🌎 Uncertain future for Bird

Plus, carbon credit speculation not paying off

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In today’s edition:

  •  🛴 Bird sees a path toward profitability

  • 🤔 Carbon credit speculators likely to lose billions

  •  📊 A look at how many clean energy projects are in the queue

Read time: 5 minutes

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HOT TOPICS

  1. 🛴 Micromobility: Despite financial turmoil and future unpredictability, Bird aims to achieve profitability by focusing on key markets, scooter deployment, and repair. With planned layoffs in Q3 post declining Q2 revenue, Bird is determined to balance supply and demand, expand scooters' lifespan, and cut costs.

  2. 🔥 Utility risk: Wildfires near power lines have put utilities at financial risk. This includes a 70% stock drop for Hawaiian Electric Industries possibly due to their lines sparking a fire. Instances also include billions in liability for wildfire damages such as Pacific Gas & Electric in 2019 and Xcel Energy in 2021. Other utilities in wildfire zones, like Edison International and Berkshire Hathaway Energy Company, are trying to reduce fire risk and insure against it, but costs may exceed coverage.

  3. 🚲 E-bike theft: Due to a 90% theft rate, the Royal Dutch Touring Club (ANWB), Netherlands' largest cycling association, is canceling insurance for fat tire e-bikes. Despite their rising popularity, the associated damage claims have surged to 800% of premiums, prompting this decision. Existing policies won't be renewed.

  4. ☀️ Rebuilding Lahaina: Amidst the ruin from Aug. 8 Lahaina, Hawaii wildfire that claimed lives and hundreds missing, community-led rebuilding begins with a resilient and sustainable infrastructure plan for a net-zero energy town, using Hawaii's 100% renewable energy target by 2045 as a guide.

  5. 🐟 Fish supply: The unprecedented mixing of El Niño and global warming has brought destructive weather patterns, creating an economic contraction in Peru's $2bn fishing industry, and potentially heightening worldwide fishmeal prices. Experts predict further record-breaking high temperatures.

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QUICK HITS

  • Electrify America and EVgo ban non-OEM adapters over safety issues and implement location-specific pricing on August 17, 2023. (link)

  • Billions might be lost by carbon offset speculators. Even top corporations’ sustainability activities could exacerbate global warming. (link)

  • Deadly heat gripping central US and Texas, causing infrastructure and transport stress, with a significant threat to Texas' power grid. (link)

  • A surge in subsidies led to an accumulation of unwanted, outdated electric vehicles in Chinese cities, mirroring the aftermath of the 2018 bike-sharing crash. (link)

  • A University of Chicago study reveals corporate emissions equate to 44% of firms' operating profits, amidst a record $7 trillion fossil fuel subsidy. Disclosure could trigger emission reductions. (link)

CHART OF THE DAY

Clean energy projects still make up a significant proportion of high-level federal permits. Enhanced permitting reforms could potentially favor these technologies, despite issues around judicial review and consistency in the treatment of similar environmental technologies.

TOGETHER WITH OUR SPONSOR

I know - too many books, too little time. But with Shortform, you can now conquer essential reads in business, science, technology, politics, and more with their game-changing book guides. Unlike those skimpy 1-pagers you've seen, Shortform goes above and beyond with chapter-by-chapter breakdowns, deep analyses, actionable exercises, and even handy audio versions for your busy schedule.

But here's the real magic: Shortform isn't just about books. Their mission is to cover every thought, every publication, every day. Enter the NEW Shortform AI, a revolutionary browser extension that crafts Shortform summaries with context from anything on the web – blogs, emails, YouTube videos, and more. Oh, and at no extra cost. That's all for the price of one book a month.

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- Rick Jarrell, Founder of Acclimate