Green Lights April 5: Top stories this week
Green Lights April 5: Top stories this week
Don't miss a single story of the best from Callaway Climate Insights.
. . . . Welcome back to Green Lights. Here’s our weekly roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. This week, David Callaway looks at how the Federal Reserve blocked the influential Basel Committee on Banking Supervision from tightening climate disclosure requirements for global banks, while NASA explains what happens when the moon blocks the sun. And Mark Hulbert has some script notes on CEOs, ESG, and their performance. Here are the highlights in a simple and convenient format that makes it easy for our readers. It’s also easy to subscribe.
. . . . Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is a political animal, writes David Callaway. And ahead of the presidential election, Powell — for reasons known only to himself — won’t be deterred from the idea that inflation and banking supervision are the Fed’s only mandates. At least until there is a crisis.
. . . . Since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed in August 2022, it’s been quite an irony that much of the resultant funding has ended up in deep red states, Matthew Diebel notes. However, quite a lot has been steered to swing states, something that could help President Joe Biden and Democratic legislators get reelected.
. . . . A good CEO performance summary for investors is an art, though some might be getting too dramatic, writes Mark Hulbert. A new study has found a correlation between the tone a CEO adopts when talking about a company’s ESG plans and the subsequent financial performance of the firm. The more dramatic the ESG plans, the less the performance a year later, according to the study. Apparently acting lessons are not the answer to fiduciary prowess.
. . . . Some amazing — and frightening — new data shows that just 57 oil, gas, coal and cement producers are directly linked to 80% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions since the 2016 Paris climate agreement. Leading the pack is ExxonMobil, responsible for 1.4% of the global total.
. . . . A climate campaign backed by thousands of K-pop fans appears to have pushed South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. to end an aluminum supply deal because the metal was produced using coal power. “It is the victory of thousands of K-pop fans who genuinely care about the climate crisis, especially in Indonesia,” activist group K POP 4 Planet sang said.
. . . . Monday’s total solar eclipse may throw some shade, but it won’t break the grid, says David Callaway. Although, Canada’s Niagara region, directly in the path of totality, has proactively declared a state of emergency. You can’t be too careful. Especially with your eyes. Seriously. Even if you aren’t in Niagara Falls, Cleveland or Dallas, you need to know about eclipse safety. NASA can explain it all, they know about this stuff.
More greenery . . . .
Speaking of shade: To Slow Global Warming, Scientists Test Solar Geoengineering (NYT)
The carbon dioxide problem: Government memo warned of climate change in 1969 (NPR)
Grab a bucket: Homeowners Say Climate Change Is Destroying Their Home Values (Newsweek)
Total garbage: It’s not what you use, it’s what you waste, author says (ABC)
Take a good look: Climate crisis through the lens of top photojournalists (Bloomberg)