. . . . Welcome back to Green Lights. Here’s our roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. David Callaway offers his take on the spectacular downfall of Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and he weighs the possible effect of a Democratic Congress on big Wall Street deals — especially Tesla and SpaceX. Mark Hulbert finds new research that shows that corporate greenwashing claims may be overstated. Have a great week and please subscribe to support our climate finance reporting.
. . . . The spectacular downfall of Nvidia’s Jensen Huang touches so many hot-button issues — AI, espionage, geopolitics, corporate governance, moral hazard, Silicon Valley billionaires, trust in marriage, and the riskiest arena of the global financial system — that it wouldn’t be a stretch to call him the face of hubris of the modern age’s tech barons, writes David Callaway. Huang lied to everyone about his personal life, thinking he could get away with it. Should we still believe any of his professional proclamations? Starting with his assurance that AI will ultimately fix climate change, but only after more damage first? If ever there was a time for an AI reckoning, this is it.
. . . . In our cynical political environment, it’s become fashionable to claim that any corporation making a pledge to reduce emission is simply doing so for marketing purposes, a practice known as greenwashing. But not all emission claims are made for promotional purposes, Mark Hulbert writes. Citing a new study that examined more than 7,000 corporate climate pledges, Hulbert says that the average pledge resulted in about 9% emissions in the first year and 14% in the first five years. It’s a timely reminder of the promise of corporate sustainability in these post-election times.
. . . . Speculation that Elon Musk’s efforts to combine Tesla TSLA -2.69%↓ with his SpaceX SPCX -0.38%↓ shifted into high gear this week as investors weighed the possible effect of a Democratic Congress on big Wall Street deals. This deal is one of the most widely telegraphed in recent history and is bound to happen. Musk wants the combined company to be an AI giant, boasting a satellite network, robots, and importantly, robotaxis, which he sees as the future of travel, at least here on Earth.
. . . . An appeals court this week blocked ambitious climate disclosure plans from California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom, one day before part of them was scheduled to take effect — adding a new wrinkle to the debate over whether companies must report carbon emissions from their vendors and supply chains. The ruling is the first sign that even with a Democratic win in the midterm elections last week, the ideological battle over climate change and particularly climate disclosure reporting is still raging, David Callaway says.
. . . . Investments in sustainable funds surged globally in Q3 despite poor market conditions. Most of the added investments were in Europe, which saw assets almost triple. In the U.S., new investments actually fell, mostly because of weak market conditions on Wall Street. And new fund growth stagnated, which is a potential sign that investment firms are wary of financial markets going into 2027.
More greenery . . . .
Relentless drought: Climate change is coming for the cactus (Grist)
COP31: Cities rise up the climate agenda as leaders face demands for action (UN News)
Power move: Is electrification the next step in battling climate change? (UNCC)
Lessons learned: How the ‘70s Energy Crises Shaped Today’s Climate Politics (Columbia)