Coral bleaching is expected to continue on "multiple, major" reef regions due to ongoing marine heatwaves — with the world's largest coral reef ecosystem, Australia's Great Barrier Reef, among the areas hardest hit.
The big picture: That's according to a NOAA forecast that notes reef areas in the central equatorial and southwestern Pacific and western Indian Oceans are among the worst affected. Its four-month outlook for the Great Barrier Reef predicts a 90% chance of bleaching.
The Securities and Exchange Commission's adoption of climate risk disclosure rules comes as an ecosystem of risk analysis has begun to coalesce across the business and climate sectors.
Why it matters: Companies, nonprofits and agencies providing climate risk data are allowing firms to assess environmental-related issues that impact the bottom line.
Utility provider Xcel Energy said on Thursday its facilities "appear to have been involved" in last week's ignition of the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest wildfire in Texas history.
Why it matters: Other energy providers have been on the hook for billions after they were found liable for wildfires around the country.
Why it matters: Countries are facing a 2025 deadline to submit new emissions reduction targets to the United Nations, and Podesta said the U.S. will push countries to be as ambitious as possible.
