Invest in clean energy and get cleaned out
Investors who pride themselves in ESG investing are taking a bath
So-called “clean energy” pretends CO2 causes climate change, a physical impossibility, and sell-side leftists like Larry Fink promote investment in funds that promote Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) ideology and tout the power of finance to encourage investment in renewables (so-called “clean energy”) and curb investments in oil & gas development. Joe Biden signs on in spades, passing the silly “Inflation Reduction Act” which adds to inflation and squanders taxpayer money to promote investments in areas that reduce CO2 emissions. This Alice in Wonderland charade is costing investors plenty while sensible investors are benefiting from continuing to put their money behind fossil fuels. So far in 2023, the oil & gas production index has risen a few percentage points while the S&P Global Clean Energy Index has suffered losses in the 30% range, according to Bloomberg.
Biden’s IRA provided a whopping $374 billion for incentives to build “clean energy” projects and so far has seen projects cancelled, bankruptcies and no progress towards the stated goal of “NetZero”. For the lack of progress, we should be thankful. Global NetZero would mean the 35 gigatons of CO2 from fossil fuels entering the atmosphere ( about the average for the past decade) from combustion of fossil fuels would drop to Zero - a goal embraced by the United Nations, the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Trudeau government and the leftists in the Democratic Party among others worldwide. None seem to have done the math on their hopes.
The atmosphere has a mass of 5.146e18 kilograms and five gigatons of CO2 is equivalent more or less to one part per million (ppm) of atmosphere by mass and about 10 ppm by volume (CO2 has 1.44 times the mass of air for equivalent volume). Scientists at Mauna Loa measure CO2 and report annual increases in atmospheric CO2 have been rising about 2 ppm by volume per year in the past ten years and is now about 420 ppm by volume.
For those who missed grade four arithmetic, if 10 ppm by volume are entering the atmosphere annually and the levels in atmosphere are rising by only 2 ppm, some 8 ppm by volume are being withdrawn from atmosphere by other processes, photosynthesis and oceanic absorption being among the most responsible.
Roll out 50 years and assume Net Zero is realized and all else is constant. CO2 levels in the atmosphere will fall from 420 ppm by volume to 20 ppm by volume [520 - (50 x 8) = 20].
TILT. Plants require a minimum of about 50 to 170 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere to survive according to botanists.
CO2 is harmless, does not cause climate change since it is already saturated in its ability to interact with long wave infrared radiation leaving Earth, but is necessary to life of Earth. NetZero is a suicide pact by humanity.
For investors, it is simple. Eschew ESG, ignore “opportunities” in “clean energy” and keep a part of your portfolio in the oil, gas and coal sectors where the corrolary of policies intended to curb their use will result in shortages of these key commodities ensuring decades of profitable operations.
My position a few years ago, thank God , was to not have an EFT with ESG on it