Europe's Overheated Crops & Rivers, Trump's Iran Demands, More

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Bloomberg News Now 8 min 5 speakers 7 chapters transcribed 1 month ago

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How is the extreme heat affecting Europe’s rivers, crops and power grids?

Caroline Hepker 0:00

AI is entering its most consequential phase where scale, safety and sovereignty will determine who leads and who lags. Join Bloomberg Tech in London on November 2nd and 3rd as global leaders across business, finance and policy examine the defining trade-offs shaping the future of AI. Thank you to our presenting sponsor, Salesforce, and supporting sponsors, IDA Ireland and Schneider Electric. Learn more at BloombergLive.com slash TechLondon.

Tiwa Adebayo 0:30

News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Tiwa Adebayo.

Stephen Carroll 0:34

And I'm Stephen Carroll.

Tiwa Adebayo 0:36

Intense heat is again sweeping across Europe, deepening drought and adding to pressure on rivers, crops and power grids. Temperatures in parts of France are forecast to hit as high as 39 degrees Celsius this week, while southern England could reach the mid-30s. The River Rhine is at record lows at a key shipping point, with water levels expected to fall to just four centimetres by Friday. France is also forecasting a smallest corn harvest since 1980 as a result of the weather. Professor Marco Springmann is senior researcher at Oxford University covering climate change and food systems.

Unknown 1:12

What is more concerning is the price of foods.

Why are food prices expected to rise after the recent climate‑related yield shocks?

Unknown 1:14

So when we have any kind of climate-related yield shock or any yield shock per se, then prices usually go up, so food will be more expensive. At the moment, we have fairly high yield shocks, up to even 20%.

Tiwa Adebayo 1:28

Professor Marco Springman spoke as it was announced that almost three quarters of England is now officially in drought.

Stephen Carroll 1:35

Well, as Europe comes to grift with its fifth heat wave this year, one of the world's largest insurers says the extreme temperatures are having far-reaching consequences for the continent. The research arm of Swiss Re says that as heat in Europe makes large wildfires more likely, the threat to homes and businesses in risk-exposed areas is becoming more costly. The Director General of Insurance Europe, Thea Uthoff-Toyensen, told Bloomberg Radio recently that the current levels of wildfires were manageable, but the risks needed to be assessed.

Unknown 2:05

If we don't address the prevention and if we don't address the adaptation around it, the affordability, of course, is going to come under pressure. And that means that there's a very big joint responsibility for municipalities. We need to make sure that the forests that we have are well planned, well thought through. We need to make sure that the way we manage them, that we have fire lanes, that we have fire breaks.

Stephen Carroll 2:28

Director General of Insurance Europe, Utaf Toyensen there, as Europe confronts temperatures that are now rising at almost twice the rate of the rest of the world.

Tiwa Adebayo 2:38

And sticking with the heat across the Atlantic, the United States has just recorded its hottest month since records began 132 years ago. The average temperature across the continental US reached 24.9 degrees Celsius in July, narrowly beating the previous record set in 1936.

What are insurers warning about the cost of wildfires and drought in Europe?

Tiwa Adebayo 2:57

Forecasters expect the extreme heat to persist in parts of the country this month, with experts warning more records could fall this year.

Stephen Carroll 3:06

In the Middle East, US President Donald Trump has made new demands for compensation from Iran for their dimming hopes of a quick deal. Writing on social media, Trump said Tehran should pay for people killed or wounded by Iranian actions. The demands come after Iran reiterated its own calls for reparations from the US and Israel, tying the issue directly to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Over the weekend, Trump had signalled he was prepared to let economic stress on Iran build rather than lodge fresh military strikes. Jennifer Welsh is chief geoeconomics analyst for Bloomberg Economics.

Unknown 3:37

The administration's trying to take attention off of the war. That is not going the way that they want it to, and they're running out of good options. And in particular, the president's talking about now just letting economic pressure do the work for it. Well, we've had a blockade in place for months. We've had sanctions on Iran for 46 years. Those haven't forced Tehran to capitulate.

Stephen Carroll 3:58

That's Jennifer Welsh from Bloomberg Economics.