Home Blog Page 60

What can stop carbon prices from rising, plus fallout from the EU nuclear decision

By
-
Source: criminalintent / Flickr

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

As carbon trading prices in Europe approach €100 a ton, I’ve been asking Callaway Climate Insights subscribers I’ve met with this past week whether they think carbon correlates with anything. Higher oil prices maybe?

Academic studies in the past show there is a loose correlation between oil and natural gas prices and carbon. And certainly, the more than tripling in some carbon prices on exchange in the past year has come as oil approaches $90 a barrel and natural gas soars on shortages in Europe.

The correlation is usually tied to the idea that the more oil and natural gas burned by big energy companies, the more offsets they’ll need to buy to improve their climate chops. That makes sense. Since there is a tight supply of quality offsets out there, demand goes up among the buyers of carbon contracts who need them to sustain their fossil fuel production, sales and usage.

Trouble is, in that scenario, carbon prices may seem a one-way street. Longtime investors know that doesn’t exist. So, what can stop them? A great expansion in offsets perhaps? That is unlikely without diluting their quality even more. Or prices could rise to the point where it’s more economical for energy companies to switch to renewable energy. That is sort of the holy grail of the whole carbon price idea, but prices would have to go far higher than they are now, at least double.

Or, maybe, a reduction in demand for offsets as mining for gas and oil and other minerals becomes technologically cleaner. This is where Big Oil is going, if only to reduce costs and keep Larry Fink and other climate shareholder advocates off its back. Sustainable production techniques are starting to catch attention. Among the scenarios for a turn in carbon prices, it might be better than waiting for a turn in oil and natural gas. More to come on this.

Question to subscribers: Do you think there is a correlation between carbon prices and other assets?

More insights below. . . .

Zeus: What’s behind the sudden tightening in climate funding

. . . . Whispers about venture funds and asset managers tightening their covenants around lending to startup cleantech companies have grown louder in the past two weeks, reflecting concerns that the fund-raising party among young climate companies may be over. David Callaway sees a fundamental shift in the making, but not just because the public markets are looking vulnerable. Private investors have more data at their fingertips these days, and higher expectations because of it. The results may end up better for investors in the end. . . .

Read the full Zeus column

Hulbert: The climate gains a powerful new Wall Street ally

. . . . Value stocks have long enjoyed a statistical performance advantage to growth stocks, which doesn’t bode well for the new generation of clean tech companies, whose exciting prospects would put them in the volatile growth camp. But Mark Hulbert has unearthed a surprising new study that shows how traditional industrial stocks in the value category would benefit from a carbon tax as high as $100 a ton. In a political world where a carbon tax is seen as anti-business, though pro-climate, the new information adds a powerful incentive for investors looking to climate plays without the momentum premium. . . .

Read the full column

What’s next for EU after controversial nuclear and natural gas plan approved?

. . . . The European Commission’s decision to move ahead with plans to classify nuclear energy and natural gas as sustainable energies this week drew fire from all sides and set the stage for a major legal challenge, writes Elizabeth Hearst from Dublin, in our weekly EU notebook. While officials strained to defend the decision as a “transitional” one designed to first remove coal from the picture, opponents said it threatens the bloc’s entire climate-fighting reputation and vowed to fight it. Even as energy prices in Europe soared this winter because of shortages and concern about supply of natural gas from Russia. . . .

Read the full EU notebook

Thursday’s subscriber insights: Where the electric vehicle era will first arrive in the U.S.

. . . . While reports are saying EV auto sales are surging in the U.S. — and that people are generally pleased with their vehicles — it may be that fleet sales of electric vans will be the most notable first EV wave to arrive on U.S. shores. While the Biden Administration fights with the U.S. Post Office to go electric, companies such as Amazon, FedEx and others have already committed to EV vans, and manufacturers such as Ford, are scrambling to fulfill demand. Read more here. . . .

. . . . Engine No. 1, the shareholder advocacy firm that won a key climate proxy fight with ExxonMobil (XOM) last year, launched an actively-managed ETF Thursday to invest in companies focused on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The ticker is NETZ, and the ETF follows an earlier one more focused on shareholder advocacy, VOTE, which is up about 7% since launching last summer. . . .

. . . . Sarah Bloom Raskin defended herself Thursday at a Senate hearing on her nomination to become vice chair of supervision at the Federal Reserve, responsible for Wall Street. Republicans attacked her for her climate views and painted her as a threat to the economic viability of the oil and gas industry. She responded that credit allocations to certain industries were the responsibility of banks, not the Fed. Read background on this story here. . . .

. . . . Moo! One group already benefiting from the solar boom are farmers, who are renting out their fields at a time when it is becoming harder to make money from agriculture. Particularly lucky are livestock farmers, whose animals can continue to graze in fields full of panels. Read more here. . . .

. . . . The EU’s controversial decision to include nuclear energy and natural gas as sustainable energies is drawing fire from all sides (see EU notebook above), but at least it faces up to the fact that there will have to be an energy transition period to allow for coal to be kicked out. Matthew Diebel argues it’s a wise move. Read more here. . . .

. . . . The news that young consumers in China and India are more environment-minded than their peers in the west is a positive step given that these Asian countries are the world’s worst polluters. But will their youthful idealism endure the realities of having to power the two most populous countries as they lift their economies? Read more here. . . .

Editor’s picks: The Olympic torch, China’s 4G nuclear reactor, and the combo of offshore wind and carbon-capture technology

Offshore wind farms that also capture carbon

Offshore wind farms that double as carbon-capture devices? It’s possible, David Goldberg writes for Fast Company, that when built together, these two technologies could reduce the energy costs of carbon capture and minimize the need for onshore pipelines. Goldberg, a marine geophysicist, deputy director and Lamont research professor for the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at The Earth Institute, says “Several research groups and tech startups are testing direct air capture devices that can pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. The technology works, but the early projects so far are expensive and energy intensive. … For the process to achieve net negative emissions, the energy source must be carbon-free. The world’s largest active direct air capture plant operating today does this by using waste heat and renewable energy. The plant, in Iceland, then pumps its captured carbon dioxide into the underlying basalt rock, where the CO₂ reacts with the basalt and calcifies, turning to solid mineral.” A similar process could be created with offshore wind turbines, he says.

China’s 4G nuclear reactor powering up

The first unit of China’s fourth-generation nuclear reactor has been connected to the national power grid, and another, still under construction, is expected to begin commercial operations in mid-2022, Echo Xie reports for the South China Morning Post. According to the report, the domestically developed high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) at the Shidaowan nuclear power plant in China’s eastern Shandong province is currently the world’s only one in commercial operation. The reactor, made up of two small units with a total generation capacity of 200 megawatts, is being built by state-owned China Huaneng Group, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

Words to live by . . . .

“Climate risk is business risk. … This is a big deal because there is a real linkage between ESG criteria and a company’s financial performance.” — Chris James, founder and executive chair of Engine No. 1, speaking at a National Association of Corporate Directors event in 2021.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

Human-Made Landmarks Climate Change Is Destroying

By
-
Source: tunart / Getty Images

As the industrial revolution took hold, it was becoming apparent to many that the pollution emitted by industry could be damaging not only to human health, but to the built environment as well. Before it was completed, the builders of the Houses of Parliament could see that soot and pollutants were already degrading stone surfaces. In 1873, conservators in Florence, Italy, brought the 400-year-old statue of David indoors because it was discoloring and decaying outdoors.

The primary culprit in destroying landmarks since World War II has been acid rain, formed when emissions of sulfur dioxide, mainly from power plants, and nitrogen oxides, mainly from automobiles, combine with water to make sulfuric and nitric acids. Acid rain is very destructive to buildings and sculpture, particularly those built of marble and limestone, turning seemingly indestructible materials fragile, and causing surface areas to stain and flake away.

Fortunately, the environmental laws of the past 50 years have greatly reduced the threat of acid deposition by controlling chemical emissions from power generation, industry, and automobiles. While the United States, Canada, and Western Europe have ended significant acid rain damage, parts of the world are still struggling with the problem, particularly in Asia. China’s acid rain is actually getting worse because of the country’s heavy reliance on coal. (These are the 20 countries responsible for nearly all global emissions.)

Though the problem of acid is solvable, a far more serious environmental scourge is far less manageable and is beginning to cause irreversible damage to our cultural landmarks. Climate change is no longer a future threat, it is already impacting the built world, just as it is tragically plaguing human populations. (These are natural landmarks already damaged or destroyed by climate change.)

To find human-made landmarks damaged or destroyed by pollution or climate change, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed reports from several sources, including CyArk, a nonprofit organization that digitally archives significant cultural heritage, and UNESCO, a United Nations organization that, among other things, documents important cultural sites and the threats they face. Other sources we reviewed have particular expertise regarding environmental impacts on our cultural heritage, such as the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

Whether from bigger, hotter forest fires in drying regions, flooding caused by storms and more intense rain events, or erosion and salt intrusion from storm surges and sea level rise, landmarks around the world are at risk, and many are already severely damaged.

Click here to see human-made landmarks climate change is destroying

China’s climate moment, plus Carlyle joins Blackstone in private equity de-carb

By
-
Source: gauthierdelecroix / Flickr

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

Big week in China as it celebrates the Lunar New Year and the opening of the Winter Olympics in Beijing with what’s expected to be a massive climate snow job.

From using primarily solar and wind energy to power the venues, enhanced, low-carbon refrigeration systems for the ice events, and a series of carbon offsets donated from sponsors, China is promising a carbon-neutral games the likes of which have not been seen before. It is, of course, making its own snow, and there’s the issue of human rights violations in the making of Olympic uniforms, but don’t expect to hear much — or anything — about that in this high-tech marketing splash.

Not since the Berlin games of 1932 has a host country used the Olympics to such an effective display of pro-sport, nationalist propaganda. It will be interesting to watch the shares of some of the sponsors, such as Coca-Cola (KO), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Airbnb (ABNB) as the games progress, to see if any of the taint from the carefully scripted events will rub off. With the International Olympic Committee (IOC) turning a blind eye to China’s role on the world stage, sponsors and indeed the athletes will be left to take some of the hit. Unjustly.

I will be watching the hockey, the snowboarding, the downhill skiing, and the ice skating along with everyone else, looking for daily displays of extraordinary human endeavor. But as for climate progress, as long as China puts more focus on staging a made-for-TV extravaganza than on cutting its world-leading coal production, no amount of obscure forestry offsets will hide what’s really happening.

More insights below. . . .

Climate battle takes center stage in DC over Fed nominee Raskin

. . . . It’s rare that a nomination to the Federal Reserve Board receives as much attention as Sarah Bloom Raskin’s is getting in Washington D.C. this week, but it underscores the emerging importance climate change will have on national politics, especially in the run up to the midterm elections, writes David Callaway. Two dozen red state treasurers have teamed up with the oil and gas industry to try to torpedo President Joe Biden’s nomination of Raskin to vice chair of supervision at the Fed, responsible for Wall Street. Her opponents claim her views that the fossil fuel industry needs to be unwound are a massive economic threat to the country. A dramatic hearing is set for Thursday on Capitol Hill. . . .

Read the full story

Tuesday’s subscriber insights: Carlyle joins Blackstone in the race to cut portfolio emissions

. . . . Following the lead of Blackstone in beginning to plan the massive reduction of carbon output from its portfolio holdings, Carlyle Group pledged today to get its $300 billion in assets down to net-zero by 2050, as private equity jumps with both feet into the climate battle. How it manages to do it, by investing in new companies with improving track records, or divesting bad ones, or both, will be key to its success, which it said it will track and report on year to year. Expect to hear a lot more coming from private equity this year, as the real work of cutting emissions replaces the pledges that no longer move the needle. . . .

. . . . BloombergNEF held a renewable energy conference in San Francisco this week, and it was the first conference we’ve attended in person in almost three years. Highlights included a debate between two BNEF analysts — one in China and one in the U.S. — on who will dominate the nascent autonomous vehicle markets. And a presentation by Aleksandra O’Donovan, head of electrified transport, on how and where adoption of electric vehicles is hitting an inflection point, in which it will be consumer led (answer: China and Europe). Fascinating insights, after you got past the masks and vax requirements. . . .

. . . . As part of the conference, BNEF released its annual tally of investment in climate solutions for 2021, claiming that some $755 billion was invested globally last year. That included about half in the renewable energy sector, but electrified transport was the fastest growing area, up some 77%. Battery storage also leaped. The numbers bode well for continued growth this year but are still only about a third of what BNEF estimates the world needs to see. Read more here. . . .

. . . . On one hand, a storm in Britain dramatically upped its wind power sector numbers to where it produced over half of the nation’s power needs recently. On the other, it showed wind and solar’s big weakness: unpredictability. Enter wave power and tidal energy to help reduce that gap, as shown by surging funding numbers for new wave projects in the U.S. Read more here. . .

. . . . Chevron fourth quarter earnings report included its best quarterly profits since 2014, as oil’s rise last year fed directly to its bottom line. The temptation is, of course, to drill for more oil and reap more rewards. But a new report this week warns that more exploration and exploitation could backfire on Big Oil, leaving hundreds of billions in stranded assets if oil prices turn lower. A delicate dance is needed as Chevron weighs its profit against the coming transition. Read more here. . . .

. . . . Virtual conferencing won’t get you tiny fruit tartelettes or a tete-a-tete with a colleague in the Four Seasons bar, as BNEF provided in San Francisco this week, but new research published in the journal Nature Communications says virtual conferencing through platforms such as Zoom Video (ZM) can reduce the carbon footprint of the global events business by 94% and energy use by 90%. That translates to about 5 billion tons of carbon. Tartelettes aside, something tells us we know which Zoom shareholders would prefer. Read more here. . . .

Editor’s picks: Storms on the move, crop insurance issues, and super solar on superstores?

Is crop insurance discouraging resiliency?

U.S. farmers received more than $143.5 billion in federal crop insurance payouts from 1995 through 2020, most of it linked to extreme weather exacerbated by the climate crisis, according to a new Environmental Working Group analysis of Department of Agriculture data. According to the advocacy group, insurance payments to farmers have risen more than 400% for drought-related losses and nearly 300% for losses from rains and flooding, from 1995 to 2020. Anne Schechinger, agricultural economist and EWG midwest director, says, “What we’re seeing is that climate change is likely increasing costs to this program, and we also know that crop insurance discourages farmers from adapting to climate change. … We think the program needs to be reformed to encourage farmers to become more resilient to extreme weather from climate change.”

Solar on superstores

Big roofs offer big opportunities for renewable energy, says a new report from Environment America Research & Policy Center and the Frontier Group. The report says the U.S. has “the technical potential to produce 78 times as much electricity as it used in 2020 just with solar photovoltaic (PV) energy. … To achieve a future of 100% clean and renewable energy, America must capitalize on every solar energy opportunity, including on the rooftops of big box superstores.” The group notes there are more than 100,000 big box retail stores, supercenters, large grocery stores and malls, with almost 7.2 billion cumulative square feet of rooftop space. “The rooftops of America’s big box stores and shopping centers have the potential to generate 84.4 terawatt-hours (TWh) of solar electricity each year, equivalent to the amount of electricity used by almost 8 million average U.S. homes, or more than 30,400 typical Walmart stores,” the report says.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

Natural Landmarks Already Damaged or Destroyed by Climate Change

By
-
Source: TonyFeder / iStock via Getty Images

Most people who will never travel to more exotic locations will nonetheless recognize images of Mount Kilimanjaro topped with its legendary snows or the Great Barrier Reef and its rich marine life. But these iconic natural wonders, along with many others, are losing their struggle with climate change and may be completely lost to future generations.

As temperatures warm, sea levels rise, and storms intensify, causing food insecurity and displacement of entire populations, natural landmarks that may seem invulnerable to the ravages of climate are also seriously threatened. (These are the 20 countries responsible for nearly all global emissions.)

To find natural landmarks already damaged or destroyed by climate change, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed several sources, including International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Climate change now top threat to natural World Heritage – IUCN report, international environmental organizations, and adventure travel companies, among other sources.

The IUCN study found that 30% – 83 out of 252 – of natural World Heritage sites are threatened by climate change. Their status is described as being “of significant concern,” and 7% of all sites, including the Great Barrier Reef, are classified as “critical.”

While invasive species, human activity, and traditional weather patterns all take their toll on the natural world, the threats from climate change have overtaken other factors in the loss of natural landmarks. Storm surges are pushing salt into farmland and freshwater reserves; sea level rise is threatening the very existence of islands and atolls; rising temperatures are melting glaciers and drying up lakes; and heat and drought are inviting the spread of highly destructive wildfires. (These are the 30 most destructive wildfires in the U.S. this century.)

These are some of the world’s natural landmarks that have already experienced severe damage from climate change.

Click here to see natural landmarks already damaged or destroyed by climate change

Climate battle at center stage in DC over Fed nominee Raskin

By
-
Source: Wikimedia Commons

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

Climate change hits the big time in Washington D.C. this week as the backdrop for a rare battle over a nomination to the Federal Reserve Board.

With vitriol and apocalyptic forecasts usually reserved for a fight over a Supreme Court Justice or a hearing for tech CEOs, a gang of red state treasurers and oil and gas companies are pushing for the rejection of President Joe Biden’s nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to the central bank’s vice chair of supervision.

The role would make Raskin the top supervisor of Wall Street, something she has done before at a state level and been involved in before in another position at the world’s leading central bank. But the opposition fears she will use the role to push banks to choke off credit to oil and gas companies. A nomination hearing Thursday looks set to be the highlight of the week in the nation’s capital. . . .

To read this column, all our insights, news and in-depth interviews, please subscribe and support our great climate finance journalism.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

Half of companies target carbon reduction goals before 2030: survey

By
-
Source: gauthierdelecroix / Flickr

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

More than half of companies who set carbon reduction targets in the past few years plan to meet their goals by 2030 or before, according to early survey data shared with Callaway Climate Insights from Winmark Global, which runs the chief sustainability officer’s network.

While target dates run out to 2050, about a quarter have set their dates within a decade and more than another quarter are gunning for as early as next year to 2026, according to the data. That’s a remarkable shift from just two years ago, when 2050 was the preferred target because it was, well, out there.

John Jeffcock, the CEO of London-based Winmark, said the survey of the network’s members is continuing as new members join, but that the early results are encouraging. Still, there is a long way to go. Only a third of existing members have a formal plan to cut emissions in place, while the rest are still developing plans.

The most interesting findings to me were the top challenges companies listed in getting a plan in place. Confusing metrics and international regulations were obvious. But problems in committing to Scope 3 supply chain cleanup are interesting as they reflect that companies are holding back on pledges because they worry that they don’t have the clout with their vendors to require emission cuts. The top challenge was finding a way to reduce emissions while still growing profits, with companies saying that hitting ambitious emissions targets will require transformation of their entire organizations, or much of them.

In the end, the great renewables economic transition is going to depend as much on whether it’s a business opportunity as an environmental one.

More insights below. . . .

Thursday’s subscriber insights: China’s Olympics snowjob

. . . . A legal case in which Baltimore is demanding that oil companies pay for the city’s climate-change damage took a turn in favor of the plaintiffs this week, with appellate judges potentially prepared to send the case to a lower state court, which could be more amenable than a federal court. With 20 similar cases pending, this one will be watched closely. Read more here. . . .

. . . . Tesla’s earnings this week reflected the usual supply chain woes, and investors were disappointed that Elon Musk said no new models would be introduced this year, including its cybertruck version. But global sales patterns, especially in China, reveal that at least through the fourth quarter, inflation, higher rates and supply chains weren’t the obstacle many had thought. Read more here. . . .

. . . . An all-fake snow Winter Olympics. Severe smog over Beijing. It might seem that China would be alarmed and embarrassed enough to take more action to stop being the world’s biggest polluter. But Xi Jinping says energy security — including by building new coal plants and keeping others — will continue as planned. The world will be watching more than just the Games when they open next week. Read more here. . . .

. . . . For the past six months or so, electric vehicle news has centered around Ford as well as newcomers Rivian and Lucid, both of which made big IPO splashes. But now, having made the most ambitious net-zero pledge among carmakers, GM is ramping up big-time, predicting it will outsell Tesla in EV sales by mid-decade. Unfounded bravado or a real threat? Read more here. . . .

. . . . Like cooking with gas? Most serious cooks prefer it over electric stoves. But now comes word that gas stoves in the U.S. leak methane equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions of half a million cars in the same timeframe. With a growing number of cities and states looking to phase out gas-fueled appliances in homes, including New York City, in favor of more climate-friendly electric alternatives, it seems a new revolution in cooking is in the cards. Read more here. . . .

Editor’s picks: Battling pollution in the Gulf states; EV makers need more graphite

EPA set to battle pollution in minority communities

The EPA is stepping up enforcement efforts to combat air pollution, drinking water quality and other health and environment issues in minority communities in three Gulf coast states. The Associated Press reports the agency will conduct unannounced inspections of chemical plants, refineries and other industrial sites suspected of polluting air and water and causing health problems to nearby residents,” citing EPA Administrator Michael Regan. The agency said it plans to install air monitoring equipment in Louisiana’s so-called “chemical corridor” to improve enforcement at chemical and plastics plants between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The region contains several hotspots where cancer risks are far above national levels, the AP notes.

Reliance on China for graphite hits EV makers

The world’s reliance on China for a vital ingredient in batteries is proving to be another road bump for EV manufacturers — in addition to the semiconductor industry. S&P Global Market Intelligence reports that the concerns stem from the fact that the world is reliant solely on China at some point in the supply chain for graphite. In light of trade battles and rising demand, “U.S.-based battery and car companies have urged President Biden to ease trade restrictions or risk impeding the administration’s push to electrify transportation sectors, according to industry experts. Producers trying to break into the market for graphite, the largest component of lithium-ion batteries by volume, have begun building out new production facilities in the U.S. and Canada, but they are years away from production,” Camille Erickson writes for S&P Global.

Climate change and the Olympic Winter Games

Winter is changing the locations around the world where Olympic Winter Games have been held in the past, threatening the future of these host locations and the games and athletes as well. The authors of Climate change and the future of the Olympic Winter Games surveyed 339 elite athletes and coaches from 20 countries to define fair and safe conditions for snow sports competitions. “The frequency of unfair-unsafe conditions has increased over the past 50 years across the 21 OWG host locations. The probability of unfair-unsafe conditions increases under all future climate change scenarios. In a low-emission scenario aligned to the Paris Climate Agreement, the number of climate-reliable hosts remains almost unchanged throughout the 21st century. The geography of the OWG changes radically if global emissions remain on the trajectory of the past two decades, leaving only one reliable host city by the end of the century. Athletes expressed trepidation over the future of their sport and the need for the sporting world to be a powerful force to inspire and accelerate climate action.”

Words to live by . . . .

“No new coal plants. No expansion in oil and gas exploration. Now is the time for an unprecedented investment surge in renewable energy — particularly in emerging & developing economies — tripling to $5 trillion dollars annually by 2030.” — UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

States Where Lightning Strikes the Most

By
-
Source: milehightraveler / Getty Images

As children, often nothing seems scarier than thunder and lightning. Where you live, though, makes a difference as to how many lightning storms you’re likely to endure. Some parts of the United States are more prone to them than others, due to climate, elevation, and natural (and unnatural) conductors. 

While it might be the thunder that most terrifies people (and their pets, too), lightning is the real danger in a thunderstorm. (Speaking of storms, here are the most devastating natural disasters in America in 2021).

As an electrostatic discharge, a single lightning stroke (the correct meteorological term, though most of us think of them as “strikes”) releases an immense amount of energy, and can be extremely dangerous if it makes contact with a conductor – for instance, a human being. From 1959 to 1994, according to the National Weather Service, there were over 10,000 lightning-related deaths, injuries, and reported damages in this country, and an average of 49 people are killed by lightning every year. (Lightning also sparks forest and brush fires. These have been the 30 most destructive wildfires in the US this century.)

Click here to see the states where lightning strikes the most

Suffice to say, lightning can strike a lot more than once, and a lot more in some places than others. To determine which states are struck with the most lightning, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 2021 Annual Lightning Report from the environmental data company Vaisala. States were ranked on the total number of cloud-to-ground strokes plus cloud pulses (lightning flashes that don’t connect with the earth’s surface) in 2021, as well as the number of events per square kilometer. We converted those numbers to events per square mile using data on the total area of each state – both land and water – from the U.S. Census Bureau, which was also the source of population figures.

How Latin America’s healthcare industry could benefit from global warming

By
-
Source: FG Trade / E+ via Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

(Michael Molinski is a senior economist at Trendline Economics. He’s worked for Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo, and previously as a foreign correspondent and editor for Bloomberg News and MarketWatch.) 

LIMA, Peru (Callaway Climate Insights) — It’s no secret that the effects of global warming, if left unchecked, will affect the entire planet. But what about the healthcare industry, especially as it relates to Latin America?

Even before the Covid pandemic hit, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said the health effects of climate change could include “increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events, changes in the prevalence and geographical distribution of food- and water-borne illnesses and other infectious diseases, and threats to mental health.”

The healthcare industry, including hospitals, physician groups, pharmaceutical companies and biotech could benefit from the increasing wave of sick people. . . .

To read this column, all our insights, news and in-depth interviews, please subscribe and support our great climate finance journalism.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

California solar proposal delay a positive sign, plus Olympics stir snowmaking debate

By
-
Source: General Motors Co.

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

A firestorm of protest from consumer groups, solar and other cleantech businesses — and even California Gov. Gavin Newsom — in recent days succeeded in delaying a controversial proposal to slash subsidies for homeowners with solar power. What does that mean for solar stocks?

The California Public Utilities Commission was due to take up the proposal on Thursday but suddenly withdrew it from its agenda with no sign of when it will be back on. Could be a week. Could be much longer. The fact that it was delayed is a positive sign for solar companies and their investors.

As we’ve said before, the plan to reduce the amount of money homeowners can get from utilities by sending them their excess solar energy withdrew one of the major benefits to investing in solar. Homeowners can now make their money back over five to seven years. If the plan is approved, it could be 15 to 20 years by some estimates.

Utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric (PCG) argue that the subsidies are unfair; that prices are set too high and that the subsidies unfairly benefit the rich who can afford solar panels at the expense of everybody else (including PG&E?).

While there is no timeline on when the CPUC will take up the proposal again, any delay can be seen as a good thing by solar investors, who have seen their stocks fall by about half since December. Stocks such as SunPower (SPWR) and First Solar (FSLR) were still down Tuesday, but more so because of the volatility in the overall market, which has been savage to cleantech.

The delay means a new, more sensible proposal is more likely. And a brief respite for investors not used to being burned.

More insights below. . . .

Tuesday’s subscriber insights: Searching for peak electric bike

. . . . You see them everywhere — electric bicycles. Rushing around cities doing deliveries, on cycling trails and in suburban neighborhoods. And now comes news that they are outselling four-wheeled EVs in the U.S. Will these sales be sustained, or is the market near saturation? Read more here. . . .

. . . . Climate change has led yet another oil company to change its name. This time it’s Shell, which dropped the “Royal Dutch” in front of the main part of its moniker as part of its plan to move its headquarters to London. Harking back to the change BP made years ago from British Petroleum, Shell’s move is in part due to an unfavorable environmental ruling in a Dutch court last year. Read more here. . . .

. . . . The instances of rebel investors forcing boards to mend their polluting ways has increased with the pledge of Britain’s Aviva Investors to the tactics most notably used by America’s Engine No. 1 to target bosses who don’t get with the green game. At the same time, Engine No. 1 is increasing its efforts. Some companies, and politicians, are fighting back. A battle is brewing as proxy season approaches. Read more here. . . .

. . . . With many eyes focused on the electric vehicle ambitions of GM, Ford, Volkswagen and Toyota, the Japan/France also-ran made up of Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi has been lost in the dust. Now, they are cranking up their efforts. How effective will they be in this new era given their place in the pecking order? Read more here. . . .

Editor’s picks: Counting clouds; how green will the Beijing Olympics be?

Join NASA’s Cloud Challenge brigade

Citizens of Earth: NASA is calling upon you to become citizen scientists to investigate clouds during the NASA GLOBE Cloud Challenge 2022: Clouds in a Changing Climate. “Are you seeing more precipitating clouds? Are you seeing less of them? Are there more thick, blanketed clouds that cast more shadows, or are you seeing more of those thin high clouds that are ice and don’t cast shadows but hold the heat in the atmosphere?,” said Marilé Colón Robles, atmospheric scientist and lead for the GLOBE Clouds Team at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. “Each cloud type affects Earth’s energy balance differently. That’s what we’re trying to understand.” The GLOBE Clouds team tries to match citizen science observations to different satellites including: Aqua, CALIPSO and Terra. To find out more about the challenge and to participate, check out NASA’s Cloud Challenge 2022 here.

Beijing Winter Olympics: Neither green nor white?

Barely a week before the start of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, research sheds more light on the threat climate change poses to the locations where the winter games are held. Without drastic reduction in carbon emissions, all but one of the 21 cities that have hosted the winter games would not be able to do so in 50 or 60 years. NPR notes the University of Waterloo’s report shows six cities would be considered “marginal,” while 14 would be deemed “unreliable” — meaning the right conditions for snow and athlete safety cannot be met. The Washington Post, meanwhile, reports that despite pledges from the Chinese government that every aspect of the Beijing Olympics will be green, “are difficult to square with the country’s broader environmental challenges. Beijing’s water scarcity is a concern for environmentalists, with one estimate suggesting it could take 200 years for water piped into the city to return water resources to 1998 levels.” And, it takes a lot of water to make artificial snow: See below.

Data driven: No snow? No problem.

.  . . . With virtually no snow falling at the ski venues for Beijing’s Winter Olympic Games (the region is famed for being cold but very dry), more than 1.2 million cubic tons of artificial snow is being made. SI reports that while making snow for the winter games isn’t new, the Beijing event will be a first in that all the snow will be artificial. It’s also the first time a city will host both a summer and winter Games. The job of making all that snow falls to Italy’s TechnoAlpin. According to the report, the “snowmaking process for Beijing is projected to pull 49 million gallons of water from natural resources, a figure that environmentalists will cite as yet another example of the Olympics’ poor sustainability record.”. . .

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

The 10 Biggest Risks to Global Security in 2022

By
-
Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, simmering geopolitical tensions, and a widening ideological and cultural chasm in the United States, one could be forgiven for having a less than an optimistic outlook for 2022. 

According to a recent report from the political risk consulting agency Eurasia Group, misgivings about the state of the world in the coming year are well founded. The report, titled Top Risks 2022, offers detailed predictions of what it anticipates will be the largest threats to global stability, peace, and prosperity in the coming year. 

24/7 Wall St. reviewed Eurasia Group’s report to identify the top 10 risks of 2022. The risks on this list are global in scope and cover issues related to countries, companies, the environment, public health, and the economic concerns. 

Despite the foreseeable nature of the risks detailed on this list, many seem all but inevitable – the predictable results of a chain of events that began long before Jan. 1, 2022. 

Of course, many of the most difficult challenges humanity has faced in years past have caught the world largely off guard. Indeed, this list offers only the best guesses of what we face in 2022 – and which of them actually materialize, if any, remains to be seen. 

Click here for the top 10 biggest risks to global security in 2022

1...596061...69Page 60 of 69

Popular Posts

© 2024 24/7 Wall St. and Callaway Climate Insights