In today’s edition:
— Cutting federal climate laws will result in trillions in climate harm, hurt stocks
— Fusion fund-raising leader Helion quietly pushes back its timeline
— Oceans have reached their hottest temperature on record
— August breaks records for heat on land and at sea
— Leaf-peeping season has begun. Here’s how to find the brightest fall foliage
At first glance one might think the Trump Administration’s move this week to slash federal climate protection laws would be a good thing for energy stocks. Abolishing regulations that restrict fossil-fuel plants from polluting the atmosphere would cut costs and boost profits, after all.
But the move by the EPA to tear up the Biden-era pollution standards for plants, coming after it canceled a ruling earlier this year that said scientific evidence showed carbon emissions hurt humans, will instead result in trillions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost lives, an economic own-goal if there ever was one.
The Environmental Defense Fund calculated the move to repeal the Endangerment Finding that pollution is unhealthy will result in between $1.5 trillion and $4.2 trillion in climate harm. The latest move, which effectively frees up fossil fuel plants to operate without emissions restrictions, including on harmful methane releases, will come on top of that $4.2 trillion.
As we’ve seen countless times before with this administration, the promise of great profits and lower prices just doesn’t materialize. Yes, oil companies are making good money these days, but only because oil is over $109 a barrel because of the Iran war. Most energy company stocks are currently so tied to the ups and downs of AI these days that no amount of deregulation can move them, at least in the short term.
Like with its argument that AI should not be slowed down because there are no real problems or that Covid was just the flu, the idea that creating millions of tons more of harmful pollution will be good for the country just doesn’t fly. Even if it did boost our investment incomes, the payback is simply too great.
If you have ideas or suggestions for us, contact me directly at dcallaway@callawayclimateinsights.com.
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