Green Lights July 24: Top stories
Don't miss a single story from the best of Callaway Climate Insights.
. . . . Welcome back to Green Lights. Here’s our roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. This week, David Callaway looks for drones hiding among wind farms, and at Tesla’s ambitions to become an AI and humanoid robot giant. Mark Hulbert looks at research into the surprising success of impact investing.
Of note: We’ll be off next week for a short summer break and back in your inbox on Monday, Aug. 3. Stay cool, have a good week and please subscribe to support our climate finance reporting.
. . . . First, underwater drones threatening offshore wind farms and now enemy drones hiding in wind turbines? But that’s just what federal officials are claiming in an attempt to block more than 150 onshore wind farm projects across the country. Why? A vague reference to concerns about drones hiding out in the turbines, presumably waiting to attack unsuspecting farmers and turbine technicians, was all that was cited. In freezing these projects, the Trump administration is contributing to the country’s inability to lower electric prices for consumers. Not a good look before the midterm elections.
. . . . The debate about the impact of ESG investing has raged since long before the strategy was even known as ESG, writes Mark Hulbert. But a new study aims to settle that debate, finding that as environmental investing began to grow 20 years ago, its impact has gradually grown on the stocks of companies that commit environmental violations. From 2006 to the present, the impact on a company’s stock for environmental infractions has increased, in line with the popularity of the strategy.
. . . . If Tesla investors had any remaining doubts about Elon Musk’s ambition to make the company an AI and humanoid robot giant, even at the expense of its core auto business, those were snuffed out by the company’s second-quarter earnings this week. Shares fell on concerns that the company’s spending on AI, robot and robotaxi initiatives soared, and looks set to keep surging, writes David Callaway.
. . . . Now that bankruptcy fears are at least temporarily out of the way for struggling EV maker Lucid Motors LCID 0.00%↑, investors are starting to speculate just where the luxury car company might end up, writes David Callaway. Given the Saudis will want to limit their losses, we’d bet on an auction. The process, as bankers and consultants like to call it, seems to be leading to a deal if the stock price trend is any indication. Our guess would be sooner rather than later.
. . . . For new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, this is as good as it gets. The first few days of any new administration are always filled with excitement and enthusiasm for the new leadership’s plan. But Burnham inherits a Labour Party on the brink of electoral collapse, and he won’t have long before the knives are out. Much will depend on his energy policies — in particular what he plans to do to lower energy prices.
More greenery . . . .
Hot wheels: Climate change has come for the Tour de France (Grist)
Extreme drought hits Europe: Heat is sucking the soil dry (The Guardian)
State of the climate: Rapidly developing El Niño raises chance of record-warm 2026 (Carbon Brief)
Vino veritas: How climate change could redraw California’s wine map (Los Angeles Times)