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Countries That Spend the Most on Organic Food per Person

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Source: SDI Productions / Getty Images

More and more people are becoming aware of the reputed health benefits of organically grown food, though what constitutes food as “organic” is not widely agreed upon. The broadest definition is that it’s food that’s without artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or other chemicals and isn’t genetically modified. (These are the most contaminated foods you can buy at the grocery store.)

While it is true that organic food’s popularity is growing, it is more expensive than non-organic food. Because of this, the more affluent nations can afford to spend more on organic foods than others.

To compile a list of the countries spending the most on organic foods, 24/7 Tempo reviewed a report by data site Statista, which in turn analyzed data from the World of Organic Agriculture 2022 report, various government bodies, the private sector, and market research companies to calculate the highest per capita amounts spent on organic food for countries around the world. For consistency, amounts are given in euros, even for countries that are not in the Eurozone, and translated into U.S. dollars. The report was published in February 2022, with data as of 2020. Data on gross domestic product per capita came from the World Bank and is as of 2021.

Organic food and drink sales reached almost $130 billion in 2020, according to the organic agricultural institute FiBL. Sales of organic foods increased during the pandemic as more people became conscious of the benefits of organic foods and their possible ability to combat disease and help build strong immune systems. (Organic farming is also good for the environment. When they’re not organic, these are the foods with the worst environmental impact.)

Organic food is more likely to find favor among younger consumers. Americans aged 18 to 29 years have the most positive opinion of it, while those aged 65 years and older are less likely to view it favorably.

Click here to see the countries that spend the most on organic food per person

The nations with the largest organic markets are the United States, Germany, and France, with the U.S. market share at 41%.

On a per-capita basis, eight of the 10 countries that spend the most on organic food are European nations. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada. Denmark and Switzerland had the highest per-capita consumption of organic food of any nation in 2020.

SEC stalling on climate disclosure rules won’t prevent lawsuits

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In today’s issue:

— No amount of SEC tinkering with climate disclosure rules will prevent litigation
— Spanish ham to snowless NYC: Climate change makes itself felt in strangest ways
— President Biden’s State of the Union address will lean heavy on the hundred thousand green new jobs created by the Inflation Reduction Act, and the promise of solar power
— More than 3.4 million U.S. adults were forced out of their homes last year alone because of disasters. New Census Bureau data signals why we are severely under-counting the climate migration numbers.
— As more minerals and metals become essential tools for our electrification revolution, this famous one may become the new gold

A series of leaked stories this week in Washington, D.C. suggest Securities and Exchange Commission chief Gary Gensler is mulling ways to weaken the regulator’s proposed climate disclosure rules to prevent a deluge of lawsuits from the financial industry and red-state politicians.

A central proposal to require large public companies to report the emissions caused by their supply chains, known as Scope 3 reporting, is the main target. But looking at all the nuisance suits, political bans, and investigations by opponents of climate disclosure in the last several months, Gensler must know he can’t win either way.

So, it’s likely the leaks are intended to pile on pressure because a decision and a vote by the SEC is imminent. We have heard March is a likely month for a decision, but of course it could come sooner. Whatever the SEC comes out with is likely to be the most controversial climate proposal to come out of Washington this year.

With Europe steadily requiring more climate disclosure, many of the biggest U.S. multinationals will already be forced into some sort of reporting on their emissions and/or climate risks to their businesses. Investors are increasingly demanding more insight into what risks their assets face. A retreat by the SEC would set the Biden Administration back to square one in its climate battle after a great year of progress in 2022, led by the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Gensler should ignore the leaks and prepare to come out swinging with as rigorous a set of rules as he can muster the votes for among SEC commissioners. Publish and be damned.

More insights below . . . .

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By David Callaway

How Unusual Temperatures Have Been Every Year Since 1950

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Source: RyersonClark / E+ via Getty Images

The introduction of a polar vortex this week across the Northeast will introduce frigid temperatures that could challenge records. Accompanied by high winds, windchill could drive the temperature people feel to between 30 and 50 below zero in parts of northern New York state and New England. 

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that Earth’s temperature has risen by an average of 0.14 degrees Fahrenheit every decade since 1880, when humans began accelerating industrial activities. Since 1981, however, that rate has more than doubled to an increase of 0.32 F in average temperatures every decade. (Earth’s CO2 level rose every year since climate change became a national issue.)

The 20th century average of the combined global land and ocean temperatures was 57 F, nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than pre-industrial levels.

These incremental rises in temperature may not seem like much if you judge it by the air temperature outside today, but they have profound effects on ecological systems and the climate, causing more frequent and powerful weather events.

The warming of air and water temperatures due to human activity in turn leads to natural carbon emissions from the Arctic sea-floor and melting permafrost, putting the accelerator pedal down on global warming. Climate experts warn we can expect more floods, droughts, and wildfires, which have already become common in the modern news cycle.

To identify the temperature the year you were born, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on the combined land surface air and sea surface water temperature for 1950 through 2021 from NASA’s Global Land-Ocean Temperature Index. We also added the anomaly – the temperature compared to a base period. NASA used 57 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the average global temperature from 1951-1980, as the base. The hottest month each year also came from the report. 

From 1950 to 2021, the global average of combined land-sea temperatures has been below 57 degrees Fahrenheit — the base period temperature average — in only 15 years. The last time was in 1976. This means anyone under the age of 45 has lived their entire lives in a warmer world with increasingly damaging climate effects. 

Furthermore, anyone born since 2018 has lived with a global land-air temperature average of 58.5 F or higher. People born into the coming years will almost surely live with this average temperature above 59 F.

The anomalies compared to the base period have increased as well. While in 1976 the average temperature was 0.18 degrees below the base period average temperature of 57 F, by 2021 the average temperature was 1.51 F above it. In 2020, temperature was 1.84 degrees above the 1951-1980 global average. (Here are the worst states driving the climate crisis.)

Here is how abnormal the world’s temperature was every year since 1950.

From Spanish hams to snowless NYC, climate change making itself felt in strangest ways

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Source: manyakotic / iStock via Getty Images

(A native of England, veteran journalist Matthew Diebel has worked at NBC News, Time, USA Today and News Corp., among other organizations.)

Why I could be hamming it up in Spain for not much longer

Over the Christmas break my family and I were lucky enough to take a trip to Spain. We had a few days in Madrid followed by 10 days in the islands of Lanzarote and Grand Canary.

Among the highlights were the bountiful buffets served by the hotels we stayed at for segments of our vacation. There was usually an egg station. There was always a multitude of magnificent Spanish fruits, such as melons and oranges. And another constant was an array of cured meats, including various sausages — the chorizo, by the way, is different and much better than that found in the U.S. — and hams.

So good! One of them was jamón serrano, a bright pink version crossed with delicious white streaks of smooth fat. The other, though, was the porky pièce de résistance: jamón ibérico. With a darker meat, it has a deeper taste that lingers in the mouth. It is also very expensive — about $60 per pound at retail — and I probably almost put the hotels out of business with the amount I ate.

Imagine, then, the sharp intake of breath I took when I saw this headline: “Spain’s prized jamón ibérico under threat from climate crisis.”…

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By David Callaway

The Best and Worst States to Live In

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Source: pedrosz / Flickr

A recent survey conducted by the North American Van Lines relocation company found that more than 70% of American adults live in or near the city where they grew up. But for those who make a deliberate choice to move away from home, the decision is often influenced by one or two key factors. 

Some may choose to move to a new city to find a better job. A family may buy a home in a new neighborhood to enroll the children in a better school district. Retirees may relocate to be in a warmer, sunnier climate, while others may choose a new place to live in an area with lower crime rates or more affordable housing. The list of reasons varies. (Here are America’s least dangerous states.)

Indeed, key economic, social, and environmental factors can all be important considerations to make when deciding on a place to live – and these factors can change significantly from state to state. 

Using data from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, the FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 24/7 Wall St. created a weighted index of 16 measures to determine the best – and worst – states to live in. 

Each measure used in our index has an impact on overall quality of life. These measures include those related to the economy such as unemployment and poverty; the environment such as air pollution; and social factors such as crime and levels of investment in public works and institutions.

There are some notable geographic patterns in the ranking. For example, eight of the 10 lowest-ranking states are in the South, while the highest ranking states are concentrated in the West and the Northeast. (Here are 22 states where people live the longest.)

It is important to note that each state, regardless of its ranking, has some positive attributes as well as some negatives. For example, while many of the Southern states rank lower on this list, often due to higher crime and poverty rates, many may also make an ideal home due to warm climates, a low cost of living, and affordable housing.

Click here to see the best and worst states to live in 2022.

Click here to see our detailed methodology.

Tightening of ESG standards targets carbon offset schemes

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Source: baona / Getty Images

One of the major criticisms of corporate net-zero initiatives has always been that companies use carbon offset schemes to check their green boxes without actually reducing their actual pollution. Now a major investor group wants to ban portfolios from including companies that push the offsets, and instead focus them on actually cutting their carbon emissions.

The Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA), which includes fund managers totaling more than $11 trillion in assets, said this week it banned members from counting companies that use carbon removal plans like offsets toward their emissions reduction targets.

The announcement is the latest step in a trend among investors to focus on real carbon reductions and away from strategies that reward polluters for buying their way to a green ranking. European regulators last year said they would separate funds with environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies into distinct categories that separate those with assets focused on reduction from others, causing a dramatic reduction in the number of funds claiming ESG themes.

The practical effect of regulators and industry groups such as NZAOA moving in this direction is that investors will have a much clearer idea whether they are investing in funds that share their desire to combat climate change or just ones that are using ESG for marketing reasons. It will certainly be a cleaner, if smaller, pool to choose from.

Whether it results in more companies actually decarbonizing their operations is another question altogether.

Eureka! The elusive ‘greenium’ has been found

. . . . It took some digging, but researchers have finally found the elusive ‘greenium,’ or green premium, in sustainable bonds, writes Mark Hulbert. Long touted as a feature of green financing, the premium was actually hard to consistently locate as sustainable bonds boomed in the past few years, until these researchers discovered a startling twist in the data. Hulbert explains why it was hiding in plain sight. . . .

Read the full column

This week’s subscriber-only insights

. . . . Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — a conflict that now seems to be a new escalation — has been an abomination. But there’s a glimmer of good news: The efforts of European nations to rely less on Russian fossil fuels has led them to considerably speed up their transition to renewables, an effort that has led to green energy surpassing natural gas as a generator of power. Read more. . . .

. . . . China and India are powering their transition to renewable energy sources. That’s hugely important because without the most populous nations going green, other efforts are essentially futile. Read more here. . . .

Editor’s picks: Climate change and the polar vortex; plus, more trees, please

Is climate change affecting the polar vortex?

Some researchers link disruptions to the polar vortex to climate change, while others attribute them to natural variability, according to this report from Yale Climate Connections. As another arctic blast takes aim at the northeast with ice storms and record cold temperatures forecast into the weekend, meteorologists are studying whether the “stretching” of the polar vortex is happening more often as the climate warms. According to the report, Yale Climate Connections meteorologist Bob Henson says, “One school of research has found that warming in the Arctic may be causing weather weirding or torquing of the jet stream to pull cold air down more often and perhaps intensify cold and snow.” But over longer time scales, the connections are a little less solid. “So that tends to argue for what we call natural variability,” he says. While the debate continues about the role climate change plays in polar vortex disruptions, Henson says people should expect and prepare for occasional extreme cold waves.

Green infrastructure. Also known as trees

More trees in urban areas could save lives. So says research published recently in The Lancet demonstrating that planting more trees in cities to lower summertime temperatures could decrease deaths directly linked to hot weather and heat waves by a third. The article, titled Cooling cities through urban green infrastructure: a health impact assessment of European cities, says increasing tree cover to 30% would cut 0.4°C. (0.7°F.) locally, on average, during hot summer months. The report notes that currently, less than 15% of urban spaces in Europe are shaded by trees. In the 93 European cities reviewed, 6,700 premature deaths were attributed to higher temperatures in 2015. A third of those could have been prevented, according to the findings.

From brown assets to green finance

This paper proposes a market solution to enhance the role of the financial sector in the green transition. From the abstract of the IMF Working Paper titled A Market for Brown Assets to Make Finance Green: “Developing a secondary market for “brown exposures” can allow banks to dispose more quickly of stranded assets thereby increasing their capacity to finance green investments. Furthermore, newly created instruments — the brown assets backed securities (B-ABS) — can expand the diversification opportunities for specialized green investors and, thus, attract additional resources for new green investments. The experience of the secondary market for non-performing loans suggests that targeted policy and regulatory measures can simultaneously support the development of the secondary market for brown assets and green finance.” Authors: Domenico Fanizza, International Monetary Fund; Laura Cerami, World Bank – African Development Bank.

Words to live by . . . .

“Agricultural demand for water — probably the largest threat to freshwater species — continues to increase. … Meanwhile, threats to terrestrial biodiversity — primarily the conversion of habitat to agricultural uses … — have not diminished.” — Indur M. Goklany, senior U.S. science policy adviser.

By David Callaway

Ken LaRoe: An open letter to anti-ESG politicians about sustainable investing

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Source: AakaashBali / iStock via Getty Images

By Ken LaRoe

(Ken LaRoe is CEO & Founder of Climate First Bank, America’s first FDIC-insured bank founded to combat the climate crisis. Ken is a serial values-based entrepreneur and a leader in ethical banking. In 2021, Ken started Climate First Bank, who’s mission it is to meaningfully contribute to the drawdown of atmospheric CO₂.)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Callaway Climate Insights) — Across the United States, Republican-leaning states, including Texas, Florida, West Virginia, and most recently, Kentucky, are taking aim at businesses investing in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). This partisan crusade is taking different forms and arguments. Some argue that ESG investing sacrifices returns, while others claim that firms that do not invest in the fossil fuel industry threaten the economy. As a result of these claims, some states have begun proposing and adopting new legislation to limit or prohibit state governments from ESG investment.

Earlier this month, our bank, Climate First Bank, was cited as one of 11 banks that Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball threatened to divest from, due to our stance on the fossil fuels industry. Initially, when we heard that Climate First Bank had been targeted, we needed clarification as we currently do not do any business in Kentucky, and we were disappointed to have been included in such a nonsensical partisan dispute.

Today, as we reflect, we are saddened that Kentucky’s State Treasurer is pushing a flawed narrative, claiming that divesting from institutions like Climate First Bank could help the fossil fuel industry in Kentucky. As voters and climate advocates, we must take notice and respond to false claims by participating in elections, voting with our wallets, and standing up against this false propaganda.

I felt compelled to respond to Ball personally, and I urge readers to write to their own local officials to express their concern. Below I have included an excerpt from Climate First Bank’s letter to Kentucky’s State Treasurer:

“It is disappointing to hear Republicans, like yourself, choose to weaponize Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and politicize Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Governments and corporations nationwide (and worldwide) have reaped the benefits of incorporating ESG, contrary to comments like ‘ESG-focused investing sacrifices returns.’ For instance, BlackRock has had the five highest-ranked returns for the state of Florida amongst its 12 external managers, yet they have been blocked both by you and the Comptroller in the State of Florida for boycotting the fossil fuel industry.

Climate First Bank has recognized from day one that a forward-looking approach and rapid action are necessary to halt the climate crisis whilst generating sustainable, profitable financial outcomes in the long-term. This premise has not only led us to become the fastest-growing new bank in the country since 2017 but also enabled the bank to have a higher profile compared to similar banks our size (for instance, because of your dictum last week, Climate First Bank garnered attention worth an estimated $2 million in ad value).

Your short-sighted and partisan decree is harmful to your constituents and provides false hope that your state’s downtrodden fossil fuel industry will rebound. According to the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, since 2012, coal production in Kentucky has decreased by over 92%, and it’s not coming back. It is time that your state focuses on the future: clean energy and a green economy. Ultimately, ESG is not a partisan issue; If it’s not incorporated into your economic decisions, your state will get left behind.

Climate First Bank currently does not do business in Kentucky, but we will, and many of the like-minded financial institutions you have placed on your ‘blacklist’ already do.

To be clear, this blacklisting will not harm the financial institutions you have listed nor undermine the interweaving of ESG factors into investment decision-making. However, this blacklisting will have real consequences for your state and taxpayers.”

I urge readers to write their own letters to their local officials. Climate First Bank has produced a downloadable letter for you to fill out and mail. Please stay vigilant in how your states address ESG investing and use your vote, wallet, and platform to condemn partisan falsehoods by your state officials.

Source: Climate First Bank

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of David Callaway or Callaway Climate Insights.

By David Callaway

Eureka! The elusive ‘greenium’ has been found

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Source: Kativ / E+ via Getty Images

(Mark Hulbert, an author and longtime investment columnist, is the founder of the Hulbert Financial Digest; his Hulbert Ratings audits investment newsletter returns.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — There may be a “greenium” after all. And that’s good news for investors who hope that they can influence companies to become more climate friendly.

I’m referring to the price premium that so-called “green” bonds are supposed to trade over “non-green” bonds. Their higher price would mean that their yields are lower, giving green firms an incentive to undertake climate-change-mitigation and other environmentally-friendly projects that would otherwise not be profitable.

As I’ve written before, previous research has failed to find evidence of a significant greenium. This in turn suggested that green bonds are having no real-world effect, and their issuance is an exercise in little more than greenwashing.

A new study finds that this conclusion may be wrong, however. It turns out that a green firm reduces its cost of capital only after issuing multiple green bonds over time…

Source: Climate First Bank

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By David Callaway

States Where the Most People Were Displaced by Natural Disasters Last Year

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Source: ParkerDeen / E+ via Getty Images

2022 is ranked third in the number of natural disasters in the U.S. that caused $1 billion in damage. In addition to Hurricane Ian, which ravaged Florida and parts of Georgia in September, severe drought conditions impacted many Western and Central states, major flooding impacted eastern Kentucky and eastern Missouri, and wildfires raged in western states, among the many weather events and natural disasters. As a result, many Americans were uprooted because of severe weather episodes. (These are the 18 separate billion dollar weather and climate disasters in 2022.)

To determine the states with the most people displaced by natural disasters in 2022, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey conducted between Dec. 9-19. We only included states where at least 1% of the population were displaced due to natural disasters at some point in the previous 52 weeks from when the survey ended and ranked them according to the percent of adults who were displaced. Supplemental data came from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s most recent study on Billion Dollar Disasters.

While California dealt with an earthquake in December that killed two as well as drought and a series of wildfires that consumed sections of the Golden State between January and October and claimed nine lives, it is not among the states that had the most displaced adults as a percentage of their population. Still, it is noteworthy as about a quarter of a million adults were displaced due to natural disasters. (California has had more weather disasters than any other state in the last decade.)

In the southeast, where Hurricane Ian tore up swaths of Florida and parts of Georgia in September, a greater portion of the population was displaced. In Florida, almost 1 million adults were displaced as a result of natural disasters that caused as much as $100 billion to $200 billion in damage, both the highest figures of any state. In Georgia, 95,700 adults were displaced, and damages caused by major weather events ranged from $500 million to $1 billion.

By percentage, Florida was not the state where most residents were displaced by disaster. That distinction belongs to Louisiana, where 409,996 people, or 11.9% of all adults, in the Pelican State were displaced due to natural disasters such as the tornadoes that hit the state in December. 

About half of the 18 states on our list had estimated damages caused by major weather events in 2022 of $1 billion or more.

Click here to see states where the most people were displaced by natural disasters last year.

Click here to see out detailed methodology.

EV stocks ride January wave on price cuts, takeover interest

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Source: Courtesy of Tesla

In today’s issue:

— EV stocks lead January rally on price wars, takeover interest
— So just how complicated are the new EV tax credits?
— Forget obscene oil earnings — new data show renewable investment topped fossil fuel financing for the first time last year. Here’s why there’s no looking back.
— The EU could boost its own green subsidies and tax credits
— New snow-making tech could end up being worse than the problem it’s designed to solve

A spate of selling on Wall Street this week ahead of the Federal Reserve Meeting today and Wednesday has put the brakes on a surprising January rally in electric vehicle stocks, which had some long-dormant names such as Lucid Group $LCID and Nikola Corp. $NKLA spiking in recent sessions.

Fired up by a budding price war between the likes of Tesla $TSLA , Ford Motor Co. $F and others, investors leaped back into the EV sector this past month in the hopes that a weaker economic downturn than expected and the beginning of a new bull market might continue to drive the mass shift among car buyers to EVs.

Tesla started the run just two weeks ago by slashing prices on some of its most popular models by up to 20%, simultaneously igniting new demand and pissing off existing owners who bought only months ago at higher prices. Ford announced cuts to its Mach-3 EV on Monday. All cuts are designed in part to make the models eligible for tax credits offered by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

But no stock has jumped as much as Lucid Motors, which is up more than a third in the past week on stalk that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign fund, which owns 65% of the company, may buyout the rest and take it private. Lucid shares have been a disappointment in the past few years, and the Saudis might be willing to just take it out rather than watch its public value decline further.

Consumer demand for EVs never really faded during the inflation spiral last year. If anything, lack of supply helped boost interest. Even with talk of a recession coming, it seems clear the EV transition will continue, and be even bigger this year now that prices are being cut. Investors are making their bets on who will come out ahead.

More insights below . . . .

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By David Callaway

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