Author: Christopher K. Merker, Ph.D., CFA

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.”

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/canada-had-designs-on-being-a-hydro-superpower-now-its-rivers-and-lakes-are-drying-up-928ef721?st=13m8s621mq6pgt9&reflink=article_email_share

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/cold-weather-businesses-suffer-in-the-winter-that-wasnt-a59ac42b?mod=djemclimate

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.”

https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/hes-a-renewable-power-billionaire-not-an-environmentalist-f7f4cbef?mod=djemclimate

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.”

https://www.ft.com/content/8a436da0-0531-4561-b6f8-35fcd79b6d79?accessToken=zwAGExJ_ic-IkdOKQ22gBTFFYdO2-DX815tteQ.MEQCIFZ4zjEF38gZJ4o5CTyLK2UoNKmmpge8KD2hjXAG60rmAiBHiKt-jtdxflBtGHNFubG2cXiEEBj_Ruu7psfbKaHZtw&sharetype=gift&token=4262673e-b55d-4dd6-afd9-34749d7f62c7

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.

https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/sec-climate-disclosure-greenhouse-gases-d57de27c

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.

SANTIAGO, Chile—Forest fires roared across a heavily populated swath of central Chile, killing about 100 people and destroying some 3,000 homes, according to government officials. The destruction is disrupting Latin America’s most market-friendly economy.

Some 370 people were missing, Mayor Macarena Ripamonti of Viña del Mar said early Sunday. Her city, along with hillside communities around the port city of Valparaiso, have borne the brunt of the damage from the fires that began Friday.

In a televised address late Saturday, President Gabriel Boric warned that “given the conditions of the tragedy, the number of victims will surely go up.” 

On Sunday, as he toured the hard-hit town of Quilpue, Boric said the disaster was the worst since the 8.8-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2010 that killed more than 500 people. The number of victims from the fires “will increase significantly,” said the president, who declared two days of mourning.

https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/fires-kill-dozens-in-chile-with-many-more-feared-dead-4a5068d0?st=cslragsz4hu2zhc&reflink=article_email_share