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Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.

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Time is launching a sustainability division called "CO2 by Time" that will offer companies tools that go beyond just offsetting their carbon emissions.

Why it matters: While the division does take a small servicing fee from clients, executives say the venture isn't meant to drive revenue.

Rather, the purpose of the division is to bring authority to Time's editorial coverage around climate and to live up to its mission of driving global change.

"In addition to covering climate leaders, as we do, in our journalism, we want to be a leader ourselves and this is an opportunity for us to take action within our own company," said Time editor-in-chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal.

Details: CO2 by Time is launching curated climate action portfolios that will allow companies to offset their own carbon emissions and fund additional climate-friendly activities.

It's an independent division within Time that doesn't sit within the company's newsroom or business department.

The business is funded by Time initially but eventually plans to be self-sustaining through service fees. Executives declined to disclose the service fee percentage. So far, a dozen people have been hired by Time to work within the division.

CO2 by Time essentially aims to become a "surrogate sustainability team" for companies, said Simon Mulcahy, Time's president of sustainability, who is leading the new division as CEO. "Because the climate market is full of so many junk quality projects, they're just risking throwing money away," he said.

It will also include tools for companies to analyze their climate commitments.

Between the lines: CO2 by Time is launching its own climate portfolio called "Planet Portfolio." 

"Our model is roughly a blend of 40% removal, 30% reduction, 20% protection of critical natural ecosystems and 10% innovation," said Shyla Raghav, head of portfolios & partnerships at CO2.com.

Other portfolios curated in conjunction with climate experts will also be available through the CO2 by Time platform.

By the numbers: The average brand is expecting to put in $10,000 to $100,000, Mulcahy said. "This is what most companies are spending at the minimum on offsets."

For now, CO2 by Time will focus on enterprise clients, but Mulcahy said it aims to launch a consumer platform later.

The division's first client is TPXimpact, a UK-based digital services company. Mulcahy hopes "thousands" of companies will launch their climate action plans through CO2 by Time within the next year.

Time itself is also a customer of CO2 by Time. It aims to reach net zero emissions by 2026.

The big picture: The new division is the latest expansion since Time was acquired by Marc and Lynne Benioff in 2018.

Last month Time bought Brandcast, a company that licenses software for easy-to-build marketing websites. It's also launched a lucrative TV and film licensing business and a web3 platform that includes a profitable NFT community.

Time launches platform to help companies tackle climate change

Illustration of the earth on a large pile of money

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After a record economic expansion, the coronavirus pandemic sent the U.S. economy into a recession as unemployment soared to staggering heights. The country now faces urgent questions about how much stimulus is needed for reeling consumers and businesses, and what a recovery might look like.

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Hurricane Fiona strengthened into a Category 3 storm on Tuesday morning — packing 115 mph winds as it neared the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Threat level: The deadly storm that's the first major hurricane of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season was continuing to unleash heavy rainfall and "life-threatening" flash flooding on Puerto Rico and parts of the Dominican Republic, per a National Hurricane Center 2am update.

The hurricane has been linked to at least two deaths in Puerto Rico and another one in the nearby Dominican Republic.

The big picture: Fiona caused a total power outage when it struck Puerto Rico as a Category 1 storm over the weekend. Nearly 1.3 million residents were still without electricity in the U.S. territory on Tuesday morning, according to poweroutage.us.

After it made landfall in the Dominican Republic on Monday, the strengthening storm knocked out power to more than 700,000 customers, Reuters notes.

The White House said Monday the federal government has deployed 300 personnel to Puerto Rico to assist with response and recovery, and this would "increase substantially" in the coming days once the damage has been assessed.

Of note: Puerto Rico's power grid was already fragile after being severely damaged during Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Go deeper: Three massive storms slam U.S. and Japan, each with climate change ties

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Deadly Hurricane Fiona strengthens into Category 3 storm

The deadly storm is packing 115 mp winds as it approaches the Turks and Caicos Islands.

A NOAA satellite image of Hurricane Fiona

A NOAA satellite image of Hurricane Fiona as it strengthened into a Category 3 storm early on Tuesday. Photo: NOAA

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Hurricane Fiona is forecast to become the season's first major hurricane in the Atlantic, as it continues to unleash heavy rains on Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

The latest: Fiona, which strengthened into a Category 2 storm Monday,  has killed at least two people — one in Puerto Rico and another in the Dominican Republic, while at least one death has been linked to the widespread power outages Fiona caused in Puerto Rico, AP reports. The 70-year-old man died trying to refill his generator, officials said.

Threat level: Fiona was packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph some 80 miles southeast of Grand Turk Island late Monday, as it dumped heavy rains across Puerto Rico and parts of the Dominican Republic — where "life-threatening" flash flooding was likely, per the National Hurricane Center. 

Mudslides and landslides were still a risk for Puerto Rico, the NHC said in an 11pm ET forecast update.

What we're watching: Though Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have taken the worst hits so far, Fiona was expected to also pose a threat to the Turks and Caicos Islands as well as Bermuda. 

The hurricane was expected to develop into a Category 3 storm near the Turks and Caicos by Tuesday morning. 

Data: National Hurricane Center; Map: Jared Whalen/Axios

What they're saying: The White House said Monday the federal government has deployed 300 personnel to Puerto Rico to assist with response and recovery.

President Biden spoke with Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi about the federal government's support and the "number of support personnel will increase substantially" in the coming days once damage assessments have been conducted, according to a White House statement.

The big picture: Fiona left over 1.4 million people in Puerto Rico without power on Sunday as it caused an island-wide outage five years after Hurricane Maria struck. Pierluisi said Monday it may be days before power's restored.

Rapidly rising waterways have led rivers to crest at record heights. 

After pummeling Puerto Rico, the hurricane slammed into the Dominican Republic on Monday, triggering mudslides that damaged highways and forced resorts to close.

Editor's note: This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

Hurricane Fiona to be season's first major hurricane in Atlantic

Fiona is strengthening as it continues to unleash heavy rainfall on Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Carribbean.

Photo of a street flooded with water as strong winds blow palm tree leaves backwards

View of a park in Samana, Dominican Republic, on Monday. Photo: Erika Santelices/AFP via Getty Images

Satellite image of Hurricane Fiona after making landfall in southwest Puerto Rico. 

Satellite image of Hurricane Fiona after making landfall in southwest Puerto Rico. Photo: CIRA/RAMMB

Hurricane Fiona continued to dump large amounts of rain on Puerto Rico as it moved away from land early Monday morning, contributing to widespread flooding across the island and leaving millions without power.

The latest: Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said in a news conference Monday that the island’s National Guard had so far rescued over 1,000 people stranded in 25 cities or towns and more than 2,000 people had been housed in shelters.

A spokesperson for the government's emergency management department said during the news conference at least 750,000 customers were without running water as of Monday morning because of the power outages, according to the Washington Post.

Officials said at least one person died from the outage. A 70-year-old man burned to death from trying to refill a running generator, AP reports.

Inland flooding, not high winds, tends to cause the most fatalities.

Flood gauges across the island show rapidly rising waterways. The Rio Guanajibo River near Hormigueros, in western Puerto Rico, for example, saw a record crest of 29.2 feet. At the start of the storm, the river was just 11.54 feet.

This beat the flood seen on the river during Hurricane Maria in 2017.

The hurricane strengthened before making landfall in the Dominican Republic to the south-southwest of Punta Cana on Monday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane's center was moving off the northern coast of the Dominican Republic as of 11am and was moving northwestward at around 8 miles per hour.

It made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 90 mph, which triggered mudslides that damaged highways and forced resorts to close, the New York Times reports.

Authorities also shut down ports and beaches and instructed people to stay indoors, per AP.

Threat level: The National Weather Service said rainbands from Hurricane Fiona are expected to continue moving across Puerto Rico on Monday, bringing even more rain to the island.

Parts of the southern portion of the island could see an additional 4 to 6 inches of rainfall on top of at least 20 inches that's already fallen, while an additional 1 to 4 inches could fall on parts of the north, where 4 to 12 inches have already dropped. 

Rainfall could reach 30 inches, per the NHC.

This amount of rain is enough to produce what the National Weather Service described as "life-threatening and catastrophic flooding along with mudslides and landslides."

NWS in San Juan urged people to "MOVE TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY!" at around 8 am, "especially across the southern and western half of Puerto Rico."

By the numbers: More than 1.4 million customers in Puerto Rico were without power as of Monday morning, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages in the U.S.

What they're saying: LUMA Energy, the company responsible for power distribution and power transmission in Puerto Rico, said on its website the island's electric system "has experienced several transmission line outages which have contributed to an island-wide power outage."

"The current weather conditions are extremely dangerous and are hampering our ability to fully assess the situation," it continued. "Given the size and scope of the outage, as well as ongoing impacts of Hurricane Fiona, full power restoration could take several days."

Data: National Hurricane Center; Map: Jared Whalen/Axios

What's next: The hurricane is forecast to strengthen as it pulls away from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, with hurricane conditions expected in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday.

The southeastern portion of the Bahamas could experience tropical storm conditions late Monday or early Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Go deeper: Hurricane Fiona leaves Puerto Rico in the dark

Puerto Rico reeling from Hurricane Fiona as storm pulls away

Hurricane Fiona strengthened before making landfall in the Dominican Republic on Monday morning.

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Three blockbuster storms struck different coasts this weekend, causing widespread damage in Puerto Rico, Alaska and Japan.

The big picture: Each storm either exhibited unusual characteristics in its formation and intensification or in its interaction with built infrastructure.

Their damage offers examples of what we can expect more of in a rapidly warming world.

In Alaska: The most intense storm ever recorded in the Bering Sea during the month of September blasted communities across a 1,000-mile stretch of Alaska's western coastline with hurricane-force winds and record storm surge flooding. 

The villages hit include names familiar to the climate community for being vulnerable to erosion and seeking to move to higher ground, such as Kivalina and Shishmaref.

Severe flooding was also seen in Nome, the endpoint of the Iditarod sled dog race. The flooding there beat any seen since November 1974.

By battering already vulnerable coastal communities, the storm will make them more susceptible to the Bering Sea's notorious winter storms.

In Puerto Rico: Hurricane Fiona struck on Sunday, causing an island-wide blackout that illustrates the country's challenges with repairing its electrical grid in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Hardening infrastructure against increasingly potent extreme weather events is a major challenge facing the U.S.

At one point Sunday evening, nearly the entire island was under a flash flood warning, with "catastrophic" flooding underway.

In Japan: Typhoon Nanmadol, the country's fourth-most intense typhoon to make landfall, struck the island of Kyushu on Sunday morning eastern time.

The storm dropped more than two feet of rain in 24 hours on parts of that island, threatening to cause landslides, along with wind and storm surge flooding.

Climate change is enabling hurricanes and typhoons to dump more rainfall and stay stronger further north.

Prior to its landfall, the storm had rapidly intensified — a process with climate change ties and reached Category 4 intensity.

Zoom in: The Alaska storm has the clearest links to climate change from a physical science standpoint, scientists told Axios.

The storm evolved from Typhoon Merbok, which underwent an unusually rapid and explosive transition process over the North Pacific into a storm that feeds off jet stream energy.

Scientists told Axios the storm's formation, transition and impacts have global warming ties.

Tweet about the size of the Alaska storm.

Between the lines: The typhoon formed unusually far to the east, over anomalously warm waters, said Rick Thoman, a climate scientist at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, via email.

It then passed over record warm waters in the North Pacific, which injected more energy.

"This is surely a climate change connection," Thoman said.

Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist based in Alaska, said such intense, out-of-season storms may become more frequent as climate change progresses.

Scientists have long warned that rapid Arctic warming, with melting permafrost, sea level rise and longer ice-free seasons would imperil Alaska's coastal communities.

Shaktoolik, an Iñupiat community of about 320 people, lost its protective berm, leaving them fully exposed to future storm surge flooding.

"We're pretty heartbroken," the mayor told Alaska Public Media News.

Three massive storms slam U.S. and Japan, each with climate change ties

Of all the storms, the Alaska cyclone was the largest, engulfing the Bering Sea.

Satellite image showing a massive storm over Alaska in Sept. 2022.

Satellite image showing a massive storm over western Alaska. Image: NOAA

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An intensifying Hurricane Fiona is bringing heavy rains and high winds to Puerto Rico, knocking out power to the entire island. 

The latest: The eye of Fiona was approaching the coast of the Dominican Republic, near the town of Punta Cana, as heavy rainfall and "catastrophic flooding" continued across much of Puerto Rico, the National Hurricane Center tweeted early Monday. 

A tweet from the National Weather Service stating that all of Puerto Rico is under flash-flood warning except for the northeast region.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Puerto Rico, the coast of the Dominican Republic from Cabo Caucedo to Cabo, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, according to a National Hurricane Center advisory issued at 2am Monday that estimated Fiona's maximum sustained winds at 85 mph.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities in Puerto Rico, though officials in the U.S. territory said it's too soon to assess damage with heavy rains forecast to continue lashing the Caribbean island through Monday.

The big picture: Fiona made landfall near Punta Tocon, on Puerto Rico's southwestern coast, around 3:20pm local time with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, per a National Hurricane Center tweet. 

The Category 1 storm was dumping more than 2 feet of rain in Puerto Rico, "causing catastrophic" flooding, the NHC said Sunday. Hurricane-force winds took out the island's fragile power grid.

Ponce, on the southern side of the island, has seen sustained winds of 69 mph with a maximum wind gust of 103 mph, per the Hurricane Center.

President Biden has declared a federal disaster for Puerto Rico, mobilizing the delivery of aid to the island. 

 Data: National Hurricane Center; Map: Jared Whalen/Axios

Threat level: The storm was likely to bring torrential rains and hurricane-force winds to both the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico through Monday, with a widespread area of 12 to 18 inches of rain expected in some places. 

Higher amounts will fall in some locations of Puerto Rico, particularly in higher elevations, where up to 30 inches could fall in a short period of time. 

"These rains will continue to produce life-threatening and catastrophic flash and urban flooding across Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic, along with mudslides and landslides in areas of higher terrain," the Hurricane Center warned as of 2am Monday.

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico's power grid, which was severely damaged during Hurricane Maria in 2017, has faltered, with nearly 1.5 million customers without power as of 3am ET, according to Poweroutage.us.

The test for utility operators is how quickly they can restore power once the storm passes.

What they're saying: "The damages that we are seeing are catastrophic," Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said.

Of note: NOAA scientists managed to sail a remotely operated "Sail Drone" into the eye of Hurricane Fiona, which helped validate their intensity estimate.

Storm surge flooding of 3 to 5 feet above normally dry land was expected along Dominican Republic coastal areas and later in the coastal regions of the Turks and Caicos could see water levels raised by 2 to 4 feet.

The NWS in San Juan was issuing flash flood warnings from Sunday through Monday as the rains cause rivers and streams to rise. Video from social media shows torrents of water washing away bridges, power lines and other infrastructure in southwestern Puerto Rico.

The storm previously caused damaging flooding after dumping nearly 20 inches of rain on the French island of Guadeloupe late last week.

What's next: It's expected that Fiona will become the season's first "major" Atlantic hurricane of the season, at Category 3 intensity or greater by midweek. 

Most computer models now take the storm out to sea well east of the mainland U.S., but it could be a threat to Bermuda late in the week. 

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to note that Punta Tocon is on Puerto Rico's southwestern coast, not southeastern. The caption was updated to correct the date to Sept. 18, 2022, not 2002."

Hurricane Fiona brings "catastrophic" flooding, power outages to Puerto Rico

How quickly power is restored will be a key test for utility operators on the island.

Hurricane Fiona captured from satellite as it approaches Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Fiona is captured by satellite as the eye of the Category 1 storm approaches Puerto Rico on Sept. 18. Photo: CIRA/RAMMB

Western Alaska was reeling Monday from the most intense storm ever recorded in the Bering Sea during the month of September brought hurricane force winds and record high storm surge flooding along the coastline.

Threat level: Officials reported Norton Sound communities were still being affected by power outages, flooding and damages to homes, public buildings and roads, while water and sewage were also affected as the typhoon remnants and headed into the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northwest coast Sunday evening.

A tweet of an image of flooding in Kotlik, Alaska.

Because the storm hit in September, there was no nearshore ice to protect communities in the low-lying western coast from the full wrath of high waves and storm surge flooding. 

Social media images showed entire communities inundated, and in one case, a house stuck under a bridge after it floated downriver in Nome, the endpoint of the Iditarod sled dog race. 

What we're watching: While floodwaters were receding, an official with Alaska's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) told the Washington Post the true extent of damage to property and infrastructure along some 1,000 miles of coastline may not be known for days. 

"Access to these [remote] areas is very difficult," Jeremy Zidek added.

Meanwhile, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy tweeted that, having declared a state disaster on Saturday to activate recovery funds, his administration was preparing to file for federal disaster assistance on Monday.

The DHSEM said in a statement that damage assessment would begin on Monday, with Alaska Guard members activated and increasing in number throughout the week.

Our thought bubble: The Alaska storm resulted from a rare combination of events that have a climate change tie. It started with Typhoon Merbok, which formed in an unusual spot for this time of year, thanks to warmer than usual waters in parts of the Pacific. 

As the storm moved into northern latitudes, it transitioned into an extratropical cyclone, feeding off jet stream energy, except it also swirled over an area of anomalously warm waters again. 

This added more energy to it. And instead of moving into the Gulf of Alaska, which is typical for this time of year, it surged north, into the Bering Sea. Once there, it became the most intense storm on record in the Bering for September, and one of the strongest ever. 

The big picture: The storm surge and strong winds it generated struck some of the most vulnerable villages in all of Alaska to the state's rapidly warming climate. 

Pounding waves and erosion have already made villages such as Kivalina in need of longer-term plans to potentially relocate. Flooding from this storm caused more damage, knocking out airports on the state's west coast by flooding runways. 

The flooding in Nome was the worst since a storm hit in November 1974. 

Alaska reels from historic storm that caused widespread flooding

Remnants of a typhoon brought the most intense storm ever recorded in the Bering Sea for September.

Photo of house stuck under Snake River bridge in Nome, Alaska.

A submerged house beneath the Snake River bridge in Nome, Alaska. Photo: Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities

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