generation in 2023, up from 22.2 per cent in 1990.
Domestic transport remained the largest source of UK emissions, accounting for 29.1 per cent in 2023, almost all of which are from carbon dioxide, the main source being the use of petrol and diesel in road vehicles.
