Climate Threat Global Challenges

Danish King Re-stows – Skips Oil Funds

The Danish Royal Family is throwing oil funds out of its investment portfolio to focus on sustainability instead, writes Danmarks Radio.

After criticism of previous oil investments by the Danish monarchy and King Frederik X, a new statement has now been made by the Royal Family's Chief Financial Officer, Dan Folke.

"All royal funds' shares are now invested in the Global Sustainable Future investment fund at Danske Invest."

Sea level rise could drown oil ports: "Ironic"

Sea level rises driven by climate change could have a major impact on some of the world's largest oil ports, writes The Guardian.

Just a one-meter rise will cause major damage to thirteen of the ports that handle the most so-called supertankers, according to researchers. Two ports in Saudi Arabia, Ras Tanura and Yanbu, are particularly vulnerable. Both belong to state-owned Aramco and together account for around 98 percent of the country's oil exports.

According to a recent study published by the research network International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, ICCI, it is now inevitable that sea levels will rise by one meter within a century. According to ICCI director Pam Pearson, this could happen as soon as 2070. She believes that it is "ironic" that raised sea levels will affect the oil ports that themselves contribute to the rises.

Global challenges
Study: Disappearing clouds may be behind record heat

2023 was a record-breaking year on Earth, but scientists have not been able to answer why. Until now. According to German researchers, the explanation may lie in the fact that some of the clouds have disappeared, writes TT.

Climate physicist Helge Gössling and his colleagues have looked at the planet's so-called albedo, i.e. reflectivity. Some of the sun's rays bounce back into space when they hit reflective surfaces such as ice, snow and desert. The oceans, in turn, absorb about 95 percent of the heat from the sun, while the "albedo" becomes 50 percent if it is cloudy. And according to the researchers, cloud cover was unusually weak in 2023, including over the tropics.

Gössling has several theories as to why the clouds have disappeared. One of them is that a warmer climate leads to fewer clouds.

- I wouldn't say that this changes how worried we should be about global warming in the future. But you could say that the best possible outcome has become worse, he says.