Politically Correct

Let’s Talk Climate Change

For the first time under the Trump administration, the federal government released the long-anticipated National Climate Assessment on the Friday of Thanksgiving (aka the #BlackFridayReport). The scientific report, which is released every four years as mandated by Congress, outlines the potential impacts of climate change across every sector of America. The 1,656-page study delivered a dire warning to everybody. Many of the findings were the same from the previous report in 2014, however the predicted impacts have significantly materialized. And some past predictions have become reality, as Scientists have recorded several flooding events in cities like Miami and Charleston, as the 2014 report anticipated.

With the U.S. economy experiencing one of its worst periods since the 2008 financial crises, the report shows how this could become commonplace if new initiatives are not put in place, costing the U.S. “hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century” and having the potential to shave 10% off GDP by 2090. Most of these costs will be a result of supply chains being impacted, deadly wildfires magnifying, ocean temperatures increasing and sea levels rising, effecting vulnerable infrastructure.

The government report contradicts the administration’s own stance on climate change, as we have seen the President back out of many environmental regulations entered by Obama, threaten to remove the U.S. from the G20 Summit and Trump’s involvement with incentivizing the production of fossil fuels; as he continues to believe climate change is a hoax. Even the day after the report was released, the president mocked the legitimacy of climate change in a tweet and dismissed the study produced by his own administration. Hillary Clinton also had her say with a tweet that the Trump government tried to “bury a federally-mandated climate change study by releasing it the Friday after Thanksgiving.”

Last year between $510 and $530 billion was spent globally to fight climate change. The report states this is just a fraction of what needs to be spent in order to mitigate the catastrophic climate crisis. The UN calculated an investment between $1.6 and $3.8 trillion to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. This newsletter only touches on a handful of issues in the report, read the #BlackFridayReport to learn more of the devastating effects of climate change.

Hamish Baillieu, Analyst

A new geo-engineering idea has surfaced to reduce the effects of global warming. Planes could be periodically spraying a clear gas into the atmosphere in an attempt to prevent some sunlight from reaching the earth’s surface. More than 100 scientists came together to discuss the idea in August and Harvard University has already provided $7.5 million in funding.

iShare’s Global Impact ETF has been a popular climate change product for active investor in the space. Which has performed well since listing in April 20, 2016.

We recommend reading Paul Hansen’s book, Project Drawdown. He provides an interesting solution to solving climate change, which is both profitable and necessary for stopping the worst effects of climate change.

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