[GWSG] FL housing slides; investors press emissions; IEA in revision?; MAUI's suit; Whitehouse on dark money; the Council for National Policy

[Tilley, Al]

1. Beginning in 2013, low elevation houses in coastal Florida began to sell in lower numbers and at lower prices than houses in more elevated areas, perhaps because buyers began to suspect the risk involved. Local officials contest the suggestion.  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/climate/home-sales-florida.html?smid=em-share

2.  Investors with over $5 trillion in assets have pledged to invest in portfolios which will cut greenhouse gas emissions 16-29% by 2025. The group is part of the UN’s Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance which has pledged to cut emissions in their portfolios to net zero by 2050, and to limiting heating to 1.5C.  https://www.ecowatch.com/investors-net-zero-emissions-reduction-2648188637.html?rebelltitem=2#toggle-gdpr

3. The International Energy Agency has for many years been famous for its underrating of renewable energy. It has changed its mind. The IEA now estimates solar power at half the cost it had thought two years ago. In fact, the IEA declares it the “cheapest electricity in history.” The IEA states that solar beats coal and gas on all continents. A chart records the IEA’s dismal history of projections for solar as they misled governments. They could play an important role as they redeem themselves.  https://reneweconomy.com.au/solar-power-is-now-cheapest-electricity-in-history-says-iea-39195/

4. Maui County faces relocation of homes threatened by climate change. It is suing 20 fossil fuel companies for the bill. So are nearly two dozen other cities, counties, and states. The suits are typically filed in state courts; the corporations attempt to have them shifted to the friendlier federal courts. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/13102020/maui-big-oil-lawsuit

5. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D, RI) explains why the corporations are so eager to get into federal courts—and how they have ensured a good reception with dark money. https://cleantechnica.com/2020/10/14/sheldon-whitehouse-shines-a-spot-light-on-dark-money/

6. As for who is behind the Federalist Society which has been picking judges for the Trump administration, meet the Council for National Policy, founded during the Regan administration to promote conservative programs, particularly Evangelical ones. Influential members include Kellyanne Conway and Steve Bannon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_for_National_Policy
Anne Nelson’s Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right (2019) recounts the history of the Council for National Policy. The relevance of all this to climate is that the Council has promoted interests and individuals which have stood and stand in the way of climate action.
It may be that Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation will be a “disaster for the climate.” To do battle it helps to know who the adversaries are and who backs them, for what ends. Otherwise the changing market conditions for renewable energy would seem to be a farfetched tool to do battle with Evangelical zealots. http://priceofoil.org/2020/10/14/amy-coney-barretts-confirmation-to-the-supreme-court-would-be-a-catastrophe-for-the-climate/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+OilChange+(Oil+Change)

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