Business and Economics

Just in time for Christmas a cautionary tale of two power plants is warning investors to be wary of fossil fuels. As predicted by many the evidence is mounted to support the contention that dirty energy is destined to be stranded assets. The closure of coal powerplants all around the world corroborate this prediction. Here are two examples from opposite sides of the world that demonstrate how once dominant coal powered powerplants are being replaced by renewable sources of energy causing investors to lose billions of dollars.  The imposing smoke stacks that towered 775 feet above Arizona's Navajo Generating Station...

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed fault lines that highlight weaknesses in our economic system. Unfettered capitalism imperils biodiversity and endangers the future of civilization. Julia Steinberger echoes these sentiments saying that confronting capitalism is the only way we can "avoid disaster". We will not be able to protect the natural world or combat global warming without changes in corporate governance and more specifically the fiduciary obligation to deliver profits. Even more fundamentally we need to challenge the business ethos that seeks profit at the expense of everything else. Our metrics must reflect the costs and the risks associated with environmental...

There is a positive vision emerging of decarbonization through electrification. This would not only substantially reduce climate change-causing greenhouse gas emissions, but it would also buoy the economy and provide jobs. This pandemic can be a turning point. The coronavirus has already augured a 4-7 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions along with other environmental benefits. Although COVID-19 has decimated the energy sector it will disproportionately enfeeble the fossil fuel industry and embolden renewable energy. The pandemic has already changed the way we work and green stimulus spending could revolutionize our economies.On the afternoon of Thursday, May 28, 2020, experts...

The coronavirus is a turning point that has changed the way we work. Remote working was already trending before the pandemic hit. However, the number of people working from home increased from 3.6 percent to 66 percent during the pandemic. The work from home trend has been facilitated by the proliferation of technologies related to telecommuting and videoconferencing. Working from home affords a number of benefits including reducing commuting time which decreases stress and lends itself to a better work-life balance.  It also cuts costs for both employees and companies.  Companies that support working from home can reduce the amount...

COVID-19 has caused massive energy job losses. Some sectors have been hit harder than others and while many energy jobs will return others may not. Our economies will be decimated by the coronavirus and millions of jobs have disappeared forever, however, there is an upside to this deadly pandemic that bodes well for employment opportunities in some sectors over the long term. This is the worst unemployment situation since the Great Depression. So far 36 million Americans have lost their jobs and according to Fed estimates, a total of 47 million jobs could be lost resulting in an unemployment rate...

Whether as a defense against global pandemics or as part of a wider climate strategy companies are exploring ways of improving their supply chain resilience. Now more than ever companies need to increase their efforts to build more resilience into their supply chains so that they can quickly respond to changing demands and disruptions. The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to supply chain vulnerabilities and this article reviews many of the lessons that have been learned as well as their implications for climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.  The economic impacts from the coronavirus will be substantial. As explained in the...

The fossil fuel divestment movement has come a long way and this increasingly includes mainstream institutions. Banks, insurance companies and investors are all making the case that fossil fuels are dying.  Now we are seeing another wave of divestment from municipal governments and academic institution that make it even harder to ignore the impending demise of fossil fuels. The city of New York is divesting roughly $5 billion in city workers’ pension funds from fossil fuel companies. Recently lawmakers that city introduced a resolution that formally demands that the banks, asset managers and insurance giants with which the city government...

The cornavirus pandemic has highlighted supply chain weaknesses that are causing food shortages. As explained in an FAO report, the global pandemic is threatening supply lines leading to concerns about food insecurity. "A protracted pandemic crisis could quickly put a strain on the food supply chains, a complex web of interactions involving farmers, agricultural inputs, processing plants, shipping, retailers and more," the report said. In a March paper the U.N. Committee on World Food Security (CFS) warned that Covid-19 will cause heightened instability in global food supply. The pandemic also prompted the Food and Land Use Coalition to issue a...

Women control $14 trillion of personal wealth in the U.S. and they are an important part of the rapidly growing impact investing market. According to the Global Impact Investing Network (GINN) the size of the impact investing market doubled between 2017 and 2018 to $228 billion in assets under management. The investing community is still very much a male-dominated world.  Between 80 and 90 percent of hedge fund managers, financial advisors, and traders are male. However, this is changing as illustrated by the recently launched Impactive Capital LP,  whose co-founders are two women by the name of Christian Asmar and...

  Technologies that draw down carbon represent a massive economic opportunity. The global carbon capture and sequestration market is projected to reach USD 8.05 billion by 2021, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 13.6 percent from 2016 to 2021.  According to FMI, the carbon capture and sequestration market will be valued at US$ 4.2 billion in 2024. The carbon capture and sequestration is predicted to rise at a staggering CAGR of 20.1% from 2024 to 2034. The global market is anticipated to reach US$ 26.1 billion by 2034. According to some estimates carbon capture and utilization (CCU)** alone will...