Biden At COP27, A Tesla Bull Goes Bearish And Carbon Emissions Keep Climbing

This week’s Current Climate, which every Saturday brings you the latest news about the business of sustainability. Sign up to get it in your inbox every week.

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President Joe Biden addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference Friday and said the U.S. will work to avoid a “climate hell” following a UN report indicating greenhouse gasses are continuing to rise. The President said that the country will make good on its 2021 pledge to spend $11 billion annually to fight climate change, including $150 million to countries in Africa to promote climate adaptation efforts. President also demonstrated how economically precarious it is for the world to be dependent on oil and gas, highlighting supply issues stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as demonstrating “the urgency of the need to transition the world off its dependence on fossil fuels.”

The Big Read

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Global Carbon Emissions Showed No Signs Of Decline This Year, Scientists Warn

Global carbon emissions continued to rise this year and have shown no signs of slowing down, the Global Carbon Project said Thursday, as world leaders push for new initiatives to halt climate change at this week’s United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Discoveries And Innovations

In the world of automobiles, electrification is happening quickly, but for other modes of transportation, the transition is a lot tougher. That’s where, thanks to expansion of production tax credits, green hydrogen can step in.

For net zero emissions to be possible, it’s not enough just to increase the amount of renewable energy generation in the world. It’s also going to be necessary for the U.S. to upgrade its aging electric transmission infrastructure.

A new report from environmental non-profit 5Gyres has found that plastic items make up 81% of the total pollution in U.S. National Parks, primarily food and drink related items.

Sustainability Deals Of The Week

Climate Risk Data: AT&T has partnered with FEMA and the Argonne National Laboratory to create the Climate Risk and Resilience Portal, which provides up to date information about the latest climate-related risks and projections for use by government agencies, businesses and others.

Air Quality: Polish startup Airly just raised a $5.5 million series A round to launch an improved version of its data dashboard, which tracks air quality in cities, that provides actionable insights for local governments.

Green Hydrogen: Fusion Fuel announced that it commissioned a solar-powered green hydrogen plant in Portugal. The plant will use solar power–both photovoltaic and thermal–to create green hydrogen, which will then be converted into electricity with a fuel cell provided by Ballard Power.

Headlines From COP27

In lieu of our usual “on the horizon” section, here we’re highlighting just a few stories from across Forbes related to this year’s climate change conference.

‘Highway To Climate Hell’: Officials Issue Stern Warnings At COP27 Summit

Entrepreneurs Are Key To Sustainable, Nutritious Food — But They Need Help

Climate Art At COP27

On The Menu? Why European Food Startups Are Being Celebrated At COP27

COP27: Our First Climate Targets- Why Kyoto’s Legacy Still Matters

What Else We’re Reading This Week

Brazil’s New President Vows to Save Amazon Forests (Scientific American)

High Interest Rates Make It Harder to Unleash Clean Energy Finance (Bloomberg)

Europeans Are Burning Trees to Keep Warm (Wired)

Green Transportation Update

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It’s not typical for the meltdown of a major social media company to have any impact on the clean transportation revolution, but Elon Musk is no typical entrepreneur. One formerly bullish Tesla analyst has soured on the stock during its recent plunge, blaming CEO Musk for souring investor sentiment as he seemingly focuses attention on—and plows money into—Twitter. In a note to clients, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives cut the firm’s price target on Tesla shares to $250—less than 18% of a bullish $1,400 target from January—and cautioned that the next few months should have Tesla investors “very nervous.” “Musk has essentially tarnished the Tesla story,” Ives wrote, saying the billionaire’s “Twitter antics” have fueled the stock crash and could materially damage Tesla’s brand,

The Big Transportation Story

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Unlike COP26, There’s No Transport Day At COP27. Here’s Why This Matters

COP26 in Glasgow last year featured a transportation day, focusing mainly on electric vehicles with active transport and public transit squeezed into one of the climate summit’s official declarations at the last moment. However, COP27 in Egypt doesn’t have a dedicated day for transport. Instead, sustainable transportation is just one of the items to be discussed during the event’s “Solutions Day” on 17 November.