Corporates $898 Billion Weather Tab, House Votes to Pare Back NOAA, UK's Adaptech Advantage, and More

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Companies anticipate US$898bn of financial losses from extreme weather events, led by flooding (US$528bn), cyclones (US$161bn ) and heavy rain (US$86bn), according to CDP analysis of 11,261 corporate disclosures. And yet while nearly half of these impacts are expected to materialize within two years, just 35% of firms recognize extreme weather as a material financial risk.

Last year alone saw these firms absorb a US$3bn hit from weather shocks, largely manifesting through cost increases (US$309mn) and operational shutdowns (US$266mn). Heavy rain was the main driver of these losses.

Future weather-related losses are predicted to crystalize via reduced production capacity (US$326bn) and asset impairment or early retirement (US$218 billion).

CDP’s 2025 Disclosure Dividend report finds that the costs of proactive adaptation are far less than these estimated future damages. Median risk mitigation costs are pegged at US$3.1mn per company compare against median risk exposure of US$39.4mn — a 13-to-one ratio.

The UK is halving its contribution to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) from £1.6bn (US$2.1bn) to £815 million (US$1.1bn) — the largest single-country reduction since the US cancelled its $4 billion commitment last year. The reduction reflects the government’s decision to reduce overseas development aid from 0.7% to 0.3% of gross national income. The GCF is the world’s biggest climate fund, and is mandated to deliver 50% of its financing to adaptation (Financial Times) 

UK banks gathered at HSBC's Canary Wharf offices earlier this month to discuss the implementation of tougher climate risk disclosure rules, the Financial Times reports. Starting next month, the Prudential Regulation Authority requires UK banks and insurers to comply with tightened supervisory standards, including a requirement to factor climate-related risks into their calculations of expected credit losses from loans. (Financial Times)

Annual adaptation investment flows into Asia stand at around US$19bn— less than a tenth of the US$200 billion needed to climate-proof the region, a new report by Singapore’s Centre for Impact Investing and Practices reveals. Together with input from Temasek and Invesco, the paper maps 250-plus priority adaptation solutions across three tiers of commercial viability and introduces a funding-flows dashboard tracking capital across China, India, and Southeast Asia. (Temasek Trust)

A bloc of nearly 100 poor country shareholders at the World Bank is pushing for a one-year extension of the institution’s current Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), which governs its roughly US$40bn annual climate finance portfolio. Developing country parties are concerned that a replacement for the plan, shaped by the climate-denying Trump administration, would downgrade adaptation and resilience measures in favor of fossil energy production priorities. (Devex)

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions €200mn (US$232mn) to finance small businesses operating in the sustainable agricultural and bioeconomy sectors in Europe, with at least 30% of the package earmarked for climate action and environmental sustainability. Initial financing will be extended to businesses in Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain, with a minimum 70% allocation to SMEs. The deal is part of the EIB’s broader €3bn (US$3.5bn) pan-European agricultural programme, launched in 2024. (EIB)

The UN Development Programme has warned that Pacific Island nations cannot get hold of enough financing to protect the coral reefs and mangrove swamps that provide natural protection against climate-related shocks, like coastal flooding and storm surge. Officials say that while the region has effective adaptation measures in place –  like Fiji’s Shark Reef Marine Reserve — it lacks the capital to expand them. Pacific leaders are expected to push for greater climate financing commitments at upcoming regional meetings in Fiji and Papua New Guinea. (FBC News)

The Centre for Disaster Protection launched Labs, a new platform for helping governments plan, pay for, and respond to disasters, the London-based organization said Tuesday. Led by disaster risk specialist Conor Meenan, Labs will focus on three near-term problems: quantifying fiscal exposure to disasters, designing parametric triggers for disaster financing, and comparing financing instrument structures. (Centre for Disaster Protection)

The House Appropriations Committee adopted a 2027 spending bill Commerce, Justice, and Science spending bill last Wednesday that would cut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget by some US$320mn and refocus the agency on weather forecasting and operational capabilities. The proposed cuts are nonetheless well short of the 20% reduction the Trump administration had sought

The bill passed on a party-line 32-28 vote. It allocates US$1.46bn to the National Weather Service and directs NOAA to establish a US$20mn Federally Funded Research and Development Center focused on extreme weather forecasting — with a mandate covering operational radar modernization, AI-assisted forecaster decision support, and measurable improvements in forecast lead times.

Deteriorating flood early warning infrastructure is flagged as a major concern, with the Committee noting that many non-federal systems are outdated as heavy rainfall events become more frequent. To address coverage gaps affecting more than 130 million Americans, the bill sets aside US$15mn for the NWS to procure commercial radar data and US$10.5mn for a flood zone measurement pilot to update reference points in areas experiencing active land subsidence. Climate research receives US$197mn, spread across laboratories, regional data programs, and competitive grants.

The National Science Foundation faces a roughly 20% funding cut — from US$8.8bn to US$7bn — with instructions to prioritize advanced AI and quantum computing research over climate science.

On satellite infrastructure, the report commits US$677mn to the next-generation GeoXO geostationary program, which is intended to improve short-term weather forecasting and early warning of severe weather and hazards. The Committee also pushes NOAA toward commercial data partnerships across coastal mapping, ocean surface winds, and atmospheric monitoring.

The Senate has yet to release its own version of the spending bill. Congress faces an October 1 deadline to finalize federal spending commitments and avoid a government shutdown.

A World Health Organization (WHO) panel of former heads of government and senior international officials is calling on countries to shape fiscal policy around climate-health risk and treat this as a security issue rather than a sectoral challenge. Across 17 recommendations, the panel urges governments to redirect spending into climate-resilient health systems and the scaling up of local, community-based climate-health solutions. It also urges the WHO to formally declare climate change a public health emergency of international concern. (WHO)

President Trump has renominated Cameron Hamilton to serve as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) permanent administrator, months after he was dismissed as the department’s temporary leader for publicly opposing the idea that it be permanently shuttered. FEMA has seen three temporary leaders in Trump’s second term so far, including Hamilton’s first stint from January to May 2025. (The Guardian)

Two California Democrats have introduced the ADAPT Assets Act — a plan to set up a permanent federal framework for funding large-scale infrastructure resilience. The bill would approve US$2bn annually to support up to 10 essential projects nationwide, targeting those that can reduce catastrophic damage and extended disruptions from climate-related shocks. It would also streamline the sign-off of these projects, with the bill’s sponsors noting that today most federal infrastructure requires sign-off from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers. (Representative Garamendi)

California is deploying US$30mn through a new Regional Wildfire and Landscape Resilience Grant Program for prescribed burns, vegetation removal, reforestation, and community resilience capacity building across the state’s highest-risk regions. The funding comes from 2024’s voter-approved $10bn climate bond. (Governor of California) 

Canada’s auditor general has found that only 3% of the federal government’s 275 most climate-vulnerable infrastructure assets have climate resilience plans in place. The audit – conducted by the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development – examined National Defense, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada — together responsible for 67% of all federally owned assets. It found that the Treasury Board Secretariat has “significant gaps” in its oversight of vulnerable federal assets, and had provided zero dedicated funding for resilience activities since launching its Greening Government Strategy in 2017. The report estimates climate damages to government infrastructure may cost between C$3bn and C$8bn (US$2.2bn and US$5.8bn) by 2030, and C$6.2bn to C$13.5bn (US$4.5bn and US$9.9bn) by 2050. (Global Government Forum)

New Zealand’s government has moved to amend the Climate Change Response Act to stop fossil fuel companies from being sued for climate damages. The change affects current cases, including a landmark High Court action against Fonterra and six other major emitters which seeks to establish whether the companies bear legal liability for climate-related harm suffered by communities. (The Spinoff / RNZ)

The UK holds the second-highest revealed technological advantage in climate change adaptation technologies globally, but has an overall adaptation economy that is, at most, a third the size of its net zero sector, according to a report published by LSE’s Centre for Economic Transition Expertise and Imperial College London. 

Patent data show the UK is particularly strong in life sciences and indirect adaptation technologies including weather forecasting and climate simulation, and in engineering — where it ranks fifth globally. Overall, it lags only Belgium on adaptation innovation. Switzerland, Canada, and France round out the top five of adaptation innovation countries.

However, only around 1,525 UK firms work directly on climate adaptation, compared with more than 32,000 in the net zero economy. Investment flowing into adaptation sectors totals roughly £1bn (US$1.3bn) — against £31bn (US$41.7bn) for net zero. Moreover, most adaptation technology sectors remain heavily grant-dependent.

Services – including finance – represent the UK’s greatest opportunity to grow its adaptation sector. The UK’s environment and sustainability consulting market grew 8.9% to £4.1bn (US$5.5bn) in 2024, with adaptation-specific services growing at 20.9% — twice the pace of decarbonization services. On the finance side, opportunities are identified in parametric insurance, resilience-linked financial products, and physical risk regulatory compliance.

Still, the report’s authors warn that without stronger demand signals, the gap between what the UK's adaptation economy can deliver and what a changing climate will require is set to widen.

European venture investors funneled $6.6bn into climate tech in Q1 2026, running 20% ahead of North America and more than triple Asia's total, according to PitchBook’s Q1 climate tech report. However, this early-stage capital is going into fewer, larger bets, with the three largest global deals of the quarter all European and the only ones to exceed $1 billion. Deal count rose 10% quarter-on-quarter to 538 transactions, though PitchBook flags uncertainty over whether that represents a lasting trend. inflection or a single-quarter deviation. Dispatchable energy sources — nuclear and geothermal. (PitchBook)

Europe’s weather forecasting agency ECMWF has signed a memorandum of understanding with insurer Generali to pipe Copernicus climate and atmospheric data into insurance risk models. The partnership links Generali’s Group Climate Hub with ECMWF’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, with the aim of improving the applicability of climate data to insurance practices and helping close natural disaster protection gaps. (ECMWF)

ECOncrete has closed a US$14mn round to expand its bio-enhanced concrete tech for coastal and offshore infrastructure. The New York-based company’s material is grafted directly onto seawalls, breakwaters, and subsea cable routes to improve their resilience while fostering local marine habitats. In the past 18 months alone the company has delivered more than 90,000 square meters of habitat across 20 projects — including Rotterdam’s port quay walls, New York and New Zealand coastlines, Mediterranean subsea cable corridors, and the Port of San Diego. (Econcrete) 

Brooklyn-based CREW Carbon has closed an oversubscribed $25mn Series A to enhance wastewater treatment processes while capturing and sequestering excess CO2. The round consists of US$19mn in equity led by Burnt Island Ventures, with AP Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund, Builders Vision, and others joining, plus US$6mn in grants. The company bolts alkaline-mineral chemistry onto existing wastewater treatment processes to bolster operational performance and generate carbon credits. CREW has secured more than US$33mn in carbon removal offtake agreements with JP Morgan Chase, Google, Autodesk, and Stripe among others. (CREW Carbon)

Global and regional climate modes modulate armed conflict risk (PNAS)

Field data challenge predictions of universal crop pest proliferation under warming (PNAS)

Global and regional climate modes modulate armed conflict risk (PNAS)

Evaluative governance for climate action in Australia (Nature Sustainability)

Learning from adaptation to develop loss and damage monitoring and evaluation systems (npj Climate Action)

Subsidence more than doubles sea-level rise today along densely populated coasts (Nature Communications)

Service equity matrix for inclusive risk communication of extreme weather events (npj Natural Hazards)

Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall
Editor