Green Lights March 28: Top stories this week
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 assesses market volatility and the bull-and-bear cases for renewable energy investments. Bill Sternberg explains how Trump is taking a swing at the golf-cart industry, and Michael Molinski maps alternates to the Panama Canal. Have a great weekend and please subscribe to support our climate finance journalism.
. . . . For climate investors, two news items this week should stand out, writes David Callaway. First, a new study by Boston Consulting Group said that the destruction of the climate agenda taking place under President Donald Trump will lead to a 34% decline in global economic output this century. Second, renewable energy is soaring, having accounted for 90% of new energy capacity in 2024. Private equity and other large investors are eyeing up renewable assets after their stocks have fallen, seeing a potential cheap way into what could be a powerful market rally at some point. That’s a bullish case.
. . . . The vast amount of tariffs being implemented or considered by the Trump administration have finally caught up to the Chinese electric golf cart industry, which has quietly made the U.S. its largest market with slick new carts and accessories for golfers and retirement communities, writes Bill Sternberg.
. . . . Heathrow’s sudden closure for 18 hours on Friday — stranding tens of thousands of passengers and forcing hundreds of flights to turn around in the air — is the most dramatic example yet of the obstacles for a clean energy transition. But it won’t be the last as long as countries rely on centralized grid operations.
. . . . Trump’s threats to take the Panama Canal back, combined with climate change, have ignited a global debate over alternatives to the Canal, from building a new canal across Nicaragua, Costa Rica or Colombia to opening Canada’s fabled Northwest Passage, Michael Molinski writes.
. . . . BYD’s success adds urgency to Tesla’s China plans: The surging success of Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD is quickly becoming an international political issue after it topped Tesla in sales last year, setting up a standoff between the two in the world’s two largest EV markets.
. . . . It’s time to plan the perfect summer camping trip. Step 1: Pick the perfect campsite. Step 2: Plan like a pro. How to do Step 1 and Step 2? Check out Your Complete Guide to Camping in 2025, from Recreation.gov. That’s the centralized travel planning platform and reservation system for 14 federal agencies, offering the tools, tips, and information needed for you to discover destinations and activities, plan a trip, and explore outdoor and cultural destinations in your zip code and across the country.
More greenery . . . .
No more rinse and repeat: Global soil moisture in ‘permanent’ decline due to climate change (Carbon Brief)
See no evil: Climate change taken off spy agencies’ global threat list (Axios)
No fish sauce for you: Climate change, overfishing threaten Vietnamese culinary tradition (AP)
But in the U.S., it’s OK: In Europe, You Can Be Sued for Not Taking Action on Climate Change (Wall Street Journal)
Speak no evil: SEC votes to stop defending climate disclosure rule (The Hill)
Ah, yes the dot.com boom. I spent less than two years dot.comming, but saved enough money to pay my son's way through a small private college for three years. My husband lasted until 2002 or 2003 and spent more of it than he should have, but during those years we made more than we ever had before or since. We were practically pulling people out of the gutter to work. And we still measure Bay Area traffic by dot.com standards (is every car in the Bay Area on the roads, or can you squeeze some more in, especially between 1am and 4am?) Oh, and work was more fun than you can ever imagine. I loved my managers, supervisors, and co-workers than you can imagine.