The global fleet of passenger electric and fuel cell vehicles now amounts to nearly 13 million, 8.5 million of which are true zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), either battery electric or fuel cell, according to BloombergNEF.

Passenger electric vehicle sales are set to jump over 80% in 2021, to 5.6 million units, off the back of unprecedented industry and government commitments around the world over the last two years. In the first half of 2021, sales of passenger electric vehicles (including battery electric, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles) were 140% higher than the same period in 2019, reaching 7% of global passenger vehicle sales. This compares with just 2.6% in 2019.

As the number of EVs grow — BloombergNEF’s forecast for the global ZEV fleet in 2040 increased by nearly two million in two years — automakers should look to automating electric vehicles as well. According to a new report by Marsh McLennan Advantage, automated electric vehicles will have compound effects on the environment, including reducing traffic congestion by 35% and lowering emissions made by heavy duty vehicles.

2021 was among the busiest years for climate disasters in the United States. According to analysis of NOAA/NCEI data by Climate Central, there have been 18 weather/climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each as of October 8, 2021 — well above the average of seven events per year. 

The change in frequency between events has dropped from 82 days in the 1980s to just 18 days, on average, in the last five years (2016-2020). For 2020, NOAA tracked 22 events that cost the nation a combined $95 billion in damages. Of the billion-dollar events, a record seven were linked to tropical cyclones, 13 to severe storms, one to drought, and one to wildfires.

This finding, attributed to climate change, reflects a global trend of more people living within floodplains and on land prone to wildfires. Faced with rising uncertainty, those seeking protection against these risks are increasingly turning toward non-traditional insurance schemes, including reinsurance and captive insurance.

Every year, an estimated 8 million tons of microplastics flow into the ocean. According to analysis from the University of Michigan, concentrations of microplastics in the ocean grow and shrink depending on the time of year. 

Using data from NASA satellites, researchers found two particular areas with high concentrations of plastics. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch between Hawaii and North America, for instance, grows and peaks in June and wanes in January. The opposite is true for the South Atlantic, South Pacific and Indian Oceans — where the concentration of microplastics grows during the months of October through December.

The ebbs and flows of concentration are a result of undersea currents that move the plastics from one place to another. Asian countries like China, for example, produce a higher amount of plastics than the West. Plastics that flow into the South China Sea and into the Pacific affect the entire ocean ecosystem. This illustrates the need for a truly global paradigm shift, and in response, some companies are limiting plastic production by turning toward alternatives like algae.

In a world that is warmer by just 4 degrees celsius, what used to be a once-in-a-decade hot temperature extreme is expected to occur 9.4 times more often, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report. The report warns that the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are increasing and will continue to do so with every additional increment of global warming.

To put those numbers in context, the decarbonization commitments made by countries at COP26 will likely cause temperatures to rise between 1.8 and 2.4 degrees Celsius by 2100, with the risk of even more pronounced warming, according to Climate Ambition Tracker. 

Recent extreme weather events corroborated the IPCC’s findings and offered a stark reminder that climate change is a significant threat to global health. In June, several states in Canada and the U.S. recorded exceptionally high temperatures, resulting in sharp increases in heat-related deaths and illnesses. Flood risk is also increasing: heavy rainfall in Germany and Belgium in July led to severe flooding with hundreds of fatalities and considerable infrastructure damage.

Transportation produced 8.26 gigatons of greenhouse gasses in 2018, accounting for 17.4% of global emissions, according to data from World Resources Institute. The United States led the world, emitting 1.7 gigatons of greenhouse gasses, followed by China and the European Union.

According to the report, “72% of global transport emissions come from road vehicles, which accounted for 80% of the rise in emissions from 1970-2010.”

This paints a need for autonomous vehicles, as autonomous cars and trucks are set to take the stage. According to new research from Marsh McLennan Advantage’s Ben Hoster and Toshin Sequeira, autonomous vehicles (AVs) will benefit the environment by lowering congestion. It’s estimated that AVs might reduce traffic congestion by 35% by calculating optimal routes and avoiding start-and-stop scenarios through wireless communication. In doing so, AVs will decrease transportation emissions by lowering the amount of time vehicles spend on the road.