Green Lights Nov. 21: 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 spotlights developments from COP30 in Brazil to the Colorado River and western states’ water issues. Plus, he looks for turn signals for electric vehicle stocks. Have a great weekend and please subscribe.
. . . . The seven Western states that share the water rights to the rapidly shrinking Colorado River could face a decision by the Trump administration on who gets what if they don’t agree to voluntary cuts by the end of the year, writes David Callaway. While any decision would likely be taken to the Supreme Court, California and Arizona are especially vulnerable to the White House making politics out of the decision. At some point, with the river having lost 20% of its water flow in the past quarter century, some sacrifices will have to be made between the 40 million people who use the river for drinking water and the farmers who need it to irrigate their crops. Don’t imagine California wants President Donald Trump making that decision.
. . . . Forget a fossil fuels transition roadmap. The idea from Brazil that was taking up all the oxygen at the COP30 climate summit as it entered its second week in Belém has no realistic chance of passing. But a lesser agreement appeared on the radar last week that warrants investor attention — critical minerals extraction.
. . . . Just after we reported that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asked the Supreme Court to halt California’s impending climate reporting rules, an appeals court stepped in with an emergency injunction to temporarily pause one of them. The injunction would prevent a rule requiring large companies doing business in and with California to report on climate risks to their operations from taking effect in January. A separate rule requiring them to report direct and indirect emissions starting later in the year was left intact — for now.
. . . . Electric vehicle stocks, including Tesla (TSLA) Lucid (LCID) and Rivian (RIVN), surged briefly Thursday morning as the post-Nvidia earnings rally lifted all green boats, but also in response to record sales last quarter before federal subsidies expired. When many stocks move up and down in packs, it’s hard to tell the difference. But when the AI fog clears the case for these EV makers going into the holidays is likely stronger than most people are giving it credit for right now.
. . . . The availability, quality and affordability of food reflect a complex set of climatic and socioeconomic factors. Emerging research is providing insight into the role of climate change, Climate Central reports in a new project titled Climate Change and Food Prices. Food and climate change are closely linked. According to the report, food accounts for about one-quarter of all human-caused heat-trapping pollution. Meanwhile, extreme events fueled by our warming climate are impacting every stage of the food supply chain and driving food prices higher.
. . . . CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels and cement will rise around 1.1% in 2025, reaching a record 38.1 billion tonnes, according to the latest figures from the Global Carbon Project. However, falling land-use emissions means that global CO₂ emissions in 2025 will remain relatively unchanged compared to 2024 levels. The 20th edition of the annual Global Carbon Budget report also finds that the land carbon sink — the portion of human-caused CO₂ emissions absorbed by plants and soils — appears to have recovered to its pre-El Niño strength after two unusually weak years.
More greenery . . . .
Cows are stressed: Italy’s cheesemakers are worried (The New York Times)
Take the trash out: California Adopts Tougher Methane Rule for Landfills (KQED)
COP30: Climate summit evacuated after fire disrupts negotiations (Reuters)
Tough turkey: Turkey prices up 40%, other Thanksgiving feast costs rise, too (ABC News)
The ‘peoples’ COP’: Civil society protests and direct action events (Earth.org)