Net Zero

1. Helene’s huge cost
2. A global lawsuit
3. The US goes nuclear
4. Shifting from coal
5. China’s green growth

New rules for hydrogen on both sides of the Atlantic.

The fallout from Helene

The total economic damage from Hurricane Helene could rise to $160 billion, making it one of the US’ five costliest storms on record. The full impact of the storm — which has killed more than 150 people, displaced many more, and left upwards of a million without power — is still unfolding but that is the initial estimate from AccuWeather Inc. Operations have been particularly badly disrupted at a North Carolina facility that is the US’ sole source of high-purity quartz, a necessary ingredient in semiconductor manufacturing, with analysts warning that any protracted down time would affect global markets.

Climate change has intensified storms, scientists say, and the financial implications are increasingly becoming clear: The Wall Street Journal reported last week, for example, that American cities and municipalities are issuing bonds to deal with the costs of natural disasters, with many nearing default as a result. And globally, insurance companies are grappling with growing payouts over climate-related events, with losses from natural catastrophes topping $100 billion for four years running.

A UK lawsuit with global impact

A closely watched trial set to open this month in London that pits some 700,000 plaintiffs against an international mining giant encapsulates — and could amplify — pressure on global companies over their environmental records.

Brazilian claimants want the Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP to compensate them for losses they suffered in the deadly 2015 collapse of a dam part-operated by the company in Brazil. The case is being financed by a Connecticut hedge fund, which has backed the effort with a $550 million secured loan.

It is the highest-stakes effort yet by foreign plaintiffs to try class-action-style cases in England against London-listed companies with operations spanning the globe, and highlights how the prospect of hefty returns is enticing deep-pocketed investors to fund the efforts.

The consequences of an eventual ruling could be enormous.

The US’ growing nuclear ambitions

The size of the loan guarantee agreed by the US government to restart a shuttered nuclear power plant in Michigan. The move to reopen the Palisades plant comes amid huge interest in nuclear power, particularly from tech giants scrambling to find new sources of clean electricity to power their huge new data centers: Last month, Constellation said it would restart the mothballed Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and sell all of its capacity to Microsoft for 20 years.

Though such opportunities are few and far between, the potential of upgrading or expanding existing facilities is increasingly being considered: “The public perception of nuclear is at 90-plus percent around a nuclear power plant,” Jigar Shah, the director of the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, told the Odd Lots podcast. “So instead of going to a brand new spot where you might have mixed reviews, it’s easier publicly to use existing sites.”

A shift away from coal

The first and the biggest consumers of coal-fired electricity are shifting away from the fossil fuel. Britain — home to the world’s debut coal-fired power station, opened in 1882 — this week became the first G7 country to phase out coal for electricity, a change that was “remarkably swift,” as The Guardian put it: For the first half of the 20th century, coal accounted for nearly all of the country’s power. Meanwhile, China, the world’s biggest user of coal, outlined plans to reduce its use, though it insisted the fuel would remain part of the country’s “green and low-carbon development.” In a symbolic sign of the transition, Inner Mongolia, the country’s largest coal-mining hub, has a raft of clean-power projects underway, Bloomberg reported. Globally, plenty of progress still needs to be made, though, with overall international coal consumption at record levels.

China’s climate capitalism

Chinese overseas investment is booming, driven by its rapidly expanding clean energy sector. Outbound investment jumped 12.5% from already record levels in the first eight months of this year, largely in electric vehicles, battery tech, and renewable energy: Huge investment in China’s domestic industries have created a dominance undeterred by the West’s import restrictions. Washington blames “unfair trade practices” for China’s advances, but that’s “a comforting myth,” reported Bloomberg’s climate columnist: Instead, it is “good old-fashioned capitalism” that allowed Beijing to push ahead, while the US — which until recently dominated solar production — “squandered” its heritage with “myopic corporate leadership, timid financing, oligopolistic complacency and policy chaos.”

New Energy

• The EU changed its rules on auctions for hydrogen grants in a bid to reduce its dependence on China. The new guidelines include possible tariffs on Chinese EVs as well as investigations on bidding firms. “There is a significant risk of increased and irreversible dependency,” the bloc said.

Fossil Fuels

• Oil prices rose after Iran’s missile attack on Israel intensified fears of an all-out war in the Middle East. Both the Brent and WTI benchmarks jumped 2.3% in the hours following the aerial barrage. Experts and traders believe oil production facilities in the Middle East — which accounts for a third of global oil supplies — could be targeted.
• Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras announced that it will purchase a 10% stake in South Africa’s Western Orange Basin oil block. The move could herald a wave of investment in Africa by the firm, which is targeting 10 other potential opportunities, Business Insider Africa reported.

• TotalEnergies will invest as much as $10 billion to develop offshore oil and gas production off the coast of Suriname, marking the South American country’s first such project. Recent oil discoveries off the coast of neighboring Guyana — which last year produced almost 400,000 barrels a day, up from just over 1,000 in 2019 — have set off a search for other major deposits in the region.

Finance

• Germany‘s contribution to green projects overseas fell last year, raising the risk that rich countries could once again fail to fulfill some of their climate pledges. The star drop could kneecap Europe’s biggest economy’s role as a climate negotiator at next month’s COP29, Bloomberg reported.

Politics & Policy

• US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will discuss EV tariffs with her Chinese counterpart, Xinhua reported. The talks come as Beijing is vying to avoid EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs. The EU is expected to vote later this week whether it will impose a tariff of 35.3% on the vehicles for the next five years.

• Ex-Amex CEO Ken Chenault is a top candidate for jobs in a Harris administration.
• The ‘Midwest Nice’ debate: Vance and Walz put the ‘civil’ in civil war.
• New OpenAI update brings advanced voice features to any app.