Climate Change
Policy & Economicsby Earth.Org
Americas
Asia
Global Commons
Jan 17th 20255 minsThis 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.—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.”The Palisades Fire, Los Angelas, January 2025. Photo: CAL FIRE_Official/Flickr.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.”Read the full article.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.Read the full article.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.Chris Wright, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nom