Our Scans · (LF.13) Climate Action · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

• [New] As climate change accelerates and the Arctic Ocean shifts from year-round to purely seasonal ice cover, a transpolar passage will open up by the mid-21st century, if not sooner. commonspace.eu
• [New] In South Africa, flooding in low-lying river basin areas such as the Limpopo region occurs frequently due to intense rainfall and climate variability, disrupting livelihoods and increasing malaria transmission risk. The Conversation
• [New] Antarctica's melting glaciers may not be the climate ally scientists once hoped for. ScienceDaily
• [New] For Quebec, the key challenge will be to capitalize on its strengths - water, energy and a relatively temperate climate - while reducing its vulnerabilities through proactive adaptation of infrastructure, land-use planning and its economic model. Westmount Magazine
• [New] The arrival of climate migrants, whether from other provinces, the United States or elsewhere in the world, will profoundly reshape the dynamics of cities and regions. Westmount Magazine
• [New] For India, where industrialization, urbanization, and climate change create interconnected risks, integrating chemical speciation studies into national environmental policy is no longer optional - it is imperative. Chemistry World
• [New] Wildfires sweeping across the vast boreal forests of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia could be causing more climate damage than scientists once believed. SciTechDaily
• [New] As a result, water utilities serving 67 million customers across the U.S. are at high risk from climate hazards, roughly a fifth of the entire U.S. population. ABC News
• [New] France will boost nuclear energy and push for faster adoption of electric vehicles to cut its reliance on fossil fuels by 2035, as European countries become even more divided over the direction of climate policy. youth4planet
• [New] 94% of S&P 500 companies disclose their climate policies and 89% disclose their total GHG emissions, but 80% disclose their climate risks. The Conference Board
• [New] El Nino might be back later in 2026; major climate agencies that closely watch the tropical Pacific have recently updated their outlooks. The Times Of India
• [New] For financial institutions (and lawyers advising them), the ECB decision and current UK regulatory approach underscore that climate and environmental risk governance should be treated as a prudential matter, not merely a sustainability disclosure issue. Mishcon de Reya LLP
• [New] Institutions that failed to meet subsequent deadlines were made subject to binding requirements and potential penalties, with Credit Agricole now becoming the second Eurozone bank (after Spain's ABANCA) to face a climate risk related fine. Mishcon de Reya LLP
• [New] The ECB has issued a €7.55 million periodic penalty against Credit Agricole for failing to meet a supervisory deadline to assess the materiality of its climate related and environmental risks. Mishcon de Reya LLP
• [New] Last week, the European Central Bank fined Credit Agricole €7.55 million for failing to complete a mandatory climate risk materiality assessment, signalling a decisive shift from guidance to enforcement. Mishcon de Reya LLP
• [New] Accelerating climate risks are already driving up insurance premiums across the US, especially in the fiery west and hurricane-prone south-east. The Guardian
• [New] Storms, heat and other climate-related disruptions are already altering event timing and financial viability across countries including Australia, the UK and the United States. The Conversation
• [New] Dengue incidence could rise by 50-75 percent by 2050 under current climate change trends. KPVI
• [New] Over the next ten years, climate change and its consequences will pose the greatest risk to the world. Statista Daily Data
• [New] When projected onto future climate simulations and combined with demographic and poverty projections consistent with the IPCC Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, the AI model reveals sharply diverging food-crisis risks by century's end. Joint Research Centre
• [New] Accounting for the costs of climate change by their method, they calculate that forty-seven of the sixty-six low-income countries in their sample breach critical thresholds by 2028. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• [New] A world of plenty would require perhaps two to three times today's total power generation, alongside a vast expansion of clean electricity to sustain growth while containing climate risks. American Enterprise Institute - AEI
• [New] Hazards intensified by climate change, like drought and flooding, threaten both the quantity and quality of drinking water across the U.S.. ABC News

Last updated: 09 March 2026