Green Lights Nov. 15: 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 weekly roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. David Callaway asks, will president-elect Donald Trump pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement for a second time (and does anyone care)? Bill Sternberg has his eye on EV tax breaks, and wonders what Elon Musk will ask of Trump. Meanwhile, Mark Hulbert’s data will shock you when it comes to energy stocks’ performance from the Trump v Biden perspective. Have a great weekend, and please support our great climate finance journalism by subscribing.

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. . . . Top of mind for climate negotiators in Baku, Azerbaijan this week for the annual UN climate summit, COP29 is, of course, Donald Trump: Will the president-elect pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement for a second time? The bigger question, David Callaway writes, is: Who cares? China is thrilled Trump is pulling U.S. participation back because that will open the roads for its renewable energy products and materials elsewhere in the world. India sees a major advantage, too.

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. . . . From the Biden v Trump perspective, energy stocks’ performance is definitely not what you think. Mark Hulbert says this serves to remind us that stocks don’t always perform the way we think they should. That’s because stock returns are influenced by numerous factors, and the occupant of the White House — while undeniably important — is just one of them.

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. . . . They call him the “detergent insurgent,” taking on Big Soap one load at a time. David Callaway talks with Canadian entrepreneur Brad Liski about how Covid drove Tru Earth directly into the hands (and washers) of people who needed them … and how ESG principles are helping drive the company’s success now.

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. . . . The U.S. just had its second-warmest October on record, with a record 87% of the nation in drought or unusually dry conditions, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. NOAA’s latest monthly U.S. climate report says Hurricane Milton, which made landfall near Tampa, Fla. as a Category 3 storm on Oct. 9, spawned more than 100 damaging tornadoes across Florida. Milton was a Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disaster.

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. . . . We interrupt the EV revolution to bring you these important messages from Washington: Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election will put the brakes on EV adoption in the U.S., writes Bill Sternberg. He gives four reasons EV sales will stall under Trump 2.0 — and one big wild card (Elon Musk). If you want the big EV tax credit, you should act sooner rather than later.

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. . . . If climate investors get disappointed with the results from the COP29 global climate talks in Baku the next two weeks, there’s always Busan. The global plastics talks in Busan, South Korea, that is. One wildcard is that the U.S., which produces about a fifth of all plastics, recently changed its tune and said it would support a production cut.

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More greenery . . . .

• Bear necessities: Why Grolar Bear Numbers Increase With Climate Change (How Stuff Works)

• Not all bad news: Climate changes isn’t changing, but technology is (The Economist)

• Needed: $2.4 trillion in green financing. The IRA is a good place to start (The Wall Street Journal

• Getting it done: 5 Innovative Companies Fighting Climate Change (Inc.)

• UN climate chief: China must now lead global warming fight (Politico.eu)

• COP29 bingo: a beginner’s guide to climate acronyms (The Conversation)