Marianne Gross, Giorgio Leali and Aude Le Gentil write on the Politico website to show how increasingly frequent and severe climate disasters are straining insurers, widening the protection gap and forcing governments to rethink who bears the financial risk. Climate change is turning parts of Europe into an insurance nightmare As wildfires menaced the outer suburbs … Continue reading When climate change makes Europe uninsurable
Category: climate risk
The slow story behind fast disasters
Doug Specht, Reader in Cultural Geography and Communication, University of Westminster, in an article on The Conversation website, argues that while journalism excels at covering dramatic events such as wildfires, it often fails to explain the slower climate processes that make those events more frequent and severe. Wildfires: why media coverage doesn’t always make … Continue reading The slow story behind fast disasters
Roads built for yesterday’s climate
Using Germany as an example, Tim Schauenberg writes on the Deutsche Welle website argues that infrastructure designed for yesterday's climate is no longer fit for tomorrow's temperatures. As the Autobahn buckles under heat waves, Germany is still paving roads for a past climate. Engineers know how to fix that — so what's the holdup? … Continue reading Roads built for yesterday’s climate
Energy in Demand News, July 26-27, 2026
As this week’s Energy in Demand was being prepared, more than 280,000 people had been ordered to flee or lock down as huge wildfires swept Spain and France, prompting Madrid to declare a national emergency and the French authorities to order the total evacuation, by land and sea, of one of the country’s best-known holiday … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, July 26-27, 2026
A medieval heatwave, a modern warning
Alex Brown, Associate Professor of Medieval History, Durham University writes on The Conversation website about the lessons we should learn from the Medieval Warm Period. History shows societies are vulnerable to climate extremes, while today's warming is faster, global and human-driven. Drought, water shortages and crop failures: how does the medieval warm period compare … Continue reading A medieval heatwave, a modern warning
Blog by Grace Waters: Why France’s nuclear plants are shutting down during peak summer demand
France relies on a highly nuclear-dependent grid because it provides the nation with predictability. Most of the country’s electricity comes from its reactor fleet, which represents a bet on carbon-free baseload power that’s paid off for decades. But that same fleet has a weak spot that heat waves keep exposing. Most reactors depend on river … Continue reading Blog by Grace Waters: Why France’s nuclear plants are shutting down during peak summer demand
When loving Antarctica means leaving it
In an article on The Conversation website, Zdenka Sokolickova, Postdoctoral Researcher, Arctic Centre, University of Groningen; Christy Hehir, Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Events, University of Surrey; and Elizabeth Cooper, Postdoctoral Researcher, Arctic Centre, University of Groningen explore a moral conflict—what happens when people discover that the work they love is at odds with the … Continue reading When loving Antarctica means leaving it
When heatwaves become legal evidence
In an article on The Conversation website, Sandra Cassotta, Associate Professor in International, Environmental and Energy Law, Aalborg University in Denmark, argues that climate attribution science should become legal evidence for enforcing climate obligations. While most related articles on extreme heat focus on impacts or adaptation, this one makes a more ambitious argument that attribution … Continue reading When heatwaves become legal evidence
Energy in Demand News, July 19-20, 2026
The EU has big plans to electrify. It has set its first-ever electrification target: 46% by 2040. Electrification has hovered just under 24% for more than a decade. Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told reporters in Brussels on Friday: “With this plan, we are putting Europe on a course to become the world’s first electro-continent.” Check … Continue reading Energy in Demand News, July 19-20, 2026
Building homes for a hotter world
Julia Vergin writes on the Deutsche Welle website about how buildings must adapt to a hotter climate, rather than simply surviving individual heatwaves. The emphasis is on passive cooling, better design, and climate-resilient construction. In Germany, it is time to rethink and rebuild. Many apartments were not designed for heat waves. Fortunately, there are ways … Continue reading Building homes for a hotter world
