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Spencer Low

@spencerlow.com
31 followers 62 following 132 posts

Head of Regional Sustainability, Asia Pacific at Google. Chair of the Innovation Task Force of the United Nations ESCAP Sustainable Business Network.

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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 23/04/2026
According to a recent study from Stanford University, the US is bearing the biggest brunt of the economic losses inflicted by climate breakdown – compared to every other country in the world – and will likely continue to do so.
sciencefocus.com
The US is now paying more than any other country for climate change damage, study suggests | BBC Science Focus Magazine
Despite being the biggest carbon emitter, the US is already paying a disproportionate price for the climate crisis.
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Reposted by Spencer Low
Electrek @electrek.co · 20/04/2026
IEA: Solar overtakes all energy sources in a major global first
electrek.co
IEA: Solar overtakes all energy sources in a major global first
Global energy demand growth slowed in 2025 – but electricity use is still surging, and solar just hit a major milestone, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). more…
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 05/04/2026
In the words of Winston Chow, #Singapore’s most prominent #climate scientist: “Singapore has always thrived by looking outwards. In an era defined increasingly by climate extremes, extending our adaptation efforts beyond our shores may prove to be one of the most strategic choices we can make.”
straitstimes.com
Science Talk: Climate change, S’pore’s adaptation strategy cannot wait for geopolitics to stabilise
S'pore, the ASEAN chair in 2027, can be the springboard for regional climate resilience. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 17/03/2026
The world’s worst mega-leaks of the potent greenhouse gas #methane in 2025 have been revealed by an analysis of satellite data. Fixing a leak can be simple and equivalent to closing a coal power station, making lack of action maddening, say analysts.
theguardian.com
Revealed: the world’s worst mega-leaks of methane driving global heating
Exclusive: Fixing a leak can be simple and equivalent to closing a coal power station, making lack of action maddening, say analysts
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 11/03/2026
A rather depressing read, and a timely reminder that we increasingly live in siloed #media bubbles. Some of us consume #climate stories constantly, but others clearly never hear anything about it. The latter may well change, but hopefully not in regrettable ways.
grist.org
The planet is overheating. Why is the news looking away?
Since 2021, global media coverage of climate change has dropped 38 percent. Blame wars, political chaos, and Jeffrey Epstein.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 08/03/2026
“During the last decade, the rate at which Earth warmed increased substantially. After removing the influence of known natural variability factors, the increase of the warming rate is statistically significant. At the present rate, we will exceed the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Climate Accord by 2030.”
agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Global Warming Has Accelerated Significantly
During the last decade, the rate at which Earth warmed increased substantially After removing the influence of known natural variability factors, the increase of the warming rate is statistically...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 28/02/2026
Singapore remains committed to #climate action, pursuing cross-border efforts via carbon trading agreements with 10 countries. However, recognizing emissions cuts are insufficient, Singapore will publish its national #adaptation plan in 2027 to protect infrastructure, public health, and coastlines.
straitstimes.com
S’pore stays firm on climate goals, will work on cross-border solutions like carbon credits: DPM Gan
It needs to prepare early for a world that will become increasingly carbon-constrained and climate-impaired, he added. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 28/02/2026
There can be beauty in hope: these restored stepwells look architecturally fascinating.
theguardian.com
Ancient stepwells brought back to life as India begins to run out of water
Centuries-old wells restored to provide drinking water as parts of the country head towards “day zero” when no water will be available
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 19/02/2026
“If a city is bold enough to create aggressive climate and decarbonization mandates, the private sector will come up with technology and business solutions to respond.”
apple.news
A quiet geothermal boom could reshape how cities heat and cool — Scientific American
A new Brooklyn, N.Y. high-rise sits atop 320 geothermal boreholes. It’s a feat of waterfront engineering—and one blueprint for decarbonizing the North American skyline A drill rig operates at the mudd...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 15/02/2026
The South Australian government was criticised in the past for driving up electricity prices with its rapid adoption of #renewable #energy. At times, the state experienced spikes in electricity prices when the wind wasn’t blowing or the sun shining, and it had to fall back on expensive gas energy.
apple.news
This state’s power prices are plummeting as it nears 100% renewables — New Scientist
South Australia is proving to the world that relying largely on wind and solar energy with battery back-up is incredibly cheap, with electricity prices tumbling by 30 per cent in a year and sometimes ...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 12/02/2026
Time will tell. I suspect, sadly, that there needs to be an accumulative effect.
phys.org
Hurricane Helene did not shift US climate views or votes, study finds
Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history, did not affect people's views on climate change or their intentions to vote for politicians advocating stricter climate policies. This ...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 17/01/2026
Spain has called the “fight against #disinformation” a top priority after witnessing a surge in hate speech directed at #climate #scientists. This is primarily on X, fka Twitter. And yet, Elon Musk declared that “climate change is real” in 2017, and unabated CO2 emissions a “dangerous experiment”.
euronews.com
How online abuse became the norm for Europe’s climate scientists
Spain could begin cracking down on online abuse targeted at climate scientists after finding an “alarming” increase in hate speech.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 14/01/2026
The impacts of #climate change are occurring sooner than expected, but governments and businesses continue to underestimate the #risks, which could add up to trillions of dollars in #economic losses by 2050.
newscientist.com
Sooner-than-expected climate impacts could cost the world trillions
A report warns that we may have seriously underestimated the rate of warming, which could damage economic growth
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 14/01/2026
“Some of the most #resilient countries are smaller ones. Dinosaurs grew too large and vanished; smaller organisms evolved and thrived. #Adaptation is the pathway to resilience, which can be measured by indicators such as #energy self-sufficiency, quality of governance, and social progress."
thepeakmagazine.com.sg
Why AlphaGeo CEO Dr Parag Khanna believes geography holds the key to the future
The founder of the AI-powered geospatial intelligence platform and renowned geopolitical strategist reveals why navigating geopolitical, climate, and infrastructure shifts is a blueprint for a more re...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 12/01/2026
Scientists warn that our understanding and perception of climate-fuelled risks are “limited and flawed” and could delay necessary climate action. Even when people recognise the real risks posed by climate change, many seem to perceive these risks as primarily affecting others.
euronews.com
‘Psychological bias’ to climate change risks slowing progress - study
Scientists warn that our understanding and perception of climate-fuelled risks are “limited and flawed”.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 05/12/2025
A sad state of affairs for Southeast #Asia at the end of 2025. #Adaptation and #resilience must attract more attention going forward, even while accelerating mitigation efforts.
scmp.com
Editorial | Asia’s floods a deadly reminder of need to combat growing climate threat
Devastating flooding and landslides have focused attention on disaster preparedness efforts as rising temperatures threaten the region.
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Reposted by Spencer Low
Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford @ecioxford.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Carbon capture was meant to help fix past emissions — not replace real cuts to fossil fuels. ECI Director Michael Obersteiner talks to Bloomberg UK about how negative emissions reshaped climate policy — and why we should be cautious ahead of #COP30. Read more: www.eci.ox.ac.uk/news/scienti...
eci.ox.ac.uk
The scientists who popularized carbon capture have a warning about it
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 16/11/2025
The Norwegian research and intelligence company Rystad Energy recently released their new flagship report, Global Energy Scenarios 2025, on the next era of the global energy system. Rystad has constructed a Decarbonization Index based on three tasks:
rystadenergy.com
Global Energy Scenarios Report 2025: The next energy era
New insights: Rystad Energy's flagship report Global Energy Scenarios 2025. Discover the latest insights on the future of the global energy system.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 12/11/2025
The words “colonial leverage” in the subtitle detract from what is otherwise an excellent analysis, and perhaps reflect Western fears of tables being turned. “ #Decarbonisation, by this logic, is statecraft, not #climate stewardship.” I think it’s both, which makes it even more strategic.
unherd.com
China’s new green order
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 11/11/2025
Interesting that Japanese investors consider the tech startup ecosystem in their own country to still be immature. Still, the facts are clear: there are over twice as many VC-backed startups in Europe than in Japan, per capita, and 4.3 times more unicorns. It’s likely even more skewed for greentech.
cnbc.com
Japanese investors turn to Europe as deep tech boom lures capital abroad
Japanese investors participated in European financing rounds worth more than 33 billion euros ($38 billions) since 2019.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 07/11/2025
Google released today a white paper on "Assessing Biological Ecosystems in Consumer Electronics Supply Chains: Northern Việt Nam Case Study", which details a novel approach to measuring and managing our ecosystem impacts within our consumer electronics supply chain. Key learnings are:
sustainability.google
Assessing Biological Ecosystems in Consumer Electronics Supply Chains: Northern Việt Nam Case Study
Case study describing geospatial measurements and local insights to describe the state of ecosystem services in Northern Việt Nam consumer electronics supply chain sites.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 07/11/2025
With COP30 about to get underway, Google has just announced yesterday the three ways we’re accelerating global action for our planet, leveraging environmental data and AI technologies to help nature and people flourish together.
blog.google
How we’re using AI to help nature and people flourish together
Human wellbeing is deeply tied to the health of our planet. Here’s how we’re using AI to help nature and people flourish together.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 17/10/2025
There is an increasing number of AI applications for grid management, and smart grids in ASEAN can help avoid losses from disruptions as well as create new economic opportunities and jobs. Congratulations to @ember-energy.org on this latest study.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 02/09/2025
“We have already entered the beginning of the age of non-tourism.” Let’s hope not, but lots of changes are definitely underway.
theguardian.com
Heatwaves, wildfires and the hot summers that could change how we holiday
With rising temperatures causing chaos worldwide, what does it mean to be a tourist in a world on fire?
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 30/08/2025
A study by @pik-potsdam.bsky.social and @bokuvienna.bsky.social finds that 60% of global land areas are now already outside the safe zone, and 38% are even in the high-risk zone. This points to the link between biomass and natural carbon sinks, which can contribute to mitigating climate change.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 30/08/2025
The collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), a critical ocean current, can no longer be considered a low-likelihood event. This is according to a study published on August 29 via @ioppublishing.bsky.social. The tipping point may be reached in the next decade or two.
doi.org
Shutdown of northern Atlantic overturning after 2100 following deep mixing collapse in CMIP6 projections - IOPscience
Shutdown of northern Atlantic overturning after 2100 following deep mixing collapse in CMIP6 projections, Drijfhout, Sybren, Angevaare, Joran R, Mecking, Jennifer, van Westen, René M, Rahmstorf, Stefa...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 29/08/2025
An exciting announcement from the Korea Energy Super Week in Busan that just ended. It was great to get to hang out with KAIST's Associate Professor Haewon McJeon. @hmcjeon.bsky.social
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 15/08/2025
As the saying goes, if #climate change is a shark, then #water is its teeth. 🦈 Water is increasingly seen as a critical theme for adaptation efforts, especially in #Asia Pacific. Let's make sure technology and entrepreneurial energy are harnessed to provide innovative solutions at scale.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 13/08/2025
When livelihoods depend on extractive, unsustainable industries, there are tough tradeoffs: @theguardian.com Iraq’s marshes were considered an Eden with wetlands teeming with fish and wildlife. In a land threatened by drought and desertification, oil drilling is draining the last of the water.
theguardian.com
Iraq’s marshes were considered an Eden. Now the oil industry is sucking them dry
Hawizeh’s wetlands once had abundant fishing and wildlife. In a land threatened by drought and desertification, oil drilling is draining the last of the water
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 10/08/2025
As the effects of climate change are felt across the Pacific, #Fiji has become an authority on the logistically and culturally fraught process of community relocation.
washingtonpost.com
Faced with rising seas and falling aid, Fijian villages move uphill
As the effects of climate change are felt across the Pacific, Fiji has become an authority on the logistically and culturally fraught process of community relocation.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 30/07/2025
Singapore could be the “most perfect example” of a country that needs nuclear energy given its territorial limitations, energy requirements, technological base and institutional maturity, said the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Mariano Grossi.
channelnewsasia.com
Singapore could be ‘most perfect example’ of a country that needs nuclear energy: IAEA chief
“Singapore, with its technological base, with its institutional maturity, is ideally, I would say, prepared to host nuclear power relatively soon,” says the director general of the International Atomi...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 29/07/2025
www.bbc.com/news/article... Santa feels the heat as Lapland buckles in Finland's record-breaking heatwave.
bbc.com
Santa feels the heat as Lapland buckles in Finland's record-breaking heatwave
After an unusually cold early summer, Finland has seen two weeks of temperatures topping 30C.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 26/07/2025
“Change is expensive, risky, and often unnecessary – until it’s too late.” Climate chaos is threatening #Pakistan’s food security. Can this nuclear-armed nation adapt in time? The hydrology of the Indus River basin, which extends into northwest #India, is exhibiting signs of growing instability.
scmp.com
Climate chaos is threatening Pakistan’s food security. Can it adapt in time?
Scientists warn that the country’s ‘new normal’ of extreme heat, floods and erratic rainfall is pushing farms and supply chains to the brink.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 19/07/2025
ERM summarized their 5 key takeaways from London Climate Action Week, with the benefit of over 50 of their leaders and experts on the ground: 1️⃣ Navigate volatility: companies need to reframe and retool their approaches to sustainability during this time of change www.erm.com/insights/vol...
erm.com
Volatility to value creation: Five key takeaways from London Climate Action Week 2025
Our team captured several key takeaways from our LCAW discussions with business leaders, investors, policymakers, and representatives of civil society organizations.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 18/07/2025
As they say: if #climate change is the shark, then #water is its teeth. This is especially true in Southeast #Asia which is starting to see increasing water stress due to both human factors (e.g. loss, waste, and inefficiency) as well as the changing climate. www.sif.org.sg/form/SEAPAW-...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 13/07/2025
Here's a new piece of research that highlights the benefits of hourly-matched 24/7 carbon-free energy, vs. the currently more common practice of annual matching, with #India as the reference market. Hourly matching enables a more efficient, cost-effective use of renewable energy and storage assets.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 12/07/2025
David Suzuki: “We have failed to shift the narrative and we are still caught up in the same legal, economic and political systems. For me, what we’ve got to do now is hunker down. The units of survival are going to be local communities, so I’m urging local communities to get together.”
ipolitics.ca
‘It’s too late’: David Suzuki says the fight against climate change is lost - iPolitics
"We have failed to shift the narrative and we are still caught up in the same legal, economic and political systems," said David Suzuki in an exclusive interview with iPolitics. "For me, what we've go...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 09/07/2025
Granular Certificates (GCs) are a system of timestamped energy certificates that track the production and consumption of clean energy on a granular, e.g. hourly or sub-hourly, basis. As a GC Trading Alliance member, Google is proud to support this initiative to make GCs more widely available.
leveltenenergy.com
Powering Progress: Announcing Awardees of the Registry Acceleration Fund
Today, LevelTen Energy announces the first awardees of the Registry Acceleration Fund: four pioneering organizations whose registries collectively issue or track more than 2,000 TWh of certificates ac...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 08/07/2025
At Google, we’re working to scale new approaches to remove billions of tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. Today, alongside other Frontier buyers, we announced a deal with Arbor Energy to commercialize their technology, which uses waste biomass to deliver both carbon removal and clean energy at scale.
frontierclimate.com
Arbor moves closer to first commercial facility, fueled by Frontier deal
Frontier has facilitated offtakes with Arbor, a Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) company, to launch its first commercial facility.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 05/07/2025
This article points out that #Asia Pacific has the opportunity to lead in scaling up CO2 removal (CDR) solutions, and that momentum in the region is building through bold corporate commitments, enabling policies, and partnerships. APAC is well-positioned for nature- and bio-based pathways for CDR.
businesstimes.com.sg
From policy to pilots: Apac’s growing influence in carbon removal
CARBON dioxide removal (CDR) – a diverse set of pathways that pull carbon from the atmosphere – is gaining traction as a critical climate tool alongside reduction of emissions. But beyond environmenta...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 28/06/2025
#Google‘s 10th annual Environmental Report was released yesterday: it shows how we’re making AI helpful for everyone—including the planet—while at the same time taking meaningful steps toward our environmental ambitions. Read the report and engage with it in new AI-enabled ways here: goo.gle/4eyEugQ
goo.gle
Sustainability Reports & Case Studies - Google Sustainability
Access Google’s sustainability reports, including environmental, product, and supplier responsibility reports and case studies in PDF format.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 18/06/2025
Swiss Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, published last week their 2025 SONAR report on the top eight emerging risks. The report is meant to help businesses and insurers prepare for future challenges, and this year the first two are related to climate change:
swissre.com
SONAR 2025: New emerging risk insights | Swiss Re
Swiss Re's SONAR 2025 highlights risks from extreme heat, plastics, ultra-processed foods, and structural challenges for insurers.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 14/06/2025
#Indonesia is inviting foreign investors to finance an $80 billion seawall to shield coasts from floods. The proposed seawall will stretch across several hundred kilometres of the north coast of Java, and take 20 years to build. #Climate #adaptation will take many forms, let’s see if this will work.
straitstimes.com
Indonesia invites foreign stakes in $102 billion seawall to shield coasts from floods
The seawall is meant to prevent floods along the north coast of Java, the country’s most populous island. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 09/06/2025
Excellent report on an insightful study that features interactive data visualization: 👉A lot of the sinking cities are in #Asia or South-East Asia 👉Almost half of Jakarta now sits below sea level, and there are parts of the city that are today 4m lower than they were in 1970. A new capital, anyone?
bbc.co.uk
How groundwater pumping is causing cities to sink at 'worrying speed' - BBC News
Dozens of coastal regions around the world, including Jakarta, Lagos and Tianjin are sinking at an alarming rate.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 04/06/2025
#Bangkok’s traffic engineers started working with #Google’s Project Green Light three months ago to optimize the city’s traffic lights, and they’ve now deployed our AI-based recommendations to >50 intersections and counting. pr-bangkok.com?p=494592
pr-bangkok.com
Green Light for Bangkok: City Hall and Google Deploy AI Traffic Management to Cut Congestion and PM2.5
(May 26, 2025) —New 'Project Green Light' utilises Big ...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 02/06/2025
@edhawkins.org first published his now famous #climate stripes in 2018. These were based on annual global average temperatures on the surface of the Earth starting from 1850, and were an electrifying example of the power of data visualization, conveying compellingly the underlying #warming trend.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 20/05/2025
Thanks to @dianaurge.bsky.social for sharing her summary of this study, which makes the case that even current levels of #warming (+1.2 °C above pre-industrial) may be too high to prevent long-term sea-level rise from ice sheet collapse. A ‘safe’ global mean temperature may be +1 °C, or even lower.
nature.com
Warming of +1.5 °C is too high for polar ice sheets - Communications Earth & Environment
Warming of +1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels is too high for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and even the current climate forcing of +1.2 °C is likely to lead to several meters of sea-level ...
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 17/05/2025
While the movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is an absurdist comedy, the risk of #weather shocks everywhere, all at once, is not an amusing prospect. However, some researchers have concluded that the damage #climate change will inflict on the world’s economy has been massively underestimated.
theconversation.com
Global warming of more than 3°C this century may wipe 40% off the world’s economy, new analysis reveals
To date, projections of how climate change will affect global GDP have been massively underestimated.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 14/05/2025
“There’s more genetic variation in just one small population of wild chimpanzees than in the global population of Homo sapiens.” “As a species, humans are remarkably pox-ridden, worm-eaten and lousy.” I’m depressed already…
forbes.com
‘The Decline And Fall Of The Human Empire,’ By Henry Gee — Book Review
An entertaining and thought-provoking overview of the rise and fall of the human population — as our species declines toward extinction.
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Spencer Low @spencerlow.com · 12/05/2025
Congratulations to the @climategroup.bsky.social for a successful Asia Action Summit during #EcosperityWeek in #Singapore last week. It's time for #Asia to lead the world on climate: 60% of the world population, 50% of GHG emissions, and 6x greater vulnerability to extreme weather events.
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