Solar’s stunning growth leaves investors in the shade
Solar’s stunning growth leaves investors in the shade
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Everywhere you look in climate circles these days, solar energy is powering renewables to new records.
Solar accounted for almost half of new generating capacity in the U.S. last year, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, representing the majority share of the 67% of total new energy capacity handled by renewables.
And BloombergNEF research estimates solar energy will break annual records for growth this year and every year for the rest of the decade around the world. The growth has even helped the U.S. start to finally reduce its emissions year over year.
Great news to be sure, but investors in U.S. solar securities are being left behind, the victims of local political squabbles with utilities and corrupt sales practices. The Invesco Solar ETF TAN 0.00%↑ is down more than 10% year to date and more than 30% over the past year. First Solar FSLR 0.00%↑ , the largest U.S. solar company, is also in the tank.
Some fund managers will tell you that the only way to make money in this anti-climate environment is to play vendors of the big renewables companies to catch their growth. But the disconnect between the increased capacity and the profits and share prices of these companies is something that needs to be right-footed before any truly meaningful progress can happen. . . .
Don’t forget to contact me directly if you have suggestions or ideas at dcallaway@callawayclimateinsights.com.
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SEC’s new fund names rule showing little impact after six months
. . . . The SEC’s new fund names rule, which stipulates that a fund must direct 80% of its assets to investments that match the core mission of its name, is having little impact after six months, writes Mark Hulbert. While it may be easy to match to names such as small cap or international, matching to ESG stocks is harder because of the vagueness of the name itself. Just ask the iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF. . . .
With Panama Canal traffic plunging, Nicaragua revives an old idea for a new route
. . . . The drought that has plagued the Panama Canal and wiped away more than a third of its traffic has left the shipping industry scrambling for alternatives, including a proposal to dig a new canal across Nicaragua, writes Mike Molinski. Officials in Panama’s neighbor have been pitching the idea for more than a decade to little interest. But with the Panama Canal expected to cost its host as much as $700 million in lost business this year, any ideas are worth looking at. . . .
Thursday’s subscriber insights
Windy City huffs and puffs at Big Oil
. . . . The cases have been simmering for years — states, cities and other entities suing Big Oil for damage and misleading (and hiding things) with their propaganda and pronouncements. Now, the nation’s third-largest city, Chicago, is joining the fray. A look back and look forward. Read more here. . . .
Doctors warns of dire consequences for children
. . . . Children are particularly susceptible to climate change and the pollution that causes it, leading in part to a new statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics about global warming and also how the health industry needs to clean up its green act, including the use of EVs. Read more here. . . .
Editor’s picks: The perils of ecotourism; plus, the east coast is sinking
Watch the video: The ecotourism market is booming. It was worth $92 billion globally in 2019 and is expected to top $108 billion by 2027. In this episode of The Climate Question, from the BBC World Service, presenter Qasa Alom is in Costa Rica, often portrayed as a shining beacon of ecotourism. He wants to find out for himself whether ecotourism is a force for good or a threat to the planet.
From Miami to Boston — a sinking feeling
The overpumping of groundwater is causing areas along the east coast of the U.S. — from Florida to New Hampshire — to sink. And as global sea levels rise, the dangers are being compounded. The New York Times, in a special interactive report, uses new research and satellite data from Virginia Tech and the U.S. Geological Survey to show the mounting threats to coastal communities. For example, parts of Miami are sinking up to 1.5 centimeters a decade, adding to flood hazards from frequent tropical storms. To the north, areas in New York City and Long Island are sinking over 3 centimeters per decade. The report notes that while a few millimeters of sinking a year can seem gradual, the effects can be extreme: “storm surges can suddenly wash away the soil from beneath the roads, or floodwaters can fill basements and cut off emergency routes. Each inch the land slumps towards the water table can make floods significantly, catastrophically worse.”
Latest findings: New research, studies and projects
How climate change can impact bank defaults
This study investigates the impact of climate change on bank defaults. Using a novel bank-level measure of climate change, the author of the paper titled Climate Change and Bank Default writes that climate change increases the probability of bank default. From the abstract: “The effect is more pronounced for banks with a higher exposure to climate disasters and higher loan portfolio synchronicity. The detrimental impacts are amplified for banks experiencing deposit withdrawal.” The findings also indicate that climate adaptation policy can lessen bank default risk due to climate change. “Overall, our findings provide suggestive evidence that climate change exacerbates financial instability, but adaptation strategies could build resilience to adverse impacts caused by climate change.” Author: Yuna Heo, University of Basel - Faculty of Business and Economics.
More of the latest research:
Words to live by . . . .
“The farther one gets into the wilderness, the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom.” — Theodore Roosevelt.