. . . . Welcome back to Green Lights. Here’s our roundup of the best of Callaway Climate Insights. David Callaway says this week’s midterm election was all about which party controls Congress, but the big subplot was energy. Bill Sternberg says the outcome was the result of high prices and broken promises. See what’s ahead for investors. Have a great week and please subscribe to support our climate finance reporting.
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. . . . It was high prices and broken promises that propelled the Democrats’ big midterm wins, writes Bill Sternberg. His column this week features four key takeaways from the election results, with an eye toward what they mean for renewable energy and climate-focused investors.
. . . . One of the more remarkable Wall Street records tied to Election Day is that the S&P 500 has climbed in the year after every U.S. midterm election for 76 years, dating back to 1950, David Callaway writes. Climate investors should be on the lookout for a favorable interest-rate environment, gridlock in Congress and, hopefully, a continued rally for the S&P 500.
. . . . First-day market reactions after elections don’t really mean much, except as an indicator of voter relief after the uncertainty of campaign season is removed. But it’s instructive to see investors begin to lay their chips where they think political focus will be in coming months. Despite a massive repudiation of the AI data center buildout in red states, AI stocks rose along with the market as oil prices fell on hopes for a quicker end to the Iran War.
. . . . It’s been a weak results season for EV makers, but Rivian shares briefly bucked the trend this week after UBS came in with a “buy” rating and set a price target of $17 a share. Rivian, along with Lucid, remains one of the few EV pure plays in the market. See what’s keeping these companies in the game.
. . . . Voters in Colorado were voting on the right to buy fossil fuels. In California, they were voting to tax AI billionaires. In Oklahoma, voters ousted a small-town mayor in a battle over a $1 billion data center along Route 66. The midterm voting was all about which party controls Congress, but the subplot of this election is energy. Specifically, high gas prices, high electricity prices and the threat of new AI data centers to electric grids and the environment.
More greenery . . . .
COP31: What’s at stake in this year’s climate summit (UN News)
Warmer at the top: Surprising results from long-term analysis of Kilimanjaro (Phy.org)
The risk of leaks: Managing risk in carbon portfolios (Nature)
Far from home: Nearly 90 million displaced people face growing climate risks (Reuters)
Environmental law violations: Court rules against California’s first carbon capture project (CalMatters)