On March 21, the Securities and Exchange Commission (by a 3-1 vote) told public companies they must disclose the risks that climate change may have on their financial future. In its press release, the SEC said the requirement “would include disclosure of a registrant’s greenhouse gas emissions, which have become a commonly used metric to…
Tag: Climate Change
‘Temporary Chaos’ as Judge Rejects Biden’s Social Cost of Carbon
Update: On March 16, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (in New Orleans) reversed the district court’s ruling. That means the chaos was just temporary. It’s back to $51 as the “social cost of carbon” (explained below). In February a Louisiana court rejected the Biden administration’s $51-per-ton estimate of the “social cost of carbon” (really,…
Supreme Court To Hear Its ‘Most Important Environmental Case’ This Term
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in West Virginia vs. EPA on Monday, February 28. Case Western Reserve law professor Jonathan Adler calls this case “the most important environmental case in the 2021-2022 term.” “In this case, the justices will consider the scope of the EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the power…
Climate Change: Fulfilling Our Need for an ‘Existential Crisis’?
James E. Hanley wonders if climate alarmism is satisfying a need for an existential crisis. After all, the impacts of climate change are not likely to be “existential.” “[T]he most important news in terms of human well-being is very positive. Total annual climate-related deaths have declined precipitously over the past century, even as the global…
A Half-Century of Disproven Pessimism
Writing on his blog Master Resource, Robert L. Bradley, Jr. points out that “an optimistic view of future climate has a strong basis in settled science (CO2 fertilization, modest primary warming), just as climate pessimistic has a more speculative basis (as in debated feedback effects to elevate the initial warming).” Bradley reviews “the poor track…
A Growing Backlash Against ‘ESG’ Investing?
Demands that companies meet “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) standards are weakening, say Andy Puzder and Stephen R. Soukup in an essay for RealClearEnergy. They point out that Larry Fink, head of the investment firm BlackRock (the largest manager of assets in the world) has softened his tone. In the past (as in his 2020…