The 4th ICEM will take place from 27-29 June 2017 in Bari, Italy.
It offers a unique chance for the energy industry and the meteorological sector to connect, exchange knowledge, and work together. At ICEM 2017, through targeted workshops, panel discussions with international experts, and brainstorming sessions, you will be able to plant the seeds for new business opportunities and interact with an international community of energy specialists, economists, scientists, and policymakers working at the thriving nexus of energy with weather and climate. ICEM 2017 will provide a premium international platform with excellent networking opportunities as well as a source of the state-of-the-art in the science, policy, planning and operations in energy and meteorology.
The World Energy & Meteorology Council (WEMC) is a non-profit organisation devoted to promoting and enhancing the interaction between the energy industry and the weather, climate and broader environmental sciences community. The primary goal is to enable improved sustainability, resilience and efficiency of energy systems under ever changing weather and climate for the greatest benefit of all people. Working together with a large number of stakeholders, WEMC organizes and implements recommendations from the International Conferences on Energy and Meteorology.
For further details of ICEM 2017, visit: www.wemcouncil.org/wp/icem2017/
Natural catastrophe highest for four years partly due to climate change, says Munich Re
By the Editor
A number of powerful storms helped make 2016 the costliest 12 months for natural catastrophe losses in the last four years, according to Munich Re, the specialist in natural catastrophe risk insurance, writes Ian Harper.
According to Peter Höppe, Head of Munich Re’s Geo Risks Research Unit: “There are now many indications that certain events – such as persistent weather systems or storms bringing torrential rain and hail – are more likely to occur in certain regions as a result of climate change.”
The reinsurer said that the high number of flood events, including river flooding and flash floods, was exceptional and accounted for 34% of overall losses, compared with an average of 21% over the past 10 years.
2016 losses totalled US$175bn, two-thirds more than in 2015, and very nearly as high as the figure for 2012 (US$180bn). The share of uninsured losses – the so-called protection or insurance gap – remained substantial at around 70%. Almost 30% of the losses, some US$50bn, were insured.
Board of Management member Torsten Jeworre, said: “The high percentage of uninsured losses, especially in emerging markets and developing countries, remains a concern. Greater insurance density is important, as it helps to alleviate the financial consequences of a catastrophe for more people. With its risk knowledge, the insurance industry would in fact be able to bear a much greater portion of such unpredictable risks.”
Key natural catastroph figures of 2016:
• Both overall losses and insured losses were above the inflation-adjusted average for the past ten years (US$ 154bn and 45.1bn respectively).
• Taking very small events out of the equation, 750 relevant loss events such as, storms, floods, droughts, heatwaves and earthquakes were recorded in the Munich Re NatCatSERVICE database. That is significantly above the 10-year average of 590.
• Some 8,700 lives were sadly lost as a result of these natural catastrophes, far fewer at least than in 2015 (25,400), yet within the ten-year average (60,600). The past year was thus the year with the fewest fatalities (after 2014, with 8,050 fatalities) in 30 years (1986: 8,600).
• The high number of flood events, including river flooding and flash floods, was exceptional and accounted for 34% of overall losses, compared with an average of 21% over the past ten years.
The costliest natural catastrophes of the year occurred in Asia. Aside from two earthquakes on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu in April (overall losses US$ 31bn; proportion of insured losses just under 20%), there there were devastating floods in China in June and July (overall losses US$ 20bn; only some 2% of which were insured).
North America was hit by more loss occurrences in 2016 than in any other year since 1980, with 160 events recorded. The year’s most serious event here was Hurricane Matthew. Its greatest impact was in the Caribbean island nation of Haiti, which was still struggling to recover from the 2010 earthquake. Matthew killed around 550 people in Haiti, and also caused serious damage on the east coast of the USA. Overall losses totalled US$ 10.2bn, with over a third of this figure insured.
North America was also impacted by other extreme weather hazards, including wildfires in the Canadian town of Fort McMurray in May, and major floods in the southern US states in summer. In Canada, the mild winter with less snow than usual, and the spring heatwaves and droughts which followed, were the principal causes of the devastating wildfires that hit the oil-sand-producing region of Alberta, generating overall losses of US$ 4bn. More than two-thirds of this figure was insured. In August, floods in Louisiana and other US states following persistent rain triggered losses totalling US$ 10bn, around a quarter of which was insured.
There was a series of storms in Europe in late May and early June. Torrential rain triggered numerous flash floods, particularly in Germany, and there was major flooding on the River Seine in and around Paris. Overall losses totalled some US$ 6bn (approximately €5.4bn), around half of which was insured.
Peter Höppe, Head of Munich Re’s Geo Risks Research Unit, said: “A look at the weather-related catastrophes of 2016 shows the potential effects of unchecked climate change. Of course, individual events themselves can never be attributed directly to climate change. But there are now many indications that certain events – such as persistent weather systems or storms bringing torrential rain and hail – are more likely to occur in certain regions as a result of climate change.”
XL Group expects over US$245 million in catastrophe losses
XL Group, the global property, casualty and specialist insurer headquartered in Ireland, expects over US$245 million in catastrophe losses incurred from natural catastrophes during the fourth quarter of 2016.
The company’s preliminary estimate is split approximately US$125 million in the insurance segment and US$120 million in the reinsurance segment. The total amount is before tax and net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums.
Losses contributing to the overall estimate include around US$130 million in net losses from Hurricane Matthew, which hit the US and the Caribbean.
Also included in the estimate is the US$75 million in net losses from the magnitude 7.8 New Zealand earthquake in November.
The remaining catastrophe losses were the result of a number of smaller events during the fourth quarter and the rest of 2016.
XL Group said it may revise the estimates, which could substantially differ from the actual losses. The insurer will announce its fourth quarter and full 2016 results on February 1.
In October, XL Group announced an operating net income of US$122.5 million for the third quarter of 2016 and P&C underwriting profit of US$167 million.
Natural catastrophe pre-tax losses net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums increased to US$97.4 million from US$30.8 million in the same quarter in 2015.
Integration costs related to the XL Group’s merger with the Catlin Group amounted to about US$54.5 million in the third quarter.
Businesses and investors urge Trump not to ignore climate change
by the Editor
A letter released on Tuesday contains signatures from 530 companies, including Campbell Soup and Johnson & Johnson, urging President-elect Donald Trump to take action to fight climate change.
The move comes at the start of Senate hearings to confirm the President-elect’s cabinet nominees, who are opposed to existing climate policies, including the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan to cut coal power plant emissions.
The letter contains signatures from roughly 200 more companies and investors than when initially submitted following the November election, including Campbell Soup, Johnson & Johnson and the New York State Retirement Fund. The previous plea was signed by companies such as Monsanto, eBay, Levi Strauss and Staples.
The full letter follows and can be seen at: http://www.lowcarbonusa.org/
Dear President-elect Trump, President Obama, Members of the US Congress, and Global Leaders:
We, the undersigned members in the business and investor community of the United States, re-affirm our deep commitment to addressing climate change through the implementation of the historic Paris Climate Agreement.
We want the US economy to be energy efficient and powered by low-carbon energy. Cost-effective and innovative solutions can help us achieve these objectives. Failure to build a low-carbon economy puts American prosperity at risk. But the right action now will create jobs and boost US competitiveness. We pledge to do our part, in our own operations and beyond, to realize the Paris Agreement’s commitment of a global economy that limits global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius.
We call on our elected US leaders to strongly support:
1 Continuation of low-carbon policies to allow the US to meet or exceed our promised national commitment and to increase our nation’s future ambition
2 Investment in the low carbon economy at home and abroad in order to give financial decision-makers clarity and boost the confidence of investors worldwide
3 Continued US participation in the Paris Agreement, in order to provide the long-term direction needed to keep global temperature rise below 2°C
Implementing the Paris Agreement will enable and encourage businesses and investors to turn the billions of dollars in existing low-carbon investments into the trillions of dollars the world needs to bring clean energy and prosperity to all.
We support leaders around the world as they seek to implement the Paris Agreement and leverage this historic opportunity to tackle climate change.
ENDS
SGT Announces that NOAA has Awarded the Company a $45M Three Year Contract
GREENBELT, Md., Jan. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — SGT, Inc., a leading provider of IT, Engineering, Operations and Science services today announced the award of the National Mesonet Program Contract in support of the US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The National Mesonet Program Contract fulfills a requirement for purchase of meteorological observational data derived from non-federal observing networks. These observations support the Nation’s meteorological, hydrologic and related environmental observing capabilities to enable significantly improved prediction of high-impact, local-scale weather events. The full and open competitive procurement resulted in a 3 year, $45M contract to SGT.
“The National Mesonet Program, begun in 2009 with a small number of networks located mostly in the south-central United States, has now grown to more than three dozen networks operated by the states and the private sector, including twenty-thousand observing platforms covering all 50 states,” said Dr. Curtis Marshall, the National Weather Service’s National Mesonet Program Manager. “They provide a tremendously valuable source of data, including observations from surface and subsurface platforms, vertical profilers, and aircraft, for improving NWS warning and forecast operations.”
Teaming exclusively with SGT will be Earth Networks, Weather Telematics, WeatherFlow, Synoptic Data Corporation, Sonoma Technology Incorporated, Panasonic Avionics Corporation and the University of Oklahoma.
“We are thrilled that NOAA has awarded the National Mesonet Program Contract to us,” noted CEO, Dr. Kam Ghaffarian. “SGT remains fully committed to partnering with NOAA and supporting the important mission and objectives in the years ahead.”
SGT provides technology solutions and services to the United States government for space programs, national security and civilian operations. For more than 20 years, our dedicated staff of nearly 2,500 employees has delivered high-value engineering, mission operations, IT and science solutions that yield high-performing and cost-effective government programs.
Contact: Shelley Johnson
Phone: 301.489.1108
Email: sjohnson@sgt-inc.com
http://www.sgt-inc.com
SOURCE SGT, Inc.
Related Links
UCI introduces iRain smartphone app – Data used by agencies worldwide is now freely available
Irvine, Calif., Jan. 5, 2017 — Climate researchers and weather forecasters get their rain data from a network of precipitation-sensing satellites that orbit Earth. iRain, a new mobile phone app developed by engineers at the University of California, Irvine puts the same precision rainfall information into the pockets of the public.
The free app, available for iPhone and Android devices, provides timely satellite rain data via UCI’s globally recognized weather tracking and analysis system. iRain also allows users to enter their own rain or snowfall observations – heavy, moderate, light, none – to join a globe-spanning cadre of citizen hydrologists.
“The beauty of iRain is that it’s an access point for an entire system that detects, tracks, and studies precipitation on our planet,” says lead developer Phu Nguyen, assistant adjunct professor of civil & environmental engineering. “We process the data from satellites and offer it to the end user, free of charge. As far as I know, we’re the only institution offering such a system.”
“The beauty of iRain is that it’s an access point for an entire system that detects, tracks, and studies precipitation on our planet,” says lead developer Phu Nguyen, assistant adjunct professor of civil & environmental engineering. Brian Bell / UCI
Features of the mobile app include a tool that displays the top 50 current extreme weather events around the world, animations that show varying levels of rainfall intensity and movement, a function to choose different time spans, and a tool to zoom in to a local area.
Many of the functions of the app are also available through a website, which is useful for researchers who often need to generate and download reports.
UCI uses data from U.S., European, and Japanese satellites in collaboration with agencies such as NASA and NOAA to produce rainfall information now being accessed by people in more than 180 countries.
“The power of iRain is that it brings state-of-the-art rainfall estimation based on actual observations to anyone, anyplace in the world at any time,” says Robert Pietrowsky, director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources, who helped launch the app at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, in November.
iRain is part of UCI’s PERSIANN project, the culmination of decades of research and development by scientists and engineers in Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing.
Nearly 20 years ago, Kuo-lin Hsu, professor of civil & environmental engineering, created an algorithm for the retrieval of rainfall data from satellite images. His algorithm is based on technologies that enable rainfall estimations to grow in precision and reliability over time based on the accumulation of data.
Hsu says one of the key challenges for his developers over the years has been to reduce the wait time between retrieval of data, processing, and distribution through government servers. With the launch of iRain, UCI demonstrates that it’s possible to compress that down to about an hour.
“The meteorological agency in the African nation of Namibia is using our data, and we’re seeing it used in China, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian nations that have a serious stake in flood monitoring,” says Hsu. “Support from UNESCO has enabled us to dramatically expand the number of users for the data around the world. With internet connection to their computers and smartphone devices, people all over the world can view and receive the data in nearly real time.”
“We had a vision on how we could use satellites to come up with estimates of rainfall that would have applications for flood forecasting and other purposes,” says CHRS director Soroosh Sorooshian, Distinguished Professor of civil & environmental engineering. “At a meeting in Italy years ago, I presented the concept of introducing machine learning tools such as artificial neural networks to address the problem. There were many skeptics in that audience, but here we are today; people around the world are benefiting from our efforts.”
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.
Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
The free app, available for iPhone and Android devices, provides timely satellite rain data via UCI’s globally recognized weather tracking and analysis system. iRain also allows users to enter their own rain or snowfall observations – heavy, moderate, light, none – to join a globe-spanning cadre of citizen hydrologists.
“The beauty of iRain is that it’s an access point for an entire system that detects, tracks, and studies precipitation on our planet,” says lead developer Phu Nguyen, assistant adjunct professor of civil & environmental engineering. “We process the data from satellites and offer it to the end user, free of charge. As far as I know, we’re the only institution offering such a system.”
“The beauty of iRain is that it’s an access point for an entire system that detects, tracks, and studies precipitation on our planet,” says lead developer Phu Nguyen, assistant adjunct professor of civil & environmental engineering. Brian Bell / UCI
Features of the mobile app include a tool that displays the top 50 current extreme weather events around the world, animations that show varying levels of rainfall intensity and movement, a function to choose different time spans, and a tool to zoom in to a local area.
Many of the functions of the app are also available through a website, which is useful for researchers who often need to generate and download reports.
UCI uses data from U.S., European, and Japanese satellites in collaboration with agencies such as NASA and NOAA to produce rainfall information now being accessed by people in more than 180 countries.
“The power of iRain is that it brings state-of-the-art rainfall estimation based on actual observations to anyone, anyplace in the world at any time,” says Robert Pietrowsky, director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources, who helped launch the app at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, in November.
iRain is part of UCI’s PERSIANN project, the culmination of decades of research and development by scientists and engineers in Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing.
Nearly 20 years ago, Kuo-lin Hsu, professor of civil & environmental engineering, created an algorithm for the retrieval of rainfall data from satellite images. His algorithm is based on technologies that enable rainfall estimations to grow in precision and reliability over time based on the accumulation of data.
Hsu says one of the key challenges for his developers over the years has been to reduce the wait time between retrieval of data, processing, and distribution through government servers. With the launch of iRain, UCI demonstrates that it’s possible to compress that down to about an hour.
“The meteorological agency in the African nation of Namibia is using our data, and we’re seeing it used in China, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian nations that have a serious stake in flood monitoring,” says Hsu. “Support from UNESCO has enabled us to dramatically expand the number of users for the data around the world. With internet connection to their computers and smartphone devices, people all over the world can view and receive the data in nearly real time.”
“We had a vision on how we could use satellites to come up with estimates of rainfall that would have applications for flood forecasting and other purposes,” says CHRS director Soroosh Sorooshian, Distinguished Professor of civil & environmental engineering. “At a meeting in Italy years ago, I presented the concept of introducing machine learning tools such as artificial neural networks to address the problem. There were many skeptics in that audience, but here we are today; people around the world are benefiting from our efforts.”
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.
Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.
With Exxon CEO In Trump Spotlight, A Primer On The Company’s Climate Court Fight
By David Halperin Attorney, advocate, writer at RepublicReport.org
Donald Trump’s public contemplation of picking ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to be U.S. Secretary of State raises a range of controversies, including Tillerson’s dealmaking with Russia and close ties to Vladimir Putin. It also intensifies attention on ExxonMobil’s escalating court battle with the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts over the question of whether the company improperly concealed information about climate change.
Just today, a federal judge in Texas, Ed Kinkeade, cancelled his controversial order directing the Massachusetts AG, Maura Healey, to come to his Dallas courtroom tomorrow morning to be questioned by ExxonMobil’s lawyers.
Here’s a summary of ExxonMobil’s legal dispute with the attorneys general, so far:
Investigative reporting in the past year demonstrated that Exxon scientists have known and had told Exxon management for decades that burning fossil fuels was heating up the planet. But rather than educate the public on the dangers and change its business strategy, Exxon instead spent millions supporting efforts to question and deny the science of climate change. There also are questions as to whether ExxonMobil has properly accounted for its oil reserves in the wake of global price drops and evidence of global warming.
Responding to those reports and other evidence, New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman issued a subpoena to ExxonMobil in November 2015. ExxonMobil has produced more than 700,000 pages of documents to Schneiderman in response to his subpoena. On October 26, 2016, a New York judge ordered ExxonMobil and its auditor, PwC, to comply with a subpoena issued by Schneiderman seeking additional information regarding PwC’s auditing of the oil company.
A group of state attorneys general met in New York on March 29, 2016, and consulted with several outside lawyers and experts on climate change issues. Following the meeting, the AGs, along with former Vice President Al Gore, held a press conference under the banner “AGs United for Clean Power” and announced they had formed a coalition to investigate ExxonMobil’s conduct. The coalition included the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, the District Of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Soon after, in April 2016, Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey issued a civil investigative demand (CID) to ExxonMobil. U.S. Virgin Islands attorney general Claude Walker issued a subpoena to the company the same month.
ExxonMobil promptly sued Walker in Texas state court in Fort Worth to block the Virgin Islands subpoena.
Then, on June 15, 2016, ExxonMobil sued Healey in federal court in Dallas to block her civil investigative demand.
On June 29, Walker, facing expensive litigation against ExxonMobil’s legal team, agreed to withdraw his subpoena, and Exxon dropped its suit. Walker said then that he planned to continue to investigate ExxonMobil and would keep his eye on Healey’s effort.
ExxonMobil argues in its suit against Healey that the Massachusetts AG is acting out of political motivation, and there is no legitimate basis for the AG probes, and that the First Amendment shields the company from scrutiny for its public statements — a claim that leading constitutional law experts sharply dispute, because it is a settled legal principle that the First Amendment doesn’t protect fraud.
In August 2016, fourteen attorneys general — from Maryland, New York, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia, and Virgin Islands — filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Healey, while eleven AGs — Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, and Nevada — filed a brief supporting ExxonMobil.
On October 13, citing ExxonMobil’s arguments, U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade issued an order permitting ExxonMobil to take limited discovery regarding attorney general Healey’s comments and actions, in order to examine whether Healey served the CID in bad faith. Armed with this ruling, ExxonMobil, on October 24, served on attorney general Healey more than a hundred discovery requests.
Exxon also asked Judge Kinkeade for permission to add New York attorney general Schneiderman as a defendant in the case, a motion the judge granted. On November 4, ExxonMobil sought depositions of Healey, Schneiderman, and two assistant attorneys general in each of their offices.
On November 17, Judge Kinkeade issued an order directing Healey and Schneiderman to come to his courtroom in Dallas on December 13 to face depositions from ExxonMobil’s legal team.
On November 29, Exxon withdrew its deposition notice for Schneiderman; it continues to seek other discovery from Schneiderman’s office, including depositions of two top environmental enforcement officials in that office.
ExxonMobil also has subpoenaed in the Texas lawsuit some of the non-profit organizations and lawyers who have provided Healey and Schneiderman with information and expertise regarding the matter.
Healey said she would “vigorously oppose” Judge Kinkeade’s order for her to be deposed. “Our position in this ligation is that the authorities in Texas, and specifically the federal court down there, has no jurisdiction over state attorneys general and the work of their offices,” Healey told reporters in Boston on November 21. “It’s been disappointing to see Exxon fight the request for basic information. Our job as attorneys general is to be able to ask questions.”
Healey filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider his rulings. On December 6, 2016, Healey petitioned the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit for a writ of mandamus to reverse the order.
Schneiderman, as well as the outside groups and lawyers, are also opposing Exxon’s efforts to take discovery in the Texas case. (Disclosure: I have advised some of these groups.)
On December 9, Judge Kinkeade denied Healey’s motion to suspend Exxon’s discovery in the case pending review by the 5th Circuit and also denied Schneiderman’s motion to quash discovery.
On December 9, Schneiderman filed a motion with Judge Kinkeade to stay discovery against him pending appellate review — the same type of motion that Kinkeade had denied Healey earlier that same day. In his papers, Schneiderman said that he intended to seek mandamus before the 5th Circuit on December 12.
On December 12, Judge Kinkeade issued a one-line order cancelling his prior order that Healey be deposed on December 13. The judge did not block any other discovery or indicate whether or when he would revisit the issue of deposing Healey.
ExxonMobil’s lawsuit is a virtually unprecedented effort by a corporation to sue and investigate state prosecutors who are conducting an investigation of that corporation. Although Judge Kinkeade stated that he found sufficient grounds for ExxonMobil to investigate whether the AGs had acted in bad faith, in fact the AGs have been engaged in activities that are commonplace and entirely appropriate for state prosecutors: (1) cooperating with AGs from other states, (2) consulting with experts about possible unlawful activity, (3) seeking documents to investigate that activity, and (4) speaking in public about the matters under review.
To the extent that ExxonMobil has substantive and procedural objections to the attorneys general demands for information, it has every right to raise those objections in the Massachusetts and New York state courts, and indeed ExxonMobil is already doing just that.
ExxonMobil now also faces an investigation from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, initiated in August 2016, examining a similar set of issues. In addition, in January 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice, responding to a congressional request to investigate ExxonMobil, referred the matter to the FBI.
Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), chairman of the House Science Committee, has subpoenaed documents from Healey, Schneiderman, and other state attorneys general, as well as lawyers and outside groups connected to the ExxonMobil matter. Over the summer, Smith held a committee hearing regarding his demands. For the most part, the AGs, groups, and attorneys have declined to provide any information in response to the subpoenas.
UPDATE 12-14-16: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit yesterday dismissed Healey’s mandamus petition and motion for a stay of Judge Kinkeade’s orders as moot, meaning overtaken by events. It’s unclear how the 5th Circuit judges think Healey’s claims are moot, when all Judge Kinkeade did was cancel the deposition of Healey set for December 13; he didn’t expressly stop all the other discovery that was part of Healey’s motion. However, when he cancelled the Healey deposition, Judge Kinkeade issued a separate order directing all parties to submit new briefs by January 4 on the issue of whether his court has personal jurisdiction over the two AGs — suggesting he might be reconsidering issues in the case.
UPDATE 12-15-16: This morning Judge Kinkeade has issued a one-line order: “The Court hereby stays all discovery pending further order from this Court.” Coupled with his order Monday cancelling Exxon’s deposition of Attorney General Healey, this represents a dramatic reversal by Judge Kinkeade of his unusual prior rulings favoring ExxonMobil. The reversal came after Healey had petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals to block Kinkeade’s orders (and of course after Trump’s nomination of Tillerson increased public scrutiny of the matter). But this could be only a temporary reversal while Judge Kinkeade reconsiders some of the legal issues, including whether he has jurisdiction over the AGs in the first place.
Source: Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/davidhalperin/with-exxon-ceo-in-trump-s_b_13589728.html and Republic Report http://republicreport.org/
Swiss Re: Total losses from disaster events rise to USD158 billion in 2016
- Total economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters are estimated to be USD 158 billion in 2016
- Insured losses from disaster events were around USD 49 billion
- Approximately 10 000 people lost their lives in disaster events in 2016
- Earthquakes, hail and thunderstorms, and Hurricane Matthew resulted in the largest insurance losses in 2016
Total economic losses from natural and man-made disasters in 2016 were at least USD 158 billion. This is significantly higher than the USD 94 billion losses in 2015 and was caused by large natural catastrophes, such as earthquakes and floods, according to preliminary sigma estimates. Insured losses were also higher in 2016 at around USD 49 billion, compared to USD 37 billion in the previous year. However, the gap between total losses and insured losses in 2016 shows that many events took place in areas where insurance coverage was low. Losses resulting from man-made disasters fell to USD 7 billion from USD 9 billion in 2015. Globally, there were approximately 10 000 victims in disaster events in 2016.
Natural catastrophes accounted for USD 150 billion of the total economic losses in 2016. Insured losses from natural catastrophe events were USD 42 billion in 2016, up from USD 28 billion in 2015, but slightly below the annual average of the previous 10 years (USD 46 billion). Man-made disasters triggered an additional USD 7 billion in insurance claims in 2016.
Earthquake losses reveal schisms in insurance coverage needs
There were a number of major earthquakes across the world in 2016, for example in Taiwan, Japan, Ecuador, Italy and New Zealand. Among the largest was the 7.0-magnitude quake that struck the Kumamoto prefecture in Japan on 16 April 2016, part of a series of strong shocks and aftershocks in the region. The quakes resulted in extensive structural damage, fires and collapsed buildings, and claimed 137 lives. The total economic cost was at least USD 20 billion, of which USD 5.0 billion was insured. The Kumamoto quakes were the costliest disaster event globally of the year.
Later in the year, central Italy was struck by an earthquake in August destroying some small towns and killing 299 people. There were other strong quakes in October which added to the destruction, but no loss of life. Government sources estimate that the overall reconstruction cost for the August earthquake alone will be as high as USD 5 billion. Insured losses for that event, however, are only a fraction of the total, estimated at USD 70 million,1 mainly from commercial assets.
“Society is underinsured against earthquake risk,” Swiss Re Chief Economist Kurt Karl says. “And the protection gap is a global concern. For example, Italy is the 8th largest economy in the world, yet only 1% of homes in Italy are insured against earthquake risk. Most of the reconstruction cost burden of this year’s quakes there will fall on households and society at large.”
Hurricane Matthew and severe storms in the US generate high losses
In October, Hurricane Matthew caused devastation across the east Caribbean and southeastern US. Economic losses were USD 8 billion, with insured losses estimated to be in excess of USD 4 billion. Hurricane Matthew was the strongest of the season and also the deadliest natural catastrophe of the year globally, claiming up to 733 lives, most of those lost in Haiti.
There were a number of severe weather events in the US in 2016, including a series of severe hail and thunder storms. The costliest was a hailstorm that struck Texas in April, resulting in economic losses of USD 3.5 billion and insured losses of USD 3 billion, as large hailstones inflicted heavy damage to property. “In this case, because households and businesses were insured, they were much better protected against the financial losses resulting from the storms,” Kurt Karl continues.
Widespread flooding in the US, Europe and Asia
Several large-scale flood events hit the US in 2016. The biggest was in August when heavy rains caused widespread flooding in Louisiana and Mississippi. The economic losses from this event totaled USD 10 billion, while private insured losses were at least USD 1 billion.2
Europe and Asia also experienced heavy flooding. In Europe in late May and early June, two slow-moving low-pressure systems caused thunderstorms, flash floods and river flooding, with France and Germany hit the most. The storms and floods led to total losses of USD 3.9 billion, and insured losses of USD 2.9 billion. In Asia, heavy rains throughout the year led to severe floods in China and other countries. According to public sources, total economic losses from flooding along the Yangtze River were at least USD 16 billion.
Wildfires spark biggest-ever loss for Canada’s insurance industry
Wildfires in Canada were another cause of large insurance losses in 2016. The cause of the wildfires is still under investigation, and could be the result of human activity.3 Due to dry conditions and strong winds, once triggered, fires spread rapidly through the forests of Alberta. The town of Fort McMurray was evacuated, and many homes there were completely destroyed. Economic losses were USD 3.9 billion. The area is the heart of Canada’s oil sands production with a high concentration of insured economic assets. As such, the insured losses were around USD 2.8 billion. This is one of the costliest wildfire events in insurance industry history, and it is the biggest loss the Canadian insurance sector has ever experienced.
Loss estimates in this release can still be subject to revision.
Notes to editors
Accessing data by sigma:
The data from the study can be accessed and visualised at www.sigma-explorer.com. This mobile enabled web-application allows users to create charts, share them via social media and export them as standard graphic files.
Swiss Re
The Swiss Re Group is a leading wholesale provider of reinsurance, insurance and other insurance-based forms of risk transfer. Dealing direct and working through brokers, its global client base consists of insurance companies, mid-to-large-sized corporations and public sector clients. From standard products to tailor-made coverage across all lines of business, Swiss Re deploys its capital strength, expertise and innovation power to enable the risk-taking upon which enterprise and progress in society depend. Founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1863, Swiss Re serves clients through a network of around 70 offices globally and is rated “AA-” by Standard & Poor’s, “Aa3” by Moody’s and “A+” by A.M. Best. Registered shares in the Swiss Re Group holding company, Swiss Re Ltd, are listed in accordance with the International Reporting Standard on the SIX Swiss Exchange and trade under the symbol SREN. For more information about Swiss Re Group, please visit: www.swissre.com or follow us on Twitter @SwissRe.
___________________________________
1 Perils AG
2 The private insured loss estimate does not include the losses covered by the National Flood Insurance Program.
3 In this release, the wildfires in Canada are counted as natural catastrophe losses.
Potential Secretary of State Nominee Rex Tillerson Has an SEC Problem
ExxonMobil has been under SEC investigation since August, by David Dayen, December 12, 2016
Most of the commentary over Donald Trump’s presumed secretary-of-state nominee Rex Tillerson concerns the Exxon Mobil CEO’s closeness to Russia, and Senate Republican discomfort with that relationship. But Trump and Tillerson share something else that hasn’t gotten as much attention—a penchant to rip off their business partners.
In ExxonMobil’s case, I’m talking about shareholders. Tillerson’s company has been under formal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission since August for failing to accurately value its proven oil reserves.Those reserves are critical to investors for assessing the future viability of the company. Without the certainty that the company can keep crude oil flowing decades into the future, ExxonMobil stock would plummet. Rewriting the disclosures to investors with lower valuations would cost the company billions of dollars. And actually the entire oil and gas industry would be affected by a new standard rather than the current ad hoc system.
The investigation is a kind of companion piece to the “Exxon Knew” campaign, which charges that the world’s largest publicly traded oil company was aware of the catastrophic effects of climate change nearly 40 years ago, but lied to shareholders about these risks to its business model. Attorneys general in over a dozen states have opened investigations into these matters.
But the SEC probe goes further. The agency requested documents from PricewaterhouseCoopers, ExxonMobil’s auditor, looking at how the company accounts for future costs from global climate regulations. If it becomes more costly to initiate drilling because of the so-called “price of carbon,” or regulations that mandate reductions to greenhouse gas emissions, Exxon might have to shelve the projects, taking a hit to future profitability. Even if the United States dumps the Paris climate accord (something a Secretary of State Tillerson may be in position to influence), Exxon does business worldwide, including with countries who would be likely to stay in the pact and work to cut emissions. Public companies must account in their financial disclosures for knowable risks to investors, and climate regulations would certainly fit the bill for an oil giant.
The SEC also wants to know why ExxonMobil does not write down the value of its reserves when oil prices drop. The crash began two years ago; a barrel of oil fetched $115 in June 2014, but under $28 by February. Even with the recent announcement of OPEC production cuts, the price has barely crested $50. But ExxonMobil never factored that loss into its calculations of future reserves; by contrast, Chevron has written down $50 billion. Exxon said in October it could “de-book” about 20 percent of its reserves if prices remain low, but it hasn’t done it yet.
Exxon claims that it doesn’t overstate its reserves (which at the end of 2015 totaled 24.8 billion oil-equivalent barrels) and book those values conservatively. “Our financial reporting meets all legal and accounting requirements,” said spokesman Alan Jeffers in September. But if the company was found to be touting phantom future profits, it would surely be committing securities fraud against investors.
The problem is that getting smoking-gun information about often-byzantine oil and gas accounting will prove difficult. And that’s made more difficult if the CEO of ExxonMobil holds a major cabinet position.
The man who wants to appoint him, Trump, will also have the opportunity to remake the SEC. Since his election, seven top officials have announced their resignations, from chair Mary Jo White to Enforcement Division chief Andrew Ceresney to the leader of the section with primary responsibility over reviewing corporate filings, Division of Corporation Finance head Keith Higgins.
This turnover isn’t necessarily a bad thing—the SEC’s record over Obama’s second term has been so weak that liberals have repeatedly demanded mass firings. But Trump will get to appoint three new SEC commissioners (two seats on the five-member panel were already vacant before White’s resignation announcement), and that new executive team will hire the top leadership. So the president-elect could make sure that ExxonMobil has little to fear from the SEC, whether or not Tillerson makes it to Foggy Bottom.
I’d assume that deceiving investors is a résumé-builder for a Trump administration post, and I wouldn’t expect this issue to be a major factor in Tillerson’s confirmation process. But it’s notable nonetheless, especially if it’s true that climate risk has not been properly priced on Wall Street. Trump over the weekend called the free market the dumb market, and here’s a way it’s made dumb, through accounting deception that promises endless fossil-fuel burning without any threat to sustainability.
Source: The Nation
Microsoft announces largest wind energy purchase to date
Nov. 14, 2016 — On Monday, Microsoft Corp. announced its largest purchase of wind energy to date with the signing of two agreements. Combined, these agreements represent 237 megawatts of wind energy, which brings Microsoft’s total investment in wind energy projects in the U.S. to more than 500 megawatts.
“Microsoft is committed to building a responsible cloud, and these agreements represent progress toward our goal of improving the energy mix at our datacenters,” said Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer at Microsoft. “Our commitment extends beyond greening our own operations because these projects help create a greener, more reliable grid in the communities in which we operate.”
Microsoft has contracted with Allianz Risk Transfer (ART) to fix its long-term energy costs and purchase the environmental attributes connected with the new, 178-megawatt Bloom Wind project in Kansas. The project is the first to use a novel structure developed by ART and designed to offset high upfront costs associated with the creation of large-scale wind projects. Microsoft is the first buyer to participate in this structure, which has the potential to bring clean energy projects online at a faster pace.
“It is important for investors in renewable energy projects to secure long-term, stable revenues, and our structure does just that,” said Karsten Berlage, managing director of ART. “We are thrilled to be partnering with Microsoft on this groundbreaking project.”
In addition, Microsoft has contracted with Black Hills Corp. subsidiary Black Hills Energy, under a long-term agreement, to purchase 59 megawatts of renewable energy certificates from the Happy Jack and Silver Sage wind projects, which are adjacent to Microsoft’s Cheyenne, Wyoming, datacenter. The combined output of the Bloom and Happy Jack/Silver Sage projects will produce enough energy on an annual basis to cover the annual energy used at the datacenter.
“Our longstanding partnership with Microsoft productively led to this landmark collaboration. This collaboration provided them the opportunity to utilize significantly more renewable energy while still ensuring the reliability they’ve come to expect through our energy infrastructure and generation resources,” said David R. Emery, chairman and CEO of Black Hills Corp. “We are proud to be a strong supporter and partner in their mission to power their datacenters with increased renewable energy resources, and look forward to our continued collaboration in the years ahead.”
Microsoft and Black Hills Energy also worked together to create a new tariff, available to all eligible customers, that allows the utility to tap the local datacenter’s backup generators, thereby eliminating the need for Black Hills Energy to construct a new power plant. The tariff received approval from the Wyoming Public Service Commission in July.
“We are constantly looking for new ways to approach energy challenges and avenues of engagement with our utility partners,” said Christian Belady, general manager of cloud infrastructure strategy and architecture at Microsoft. “The team worked closely with ART to come up with a completely new model to enable faster adoption of renewables. Likewise, the tight engagement with Black Hills created the opportunity for Microsoft’s datacenter to become an asset for the local grid, maintaining reliability and reducing costs for ratepayers. This kind of deep collaboration with utilities has great potential to accelerate the pace of clean energy, benefitting all customers — not just Microsoft.”
These are Microsoft’s third and fourth wind energy agreements, joining the 175-megawatt Pilot Hill wind project in Illinois and 110-megawatt Keechi wind project in Texas. In March, Microsoft also signed an agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia and Dominion Energy Inc. to bring 20 megawatts of solar energy onto the grid in Virginia. These projects are in addition to the renewable and carbon-free energy Microsoft purchases from the grid mix in the markets in which it operates.
More information about this announcement is in the Microsoft on the Issues blog post by Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith.
About Allianz Risk Transfer
Allianz Risk Transfer (ART) is the center of competence for alternative risk transfer business within the Allianz Group offering tailor-made insurance, reinsurance and other non-traditional risk management solutions to industrial and financial clients worldwide. Founded in June 1997, the company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE. ART operates through affiliated companies with offices in Amsterdam, Bermuda, Dubai, Liechtenstein, London, New York and Zurich. Its client base spans across all industry sectors and its solutions are most effective for clients facing unusual or complex risks, where traditional (re)insurance or financial products are inadequate. As of today, ART AG is rated AA- by Standard & Poor’s and A+ by A.M. Best. www.art.allianz.com
About Black Hills Corp.
Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a customer-focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves 1.2 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company also generates wholesale electricity and produces natural gas, oil and coal. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.