The Canadian province of Quebec has big plans of becoming the “battery of the U.S. northeast” by feeding power generated from its dams and other hydro plants to millions of people in Vermont, Massachusetts and New York state. But dry conditions that have affected energy output worldwide are forcing one of the world’s largest hydropower producers to cut exports.
“There wasn’t enough snow or rain in the regions where we needed it,” said Michael Sabia, chief executive of Hydro‑Québec, the provincial utility. “We can’t make it rain, as much as we’d like to.”
MINNEAPOLIS—On a 60-degree day here in early March, Derek Hughes and his son, Dylan, tried out their cross-country skis on artificial snow that had melted into a slushy mess.
“It feels like the cross-country equivalent of water skiing,” said Hughes, 42 years old, as his 8-year-old son—skiing for only the third time all winter—looked up with a smile.
This is the winter that wasn’t in Minnesota and other states across America’s normally frozen northern tier. Record warm temperatures and low snowfall have forced the cancellation of everything from ice fishing tournaments to dog sled races to winter carnivals. Business has dried up for ski resorts, snowmobile makers and any other venture that relies on cold weather and white powder to make a living.
The Loppet Foundation, the nonprofit that oversees winter recreation in the park where the Derek Hughes and his son were trying to ski, has seen a 60% drop in revenue compared with last winter, said executive director Claire Wilson.
“Winter is our bread and butter,” she said. “We can’t have another year like this.”
Michael Polsky is getting into fights all over the country.
The Chicago billionaire, a Ukrainian immigrant who made his fortune through wind, solar and other renewable-energy projects, wants to build a lot more. And he also wants to build natural-gas-fired power plants.
At every turn, he says, he faces opposition from either the left or the right—illustrating his view that the country’s approach to energy has gone completely off the rails.
“It’s crazy,” said Polsky, who founded his company, Invenergy, in 2001. “Why if you build renewables you’ve got to be on the left, and if you build coal or gas you’ve got to be on the right? To me, you build what makes sense to build.”
Global average temperature rise in February reaches 1.77C above pre-industrial levels
The warmest northern hemisphere winter on record was accompanied by unsurpassed sea surface temperatures and unusual drought and rain patterns across the world, the European Earth Observation Agency said. The global average temperature in February was 1.77C above the pre-industrial average and marked the ninth month in a row of record heat, the Copernicus Climate Change Service said.
WASHINGTON—The Securities and Exchange Commission approved new requirements that public companies disclose their greenhouse-gas emissions, but dropped a key provision that was fiercely opposed by business groups.
The 3-2 vote in favor of the rule comes after a two-year process involving intense lobbying from some of the world’s biggest industries and influential climate groups. It has faced relentless criticism from corporations and Republican lawmakers who say the agency is reaching beyond its authority.
“These rules will enhance the disclosures that investors have been relying on to make their investment decisions,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said Wednesday. He said they would give investors consistent and reliable disclosures about climate risks.
Wall Street’s top regulator will vote on March 6 on whether to adopt rules requiring U.S.-listed companies to report climate-related risks, the agency said in a notice on Wednesday, in a potentially major overhaul of U.S. disclosure rules.
The Securities and Exchange Commission rules aim to standardize climate-related company disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions, risks and how much money they are spending on the transition to a low-carbon economy. The agency says that such information is important for investors.
