Home Blog Page 66

This Is the Hottest Inhabited Place on Earth

By
-
Source: yoh4nn / Getty Images

The world is getting hotter, and drier in some places. It is still very cold in others. Recently, the temperature in Death Valley, sometimes known as the hottest place on earth, reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Parts of Antarctica routinely have temperatures 50 degrees below zero. In other parts of the world, floods kill hundreds of people. In some places, it barely rains, even over the course of a decade.

What makes a place uninhabitable? No food. No relief from deadly heat. Cold that can damage the skin in minutes. We set out to find the answer. While any answer has to be somewhat subjective, there are areas of the world so hostile to humans that people can just barely live in them at all. We looked at one where temperatures can be fatal.

Using data from the Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN), 24/7 Wall St. has identified the hottest inhabited place on earth. Places we examine were ranked based on the average year-round temperature. Only places that are currently inhabited were included.

The cities we looked at to find the hottest span the Middle East, Africa and South America. Several of these areas have had at least one month in the past 10 years where the average temperature was above 100 degrees.
[nativounit]
To determine the hottest inhabited place on Earth, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed average temperature data from the GHCN (Version 4) of the National Centers for Environmental Information of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Weather stations were ranked based on the average year-round temperature from 2011 to 2020. Only places with at least five years of data were considered. Data used to determine the hottest month also came from the GHCN and are for the years 2011 to 2020.

The hottest inhabited place on earth is Abéché, Chad. Here are the details:

  • Average year-round temperature: 90.0° F
  • Hottest average month: May (99.3° F average)
  • Hottest month in past decade: May 2020 (100.7° F average)
  • Elevation at nearest weather station: 1,801 feet

Click here to see all the hottest inhabited places on earth.
[wallst_email_signup]

By Douglas McIntyre

This Is the State Where People Recycle the Most

By
-
Source: KatarzynaBialasiewicz / iStock

Recycling began decades ago as a way to help keep the environment clean. It also gave companies a ready means to get materials they could use to make new products, particularly containers. As the trend evolved, companies even paid people to deposit materials at established locations.

Recycling has become a way of life. Keeping cans and bottles that can be reused is part of daily life. People even keep trash bins dedicated to recyclable materials.

Among the sources for Filter King’s recently released “Cleanest States: Which States Are the Cleanest Places to Visit” study was the Eunomia report, which tracks recycling rates. Air quality was taken from the World Population Review, EV data was taken from EVAdoption and Google Keyword Planner was used to track the use of the term “hand sanitizer.” In all, the data was sorted into 10 categories.

The first cut at the data was simply the “cleanest states” based on a scale of 1 to 10. California topped the list with a score of 7.36, followed by Hawaii (6.94) and Washington (6.40). Turning to “dirtiest states,” Kentucky was the worst with a score of 2.12, followed by Tennesse (2.20), Mississippi (2.25) and Alabama (2.28).
[nativounit]
No explanation was given about why southern states did so poorly. Perhaps the description of Tennessee gives some insight:

Tennessee has the second lowest cleanliness score of just 2.20. A combination of low recycling rates, poor air quality, and low levels of electric vehicle adoption keeps Tennessee near the bottom of the table.

Recycling was at the core of the ratings. The rating was based on the percentage of “common container and packaging materials (CCPM)” that is recycled. Maine topped the list at 74%. This was followed by Oregon (66%) and Connecticut (63%). Once again, there was no analysis of geographic patterns.

These are the 10 states that recycle the most:

  • Maine (74%)
  • Oregon (66%)
  • Connecticut (63%)
  • Vermont (62%)
  • Iowa (62%)
  • New Jersey (62%)
  • Minnesota (60%)
  • Pennsylvania (60%)
  • Delaware (59%)
  • Washington (58%)

Click here to see which are America’s 50 dirtiest cities.
[wallst_email_signup]

By Douglas McIntyre

This Is the Most Destructive Wildfire in America This Century

By
-
Source: usdagov / Flickr

The rise in wildfires across the nation has been staggering over the past few years, and 2021 has been no exception. The Center for Disaster Philanthropy reports that through early this month, 48,725 wildfires had destroyed 6.1 million acres. Almost 750 people had been deployed to handle the largest ones.

Ironically, one of the few events to slow the fires was the tremendous rainfall in the west that came off the Pacific Ocean. Even with this brief help, the trend is expected to worsen in the years ahead. The droughts that have plagued the western United States are expected to worsen. So are high winds.

This year already has produced at least one historical fire. At the time of this writing, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon had already burned nearly 400,000 acres, making it one of the largest of this century, and it has not yet been contained.

24/7 Wall St. chose the most destructive wildfire in the United States this century. We reviewed data on wildfires that burned 100,000 acres or more since 2000 from the National Interagency Fire Center’s Fire (NIFC) and Aviation Management Web Applications Program to compile our list.
[nativounit]
Because of extended drought, high temperatures and dry grasslands, the western continental states and Alaska have fallen victim to most of the severe wildfires in the nation’s history. These fires also have been some of the nation’s worst natural disasters.

The most destructive wildfire of the century was the Taylor Highway Complex fire. Here are the details:

  • Area burned: 1,303,358 acres
  • State affected: Alaska
  • Year: 2004
  • Cause: Lightning

Fires erupted in Alaska in mid-June and eventually consumed more than 3.4 million acres by the end of the month. During the peak of the crisis, 466 firefighting personnel were assigned to the fire. Taylor Highway in eastern Alaska was the largest area affected by the inferno, which raged into August, burning 1.3 million acres there.

To determine the most destructive U.S. wildfire this century, 24/7 Wall St. also reviewed data on active and partially contained fires in 2021 from the Fire, Weather and Avalanche Center. Data on active fires is current as of midday on July 22.

The number of large fires, which refers to the number of fires that burned more than 100,000 acres, also came from the NIFC. Larger fires often split into several other smaller events, causing their own pattern of destruction. Fires initially part of larger incidents, as well as their aggregate fires, were indicated.

Click here to read about the 30 most destructive wildfires of the century.
[wallst_email_signup]

By Douglas McIntyre

Coal stocks, carbon prices tell the COP26 story; plus, the G20 needs an emergency meeting

By
-
Source: small smiles / iStock via Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

Everyone has their opinion of how much China and India’s 11th-hour sabotage of the COP26 conference communique set back coal reduction efforts in Glasgow over the weekend, but for those voting with their money, coal stocks tell the story.

Despite international cries that changing the wording from “phase out” coal to “phase down” turned success to failure at the United Nations summit, investors sold coal stocks around the world this week. The reason is that beneath the geopolitical drama, investors understand that coal’s days are still numbered.

Coal stocks fell in Asia and Europe, according to Reuters, while in the U.S. shares such as Peabody Energy (BTU) and Arch Resources (ARCH) got whacked on Monday, and were trending at lower levels Tuesday. A close look at the year-to-date charts of both shares show how they’ve climbed this year amid Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) defense of coal in the U.S. Senate, but they began to give back gains as COP26 started.

Over on the carbon markets, prices in Europe hit a new high this week of €65.93 ($74.66) in reaction to progress made in Glasgow to create an international carbon market for emissions trading and offsets. Prices have more than doubled since the beginning of the year.

As President Joe Biden’s new infrastructure bill provides new opportunity for electric vehicle shares, as well as big builders and construction stocks, it becomes clear that to investors at least, the transition is still moving in the right direction.

More insights below. . . .

After Glasgow failure, G20 must convene an emergency session

. . . . Environmental adviser and author Rick Steiner, founder of Oasis Earth in Anchorage, Alaska, goes beyond merely criticizing COP26 for failing in its mission and is demanding an emergency meeting of the G20 nations early next year. In a guest column for Callaway Climate Insights, Steiner said only a legally binding deal among the wealthiest nations, like was done with 1987 Montreal Protocol on ozone protection, can move the needle on carbon reduction. And Steiner goes a step further and argues for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in three months to protest China’s refusal to back down on its surge in coal production. While there are many reasons for Western nations to potentially boycott the Beijing games, this was first argument we’ve heard about climate. Probably not the last. . . .

Read the full column

Tuesday’s subscriber insights: Wanted! Recycling billionaires

. . . . Ever notice why we never read about recycling billionaires? That’s because there are none, or if there are, they’re keeping a low profile. The business of recycling is in crisis, and causing people to give up on their efforts. But the new infrastructure bill signed by the president yesterday contains a new strategy, and provides $275 million in grant financing for recycling business ideas. Read more here. . . .

. . . . What happens when the PR firm has the public relations crisis? That’s the issue at global giant Edelman, which has represented ExxonMobil (XOM) for years, and is being pressured by environmental activists to drop them. Richard Edelman is know shrinking violet though, and he knows that if he drops them, another PR firm will just pick them up. Inside the conundrum may be opportunity. Read more here. . . .

. . . . The EV investor train just keeps rolling. A week after Rivian Automotive (RIVN) went public in one of the biggest IPOs in years, Lucid Group (LCID) shares surged more than 20% on Tuesday after it said its Lucid Air model won the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year award, and that orders were up 30%. Rivian shares also continued to climb, topping $130 billion in market cap, more than twice what they went out at just five trading days. . . .

. . . . The price of the Engine No. 1 Transform 500 ETF shares, launched earlier this year after the hedge fund won a surprise proxy victory of oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM), has been on a tear the past few weeks after Engine No. 1 announced a stake in General Motors (GM). It’s up more than 10%. And it appears to have ignored, for now, this week’s resignation of Charlie Penner, the head of engagement for the hedge fund and main designer of the campaign against Exxon. . . .

Editor’s picks: Court puts truck emissions rules on hold; climate change is making food less nutritious

Appeals court puts a hold on emission rules for trucks

A U.S. appeals court late last week ruled the EPA and NHTSA exceeded their authority when they set rules for trailer manufacturers to use fuel-saving technologies like side skirts and automatic tire pressure systems, according to a report from Reuters. The new regulations were challenged by an industry group and the court put the rules on hold pending a review. Reuters noted the Obama administration had pushed to regulate the fuel efficiency of the trailer portion of commercial tractor-trailers.

Research: Climate change is making food less nutritious

Climate change is making food less nutritious, according to research. A review paper recently published in Advances in Nutrition, looks at data and existing science on the effects of climate change on staple grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts across the world, while also underscoring the significant need for further research, according to a report from Civil Eats. The team of public health researchers from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation in London conclude that climate change, including the combined impacts of rising temperature and carbon dioxide, rising sea levels, and climate disasters, will cause crop yields, or the amount of food we can produce on the planet, to fall, according to the report. “The authors project that this could trigger increased spikes in food prices, deepening food insecurity and micronutrient deficiencies.”

Data driven: Not a (safe) drop to drink

. . . . A quarter of the people on Earth do not have access to safe drinking water, according to an updated report from Our World in Data. Although 74% of the world’s population has access to a safely managed water source, in countries with the lowest income rates, less than one-third of the population have safe water. Most live in Sub-Saharan Africa. While the world has made progress in recent years, OWD says it has been slow: “In 2015, only 70% of the global population had safe drinking water. That means we’ve seen an increase of four percentage points over five years.” To reach the target of universal access, rates of progress must more than triple for the coming decade.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

Carbon market deal may save the legacy of COP26

By
-
Source: Radiokukka / Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

. . . . In the stinging aftermath of the international failure in Glasgow to agree on moving the world away from coal or paying to help poorer countries fight the ravages of climate change, it’s difficult to attribute any success whatsoever to the United Nations COP26 summit, which just ended.

But a late-session agreement among negotiators to approve rules for a global carbon market, while technical and, well, boring in comparison to the fight to save Barbados, will have long-lasting benefits that could ultimately allow climate historians to look back more favorably on the summit.

Among the many goals of the summit that were not reached, the agreement on the carbon market — Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in 2015 — stands out as rare success in countries compromising to overcome disagreements on payments. . . .

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

The most important energy story of the week isn’t from Glasgow

By
-
Source: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

Lost in the hype around Rivian’s IPO this week, the surprise China-U.S. deal in Glasgow, and the newest wrinkle in the metaverse, or whatever you call it, was the rebirth of an energy company that helped create the industrial revolution and may soon lead the climate one.

General Electric’s (GE) announcement that it would break its storied, 129-year-old conglomerate into three parts, including an energy and technology company, harks back to the original Edison Electric, founded by Thomas Edison to sell his light bulbs. Today the unit serves the wind power industry as well as hydro, nuclear, gas, coal, and yes, it has a stake in a big oil field.

The spinoff, expected in 2024, will follow a similar deal done by Siemens with Siemens Energy in Europe, and could mimic energy transition strategies at companies such as Italy’s Enel and Spain’s Iberdrola (IBDRY), if managers move away from the fossil fuel’s segment of the business into the renewables part.

Either way, the current focus on energy transition and electricity grid evolution puts the GE energy unit into a leadership position from the outset when it spins.

Whenever big companies break themselves apart, it’s fashionable for investors to argue about which piece has the best prospects. CEO Larry Culp made his choice, saying he would stay with the aviation part of the business, and retain the GE name.

But rarely does a mature energy portfolio get a chance to take three years to reinvent itself behind the scenes like this. While it has plenty of reorganizing and strategizing to do about how to phase out or refocus its fossil-fuel operations, and boost its unprofitable renewable operations, it has the potential to set a blueprint for other large fossil fuel companies on how to transition. Who it chooses to lead the operations and how it is spun to the public will be closely watched.

We’re sure old Tom Edison would be proud that his baby, launched at the dawn of the electricity era in the 19th century, will now be a key player in remaking the world’s energy industry as it becomes the most important story of the 21st.

More insights below. . . .

What would The Great Gatsby invest in? Disconnect between oil and climate investors deepens

. . . . The celebrated American author F. Scott Fitzgerald held that true intelligence was being able to hold two opposing ideas at once. That doesn’t bode well for a solution between oil investors and those who want to shut all the fossil fuel companies, writes Mark Hulbert. As long as the world needs energy, oil companies will dig it out of the ground, and make money doing it, as we see from high prices these days. Investors will back them until something better comes along, Hulbert writes. Until each side understands each other better, the financial markets will be unable to drive the fight against climate change. . . .

Read the full column

EU notebook: Timmermans warns of green resistance; plus France/Germany nuclear rift

. . . . As COP26 draws to a close without a meaningful global deal to phase out fossil fuels, EU Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans warned that without ambition and optimism, countries are doomed to reject the green transition as too expensive and too much of a sacrifice in terms of jobs and energy security, writes Daniel Byrne from Dublin. As a rift between France and Germany over nuclear energy has deepened, Timmermans highlighted the pain of what a regional transition might look like and why it is important that Western European nations help support Eastern European ones as they struggle with how to end their reliance on coal. . . .

Read the full EU notebook

Sustainability disclosure marks progress at COP26

. . . . As COP26 comes to an end there will inevitably be hand-wringing about the lack of a big deal. The surprise China/U.S. agreement this week created a stir just because it happened, but it seemed more geared to pushing negotiators to wrap up with something positive. Little noticed was an actual big deal, writes Marsha Vande Berg. The creation of an International Sustainability Standards Board for corporate disclosures of environmental, social, and governance metrics has the potential to set a uniform global standard. Most importantly, it creates valuable momentum coming out of the conference, which has been short in supply. . . .

Read the full column

Thursday’s subscriber insights: From the pledge to dump fossil fuel-powered cars to the best vegan haggis at COP26

. . . . Big news to come out of COP26 is that several major automakers and 30 nations have pledged to dump fossil fuel-powered cars by 2040. But several big carmakers and some major nations — including the U.S. — did not. Ultimately, it seems likely those who did pledge will keep to their promises, probably driven in part by rising gasoline prices, which will make EVs ever-more attractive to buyers. Read more here. . . .

. . . . Hearty congratulations to Jean Rogers, founder of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board in San Francisco a decade ago, who was appointed global head of ESG at alternative investment manager Blackstone. Rogers is one of the best known names in the nascent ESG industry and is never shy about her disdain for corporate greenwashing. Expect some big stuff coming out of Blackstone (BX) shortly. . . .

. . . . Rivian (RIVN) shares rose more than 16% on their second day of trading after the electric truck maker recorded the biggest IPO since Alibaba (BABA) seven years ago. That the company has almost no revenue and $1 billion in losses didn’t seem to hold eager investors back from slapping a $70 billion valuation on it in first-day trading. But once the Tesla (TSLA) halo wears off, the shares might become a bit more sensibly priced. In the meantime, viva EVs. . . .

. . . . France has always been an outlier by producing the vast majority of its power — about 70% — from nuclear. And now it is about to ramp up again. It’s worth noting the nuclear industry, run by the mostly government-owned Électricité de France, has been pushing for new reactors for several years, thus bolstering the synergy with COP-type aims. Read more here. . .

. . . . At last, a story out of Glasgow that captures the heart of COP26 on the ground in the cold — Gizmodos’s ranking of best spots in town to get a vegan haggis. Check it out here: A Vegan Haggis Tour of Glasgow During UN Climate Talks. . . .

Editor’s picks: More contaminants found in U.S. tap water; organized crime is trafficking plastic waste

Database shows hundreds of contaminants in U.S. tap water

In just the past two years, more than 320 toxic substances have been detected in U.S. drinking water systems, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Working Group. A report in Environmental Health News says the findings are part of the 2021 update to EWG’s national Tap Water Database, and support the call for tougher federal drinking water standards and the improvement of related infrastructure. EHN says researchers collected and reviewed results from water contaminant tests conducted by water utilities and regulators from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. After reviewing data from almost 50,000 water systems serving tens of millions of American households, “the researchers found sweeping drinking water contamination from numerous pollutants such as arsenic, lead, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, radioactive materials, and pesticides.”0

Organized crime groups profit from trafficking plastic waste

Plastic waste Americans think is being recycled properly is, thanks to organized crime rings, ending up causing environmental and health damage in poorer countries that never agreed to accept the waste. The Los Angeles Times reports on a new document from the independent Swiss research group Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime that “maps the web of brokers, middlemen, legitimate recycling companies and organized crime groups that move millions of tons of discarded plastic from the U.S., Europe and Australia to countries in Southeast Asia and Africa.” Tons of low-quality, difficult-to-recycle plastic scrap is still finding its way to developing countries, in part because waste exporters are circumventing the regulations, according to the report.

Words to live by . . . .

“Our addiction to fossil fuels is pushing humanity to the brink. We face a stark choice: Either we stop it — or it stops us. It’s time to say: enough. … Enough of treating nature like a toilet. Enough of burning and drilling and mining our way deeper. We are digging our own graves.” — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking at COP26.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

ZEUS: Stefania Di Bartolomeo’s quest to answer this one ESG question

By
-
Source: Kat72 / Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

SAN FRANCISCO (Callaway Climate Insights) — Stefania Di Bartolomeo was a 30-year-old asset manager running about $100 million in an impact investing fund for about 6,000 institutional investors for Italy’s Banca Sella Group in 2018 when she got a call from a small investor.

“She was asking for proof her money would make a difference,” Di Bartolomeo recalls in Zoom interview recently. “She wanted to invest $500. I thought ‘how did you find me?’ But she was asking for something that was so necessary.”

Not long after, Di Bartolomeo started Physis, a Greek term for nature or law of nature, dedicated to displaying data in a way that showed investors where their investments were making a difference. Using metrics such as how holdings manage water security, on-site renewable energy, corporate philanthropy, or women senior management numbers, Physis adds a layer of insight into actions on environmental, social, and governance issues, not just performance and ESG scores.

Based in Boston, where she attended Harvard, Physis is currently raising funds. . . .

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

Read more of David Callaway’s ZEUS columns:

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

The Obama/Trump climate revolution; plus Big Oil parties in Glasgow

By
-
Source: Alex Wong / Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

When former President Barack Obama spoke to the United Nations’ COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this week, he was greeted by delegates as a superstar, despite the fact that his own climate and energy legislation failed in Congress a decade ago. President Joe Biden’s reception was decidedly more muted last week, as his climate/infrastructure bill still hung in the balance.

But now it has passed and Biden will sign it in coming days, releasing some $80 billion in spending into climate programs such as energy efficiency, clean hydrogen, carbon storage, and electric vehicle charging stations. To get an idea what this might mean for America’s clean energy transition in coming years, let’s look back on what happened in the 10 years after Obama’s legislation failed.

Led by private investment along with state government efforts in places such as Texas, California, Iowa, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, wind and solar power have quadrupled in the past decade, according to a new report by the Environment America Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group. (Read the report here and find out how your state did.)

More than 23 times more solar power, triple the wind power, 18 times more battery power (up 67% in 2020 alone) and a 100-fold increase in plug-in hybrid EVs, were some of the highlights of the report. Enough to power more than 45 million homes, which while still not anywhere near enough, is pretty solid for a decade that included the Trump, anti-climate change years.

Data headlines aside, what’s important here is that short of federal legislation, many states — including Texas — took matters into their own hands. A similar phenomenon is taking place in countries such as Australia, where the federal governments are at odds with what is happening in the states, provinces and local regions.

Despite controversial headlines and challenges out of Glasgow, the transition is rapidly moving forward, and in the U.S. at least, the new infrastructure bill will give it a pronounced boost in the next few years. No wonder investors are pumping up clean energy stocks this week.

More insights below. . . .

Tuesday’s subscriber insights: Big Oil parties in Glasgow

. . . . Embarrassing headlines for COP26 organizers and Big Oil as it’s revealed they have the largest number of delegates at the conference (500), bigger than any single country. Meanwhile, hundreds of environmental, academic, climate justice, indigenous and women’s rights organizations have been excluded. Granted, the fossil fuel transition can’t happen without oil and gas companies, but it still seems like the old boys’ club continues apace, especially as oil prices reached seven-year highs last week. Read more here. . . .

. . . . Lost in the headlines on Biden’s infrastructure bill about cost and sexy EV charging stations was a very important new rule that expands the federal government’s authority to enhance the nation’s power grid over objections from local areas about moving transmission lines. As most home solar users know, having all this new power is no good without the ability to connect it to the grid. In utility and environmental legal circles, this is a big win. . . .

. . . . As we’ve mentioned several times before — and newcomer Rivian (RIVN) is addressing — fear of running out of juice is holding many from buying electric vehicles. Now General Motors (GM) is taking the bull by the horns and using its massive dealership network to get charging stations installed in rural areas. Good move, and it has sent supplier EVgo’s shares soaring — and could have GM in the position of selling fuel as well as cars. Read more here. . . .

. . . . The Rivian initial public offering is expected to price later Tuesday, which means it will start trading on Wednesday. Its new price range of $72 to $74 a share values the electric truck maker, which only just introduced its first product and has no revenue, at more than $65 million. That’s not far off the $80 million market cap of 118-year old Ford Motor Co. (F). EV hype, anyone? . . .

Editor’s picks: Carbon markets and tribal lands; former U.S. energy chief Moniz outlines climate investment priorities

Are carbon markets the new gaming for tribes?

Are carbon markets the new gaming for tribes?, Mary Annette Pember asks in a report for Indian Country Today. In the area of emerging carbon markets “tribal lands hold great interest for investors,” Pember writes. “Not only do tribes own large swaths of lands capable of sequestering tons of CO₂, companies that partner with them accrue added social corporate responsibility benefits to bolster a climate-friendly image.” Referencing discussions being held at COP26, the report notes that the carbon markets could mean millions of dollars for tribal communities “that are willing to sell carbon dioxide credits for their untapped lands and pristine forests,” and notes that CO₂ could replace gaming as a key economic force. Yet others fear tribes are being manipulated to allow continuing destruction of the world’s climate.

Former U.S. energy chief Moniz outlines climate investment priorities

Former U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz lays out his top three clean energy investment priorities during an episode of Market Intelligence Live from S&P Global Market Intelligence. See the full video. S&P reports Moniz noted climate commitments announced at the crucial United Nations-hosted climate conference, COP26, will materially lower the kind of post-industrial temperature rise scientists have long warned about. “The professor, who has a deep background in energy technology and is professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also singled out several areas where climate-minded investors could look to allocate capital as the energy transition continues to play out,” S&P says.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

The three shadows hanging over COP26 after the first few days

By
-
Source: luoman / Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

For all the bluster, nobody really ever expected a global coal deal to come out of the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, with China and Russia out of the picture. But amid the frantic and frustrating first few days of COP26, the challenge of crafting a meaningful blueprint for a fossil fuel transition while maintaining economic growth and market balance has been darkened by three creeping shadows.

The first has been the near total absence of French President of Emmanuel Macron, a champion of the G7 climate agenda at past conferences. Locked in a feud with the U.S. and UK over the Australian nuclear submarine deal last month, and a post-Brexit low in relations with Britain over fishing rights in the Channel, Macron managed only a Glasgow drive-by this week for the first day before returning to Paris in a huff. He is a major loss on the global climate stage.

Second, while most Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, are in Glasgow to negotiate this week, did anyone think to tell them this might not be the right time for OPEC to agree to pump more oil (although less than U.S. President Biden, amazingly, wants)?

Finally, the one true area of potential progress at COP26, in the finance arena, is dogged even more then normal this year by protesters against the net-zero plans of banks and asset managers because they don’t go far enough to eliminate fossil fuels. Protesters are necessary because they keep us all honest in some regard and on track. But the concept of the “transition” is lost on them, and that only hampers efforts on Wall Street and other financial centers to build effective long-term solutions.

Distrust and finger-pointing is inevitable at events like these, with so many constituencies. But a third of the way through COP26, we’re still looking for the spark, so to speak, to re-light the momentum we shared coming in. The next few days will be vital.

More insights below. . . .

Hulbert: The one database that can ensure COP26 success

. . . . One of the main hurdles to previous COP successes may have been overcome this time in the form of a new database measuring the emissions of 10,000 of the world’s public companies, writes Mark Hulbert. The new data from MSCI measures Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions of these public companies, and provides estimates of how their emission reduction strategies will perform over the next four decades. The bad news? Only 10% of companies currently are on track to meet Paris Agreement standards. Hulbert reports what this means and where we are headed in terms of increased global temperatures (not good), and notes the eight companies currently doing the best job on the index. Check it out. . . .

Read the full story

EU notebook: Glasgow deforestation plan hinges on anti-money laundering measures

. . . . The global government effort to eliminate deforestation in the next decade will depend largely on abilities to detect and stop the money laundering that makes it possible, writes Dan Bryne from Dublin, in our sister publication, AML Intelligence. Read COP 26: Increased focus on anti-money laundering a ‘powerful solution’ in combatting deforestation, FATF chief says in Glasgow. The head of Europe’s Financial Action Task Force, Dr. Marcus Pleyer, said in Glasgow that money laundering tied to illegal logging and land clearing generates up to $152 billion a year.

“If the global community steps up its resources in anti-money laundering, applies the FATF standards in a risk-based way, and prioritizes the fight against illicit financial flows from environmental crimes, then this can be a powerful contribution in saving our forests,” he said.

Byrne also provides a blow-by-blow of COP26 so far this week, with key quotes from global leaders and major announcements of coordinated efforts to reduce methane emissions and deforestation. . . .

Read the full European notebook

Thursday’s subscriber insights: Coal dust, Carney and COP’s winners and losers after a week in Glasgow

. . . . A COP26 global agreement to snuff out coal-fired electricity plants and fossil fuel funding? “Shut yer geggy,” as they say in Glasgow. It just isn’t going to happen, with only about 20 countries at the conference agreeing to phase out coal-generated power and about the same number OK’ing a pact to end fossil fuel investments, the signature goal of the United Nations annual climate fest to “consign coal to history” is dead on arrival. Read more here. . . .

. . . . But, a little-noticed deal on the sidelines at COP26 to help Indonesia and the Philippines cut their coal-powered electricity usage by 50% in the next decade, replacing it with renewable energy, has created great excitement for how it would work and more importantly, what it could do in coal heavy Asia. China should be watching. Read more here. . . .

. . . . Somewhat lost in the lead-up to the COP26 conference and the big methane reduction announcement this week was a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case brought by coal mining companies to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to reduce coal emissions. An Obama era plan stalled by Trump, it now faces a right-leaning high court at exactly the worst time for environmentalists. Read more here. . . .

. . . . Among the most-welcome financial news to come out of COP26 this week was the announcement that Mark Carney’s group of financial institutions dedicated to reaching net zero had doubled in size to more than 450 firms, but a separate report from S&P Global showed that almost every sector in its largest S&P indexes is missing its Paris targets by a mile, including financials. Read more here . . . .

. . . . On the plus side, State Street Global Advisors’ Rick Lacaille said in an op-ed last week that internal research dating back to 2015 shows a major shift in institutional portfolios toward decarbonization started two years ago, in 2019. And that the average carbon intensity of global portfolios had been reduced by about a third. Read more about what this means here. . . .

. . . . Do you really know what “net-zero” means? Are carbon offsets truly part of the picture? What, exactly, is ESG? Truth is, almost nobody really knows. Now a group called Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has made it its job to come up with a just-introduced net-zero standard that “gives companies a clear blueprint on how to bring their net-zero plans in line with the science.” Read more here. . . .

Editor’s picks: COP26 boosts net-zero goals, Ithaca’s getting electrified, and Google’s Oregon water secret

Ithaca wants to decarbonize every building in the city

Ithaca, N.Y. is set to become the first U.S. city to electrify all its buildings. The Washington Post reports that Wednesday night, the city voted to electrify and decarbonize its buildings. It’s the first such initiative of its kind in the country. The report quoted Luis Aguirre-Torres, Ithaca’s director of sustainability, as saying, “We are being very aggressive. I’m very excited but, at the same time, it’s a lot of work ahead.” The Post also noted the city has a population of around 30,000 and 6,000 homes and buildings. Decarbonization would involve looking at everything from how a building is heated to what appliances it uses, with the aim of moving away from the consumption of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas.

Oregon city sues to keep Google’s water use secret

According to a report from The Portland Oregonian this week, the city of The Dalles, Ore. filed suit in state court to keep out of the public record information on Google’s (GOOGL) water use in connection with planned server farms. According to the story, the lawsuit comes ahead of a city council vote on a $28.5 million water pact with Google. In the suit, the city is seeking to overturn a ruling earlier this month from Wasco County’s district attorney, who found Google’s water use is a public record and ordered The Dalles to provide that information to The Oregonian/OregonLive. The city sued the news organization Friday, asking a judge to intervene. The Oregonian report says Google is planning two new server farms on the site of a former aluminum smelter in The Dalles, where it already has an enormous campus of data centers on its property along the Columbia River. “Google says it needs more water to cool its data centers, but neither the company nor the city will say how much more — only that The Dalles can’t meet Google’s needs without expanding its water system. The deal calls for Google to pay for the upgrade,” the report notes.

Words to live by . . . .

“1.5°C. is what we need to stay alive. Two degrees is a death sentence for the people of Antigua and Barbuda, for the people of the Maldives, for the people of Dominica and Fiji, for the people of Kenya and Mozambique — and yes, for the people of Samoa and Barbados. — Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking at COP26.

Callaway Climate Insights Newsletter

By David Callaway

COP26 prospects could ride on this one, new database

By
-
Source: ipopba / Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

(Mark Hulbert, 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) — As the world waits with bated breath for what emerges from the COP26 climate summit, I see one glimmer of hope.

That’s because there’s now a database that tracks the greenhouse gas emissions of virtually all publicly-traded global corporations, along with the progress they’re making towards global carbon reduction goals. This will enable COP26’s decision makers to set more specific, targeted and actionable goals for what each company must achieve in order to do its part to mitigate climate change.

The mere existence of a database may not strike you as much to hang your hat on, given the imminent climate catastrophe the world faces. But a database is a crucial first step, and up until recently it’s been largely missing. And, according to the famous comments attributed to the late management guru W. Edwards Deming, if you can’t measure it you can’t improve or manage it. . . .

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

1...656667...69Page 66 of 69

Popular Posts

© 2025 24/7 Wall St. and Callaway Climate Insights