Ginci Insights

Have you ever wondered: when you’re using the newest AI tools like ChatGPT Atlas or Perplexity’s Comet, what their water footprint might be? Data centres powering generative AI now consume billions of litres of freshwater each year to stay cool — often in regions already facing droughts and rising heat. The real question isn’t how powerful AI will become — it’s whether it can evolve without draining the planet.

The global fashion system, built on creativity and speed, now stands at the intersection of climate exposure and financial scrutiny. Once an abstract ESG talking point, climate change has become a measurable risk on fashion’s balance sheets — one that no investor or insurer can ignore.

Despite the ubiquity of microplastics, our ability to detect, quantify, and compare microplastics remains limited. Data is fragmented, methods are inconsistent, nanoplastics remain largely unmeasured, and much of the Global South is underrepresented in studies. This leaves policymakers and businesses with an incomplete picture of the scale and risks of exposure. Can we mobilize the data, governance and innovation fast enough to turn emerging science into effective solutions?

Plastic pollution is set to triple by 2060, while IPCC-aligned pathways indicate the world must remove 5 – 10 gigatonnes of CO₂ annually by mid-century to keep 1.5 °C within reach. These innovations target both crises: managing waste and enabling carbon removal. The challenge is scaling up ensuring energy efficiency and avoiding new pollutants. The opportunity is clear: reframing waste as a resource. How should businesses and policymakers accelerate these waste-to-climate sol

AI is reshaping how we understand and respond to climate risks: satellite data is being used to map methane leaks in near-real time, while next-generation models like NVIDIA ’s “Climate in a Bottle” can deliver climate simulations at higher resolution, a scale that makes city-level adaptation planning possible. These advances are powerful, but without transparency on AI’s energy and water use, the environmental footprint could outpace the benefits.

A WHO analysis underscores that climate change is heightening the risks of waterborne disease outbreaks, making robust wastewater monitoring a critical pillar of health adaptation. If we want truly climate-resilient health systems, we can’t stop at hospitals and flood barriers. We need smart, scalable early-warning networks. While it comes with constraints, wastewater remains one of the most valuable tools we have.

Europe was hit by heatwaves multiple times this summer. However, most cities aren't prepared. If 1.5 degrees C becomes an inevitable reality, how are we, as an individual, city or business, going to adapt to this new norm?

Reflections from talks and panel discussions at Frontiers of AI in Toronto Tech Week

In this latest Ginci Insights, I explore how rising CO2, longer growing seasons and urban air pollution are feeling an invisible epidemic - a rise in respiratory allergies and asthma, especially among vulnerable.

How climate change is squeezing coffee prices and grower livelihoods

A personal reflection on climate, insects, and resilience.

Can we trust a system we don't fully understand - especially when lives, infrastructure, and global stability are on the line?

Can we change the carbon pricing such that it can reflect the real climate risk and ensure equity?

Environmental sustainability is often discussed in terms of emissions, energy efficiency, or material reuse — all important elements, yet...

PFAS are becoming a global environmental crisis. But the challenge is not just chemical — it is also climatological. As droughts, floods, wildfires, and extreme weather events become more frequent, the behavior and spread of PFAS is changing.

Water systems - long treated as engineering assets - are now emerging as one of the most critical stress tests of climate readiness.

The start of my journey