Hottest year on record, net-zero banking alliance exodus and wildfires hit LA
Also: The Biden administration pushes through clean energy policies, data centres shape climate tech investment and wind was the largest source of UK electricity generation in 2024
Well, it’s official folks. 2024 was the hottest year on record, and it was also the first full year with global temperatures over 1.5C above preindustrial levels.
The news arrives as wildfires burn LA, in what are thought to be the most costly wildfires in American history, and a host of major American banks and financial institutions exit net-zero alliances.
As corporate America prepares for the Trump administration, Meta and Amazon are among the businesses reported to be adapting their diversity programmes.
But it’s not all bad news: wind was the largest source of electricity generation in the UK last year.
2024 was the hottest year on record
🥵 Last year the world exceeded the 1.5C global warming target for the first time. It was confirmed in a coordinated release of data from six different agencies, including Europe’s Copernicus, NASA and the Met Office in the UK.
It’s the highest temperature over any year since 1850, with the Met Office measuring it as 1.53±0.08°C above the 1850-1900 global average.
However, this does not technically breach the Paris agreement’s targets, as they take a longer-term view that measures the average over decades instead of looking only at years in isolation.
As the effects of climate change continue to be felt by more people, it’s fueling extreme events such as...
Wildfires hit Southern California
🧯 Wildfires reduce LA neighbourhoods to ashes. Heavy winds fueled flames which have led to the most damaging fires in LA history.
At the time of writing, there have been over 16 deaths and thousands of firefighters from across North America have travelled to Southern California to help fight the flames.
Many residents are under evacuation orders, and fires in the Pacific Palisades region have burnt more than 20,000 acres of land and destroyed a significant number of homes and other buildings.
The fires are projected to be among the most expensive wildfires in US history, testing California’s government-backed FAIR insurance plan which offers wildfire insurance to homeowners unable to obtain it elsewhere.
Data centre energy demands shape climate tech funding
🔌 As big tech builds data centres to power energy-hungry artificial intelligence models, startups offering the promise of clean power top climate tech investment in 2024.
The 2024 Climate Tech Investment Trends report from Sightline Climate shows that funding for energy startups hit $9.4 billion in 2024, more than a 10% increase compared to 2023.
While the overall amount of venture capital money flowing into climate tech continues to fall year on year, the increased investment in AI is having a direct impact on where climate tech investors allocate their funds.
Mass net-zero alliance exits
🏦 The six largest US banks have quit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
Separately BlackRock, an asset manager and major global force in sustainable finance, has announced its exit from Net Zero Asset Managers, a similar group set up for asset managers.
The moves come just days before the inauguration of Donald Trump. On that note…
Changes at Meta and Amazon
🧑💻 Reuters reports that Meta and Amazon are among the US corporations to be adapting or scaling back diversity programs ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
Meta has also replaced Sir Nick Clegg with Republican Joel Kaplan as its chief global affairs officer and appointed Trump ally and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) CEO Dana White to its board of directors.
In a further move to reposition itself ahead of the incoming republican administration, Meta has also promised to reduce censorship, replace human fact checkers with X-style community notes and increase the amount of political content across its platforms.
Biden makes closing climate moves
🛢️ Joe Biden blocked future offshore oil and gas development across millions of acres of US coastal waters.
The oil industry has not invested much in the areas covered so far, but the move is designed to protect the long-term future of the environment. It’s a tricky one to overturn in the future as that would require an act of congress.
🌱 In a separate move, the Biden administration also announced new guidance to help companies claim clean energy tax credits for climate-friendly power under the Inflation Reduction Act.
However, Donald Trump has the IRA firmly in his sights. I think this will be a topic we come back to again in this newsletter.
On a positive note...
💨 Wind was the largest source of electricity generation in the UK in 2024. According to data released on January 7th by the UK’s National Energy System Operator, wind provided 30% of the UK’s electricity generation last year, with gas at 26.3%.
But the country has some way to go to hit its target of 95% clean energy by 2030. Investment in upgrading the nation’s grid is still needed to handle all of the renewable energy being generated, reports Bloomberg.