This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including new damage estimates for the LA fires, confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet picks, and Hong Kong’s record-breaking year.
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1. LA Fires Could Be Costliest Blaze in US History With Over $200bn in Losses
While two of the largest fires that have been sweeping through more than 40,000 acres in the greater Los Angeles area for a week are still largely uncontained, preliminary estimates of damage and economic losses signal the ongoing LA fires could be the costliest wildfire disaster in US history.
An abundance of dry vegetation owing to a prolonged drought in the region, combined with hurricane-level Santa Ana winds, have created the “perfect storm” for the fires to spread rapidly.
The winds, a typical occurrence in southern California this time of year, are forecast to return on Tuesday following a few days of quieter condition, increasing fears of “explosive fire growth.”
While government agencies have yet to provide damage estimates, private commercial weather forecasting agency AccuWeather on Monday increased its preliminary estimate of total damage and economic loss of $250 billion to $275 billion “due to what has occurred and what is to come.”
2. BlackRock Quits Major Net Zero Alliance Ahead of Trump Inauguration As Number of Wall Street Lenders Shying Away From Sustainability Efforts Grows
BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management corporation, announced last week it will leave a key international group of asset managers committed to reaching net zero emissions amid a recent Wall Street firms exodus.
The group, which manages assets worth some $11.5 trillion, said the decision to leave was prompted by pressure from public officials and legal inquiries.
BlackRock’s exit comes on the heels of a trend where major Wall Street banks are stepping back from climate initiatives ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration later this month.
The six biggest banks in the world’s largest economy – Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan – recently quit the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, the sector’s biggest climate coalition. While not directly citing it as an influencing factor, the banks have for some two years been the focus of a Republican-led campaign against environment, social and governance investing.
3. Trump’s Pick for Energy Chief Chris Wright Vows to Back All Forms of Energy During Confirmation Hearing
Chris Wright, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the energy department, reiterated his support for the fossil fuel industry during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, while also acknowledging that climate change is a “real and global issue.”
Wright, who is the CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy and has no political experience, told US senators that his first priority is expanding domestic energy production, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and nuclear power.
During the nearly 3-hour hearing, which was interrupted several times by protesters shouting slogans condemning the fossil fuel industry, Wright also voiced support for solar energy and carbon capture technologies and said he would focus on expanding transmission lines to stabilize the US grid, Bloomberg reported.
Questioned by California Senator Alex Padilla about a previous comment he made on social media, where he dismissed the link between climate change and wildfires as “hype,” Wright said he stands by his past comment, adding that he believes climate change is a “real and global phenomenon.”
A staunch defender of fossil fuel use and vocal critic of climate alarmism, Wright, 60, is expected to fulfil Trump’s campaign promise to “drill, baby, drill” and undo many of his predecessor’s biggest clean energy achievements, steering the department back to America’s roots in oil and gas production.
4. Trump’s EPA Pick Says Agency Authorized, Not Required, to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Lee Zeldin, president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, on Thursday hesitated to answer questions about the agency’s role in reducing US reliance on fossil fuels, despite acknowledging that climate change is real and a threat.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, which lasted little over three hours, the former Republican congressman faced questions on climate change, regulations and energy production.
Democratic Senator Ed Markey questioned Zeldin, 44, about the role of the EPA. Citing a comment Zeldin made in 2016, Markey asked if he still believed it was the agency’s job to reduce US reliance on fossil fuels.
“In an ideal world, we would be able to pursue the cleanest, greenest energy possible,” Zeldin said, without directly answering the question, prompting Markey to say his change of tone was driven by “politics, and not the science.”
The senator then questioned Zeldin on a 2007 Supreme Court ruling – Massachusetts v EPA – which Markey said “mandated” the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollutants. “Do you accept that as a mandate?” the senator asked.
“I just want to be accurate and in citing Massachusetts v EPA, the decision does not require the EPA, it authorizes it,” Zeldin replied.
5. Hong Kong Breaks 35 Temperature Records in 2024, Hottest Year in City’s History
In line with the global trend, Hong Kong just recorded its hottest year since at least 1884, when the city first began tracking temperature trends.
In 2024, Hong Kong saw a total of 35 record-breaking high temperature events. These included the highest absolute maximum temperature on record for March at 31.5C, the warmest April on record with temperatures significantly above normal, the warmest first half-year on record, and the highest number of hot nights for August.
A weaker northeast monsoon also made October warmer than any other October on record, and the warmest autumn from September to November, according to Monday’s report.
There were also 52 Very Hot Days, 50 Hot Nights and two Extremely Hot Days in Hong Kong in 2024, “respectively ranking one of the third highest, one of the fourth highest and one of the eighth highest on record,” the Observatory said.
