The hottest Climate finance Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top World Politics Topics

Bad Science, Big Consequences

The Honest Broker Newsletter • 3798 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. A high-profile economic review became hugely influential and helped shape global climate policy and the later rise of “climate risk” in finance.
  2. Its projections of rapidly escalating disaster losses relied on unsupported numbers and misrepresented sources, producing large forecast errors compared with actual losses.
  3. A peer-reviewed critique documented these mistakes but was largely ignored, showing that high-profile scientific errors can persist and continue to affect policy and finance.

The Great Climate Reset

The Honest Broker Newsletter • 3680 implied HN points • 20 Jan 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. The public and policy conversation has shifted quickly from apocalyptic climate messaging to a more pragmatic, energy-realism approach.
  2. Single-issue climate advocates will stay vocal and prominent in elite institutions, but their priorities may be out of step with broader public concerns.
  3. Even with a retreat from catastrophism, climate change still poses uncertain long-term risks, so sensible energy, adaptation, and evidence-based policies remain necessary.

Top Five Climate Science Scandals 2025

The Honest Broker Newsletter • 2846 implied HN points • 29 Dec 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. Bad or fake datasets and low-quality models have been used in climate research and major assessments. Those errors need prompt correction and retraction to restore scientific trust.
  2. Major climate assessments and agencies are highly politicized and swing with each administration, which undermines credibility. Depoliticizing these institutions would help rebuild public trust.
  3. Financial “climate risk” products and the continued reliance on extreme, implausible emissions scenarios are distorting research and policy. Climate science should use more realistic scenarios and clearer links between risks and evidence.

How the Financial System Invented “Climate Risk” Untethered from Climate Science

The Honest Broker Newsletter • 2227 implied HN points • 15 Dec 25
đź’° Finance Climate finance
  1. The financial sector framed a new category called "climate risk" and built a regulatory and commercial ecosystem around it, treating it as a novel systemic threat to global finance.
  2. That risk has been measured mainly by economic losses from extreme-weather events, which often mixes up rising damages with actual changes in weather rather than accounting for exposure and vulnerability.
  3. Financial actors argue historical climate data is a poor guide and have pushed new scenarios, models, and private vendors to quantify "climate risk," creating a large market influence despite questions about the scientific basis.

Tale of Two Cities

The Crucial Years • 1743 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. Extreme climate impacts are happening now and escalating — cities can face Day Zero water crises, Arctic "zombie" fires are releasing ancient carbon, and ecosystems are under growing stress.
  2. Economic and political levers matter a lot — what big investors, pension funds, and city officials do can speed up or slow down the fossil-fuel era, making divestment and policy choices powerful tools.
  3. The solution requires rapid, large-scale industrial action — massive clean energy buildout and material transitions are needed fast, while rollbacks, local opposition, and risky techno-fixes could derail progress.
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The High Cost of Destruction: Why We’re Losing the War on Nature

Adetokunbo Sees • 104 implied HN points • 14 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. The world finances destruction far more than protection: about $30 is spent harming nature for every $1 spent on nature-based solutions, funneling trillions into damaging activities.
  2. Ecosystems are being lost faster than we can restore them: roughly 15 billion trees are cut while only 5 billion are planted each year, and rivers and oceans grow more polluted despite cleanup efforts.
  3. Harmful subsidies and overconsumption make short-term profits but create massive long-term costs; cutting fossil fuel use and investing in nature-based solutions could prevent trillions in future damages.

How to Close Europe’s 15-Million Heat Pump Gap - One 1m² Borehole at a Time

The Green Techpreneur • 24 implied HN points • 20 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. An ultra‑compact hydraulic impact drill with a 1 m² footprint can replace heavy rigs and leave the drill pipe in place to act as the heat‑exchange casing, making residential geothermal installs far less disruptive.
  2. By cutting cost, site damage and specialised crew needs, this approach can make ground‑source heat pumps affordable for dense cities and single‑family retrofits, addressing a projected 15‑million unit gap in Europe.
  3. The company already holds patents, has early LOIs, is at TRL 5 and is raising €500K to finish full‑scale prototypes and pilots, with a sales plus leasing plan to scale adoption.

Sunset Solutions or Solar Sins: the Geoengineering Gamble to Cool the Planet

Adetokunbo Sees • 208 implied HN points • 03 Jan 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. Private solar geoengineering companies are rapidly growing, raising large investments, running field tests, and positioning the sector for big market expansion in the coming decade.
  2. Supporters argue that reflecting sunlight could quickly cool the planet and save many lives from extreme heat, which is driving calls for major research funding and more academic trials.
  3. But the approach has serious risks and uncertainties—it can worsen ozone depletion and ocean acidification, disrupt regional climates, and may distract from the more effective long-term solution of cutting fossil fuel emissions.

February 12: Green-technology startups are creating the innovation needed to save the environment

Respectful Leadership • 54 implied HN points • 01 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. Green-tech startups are building the innovations we need to tackle the environmental crisis.
  2. Entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders from areas like green housing, climate finance, and carbon capture are sharing practical solutions and working together.
  3. A fast-paced panel of short expert talks followed by audience Q&A is designed to spark ideas, learning, and action.

Bill Gates's €1bn Climate fund🔋, Paths to Product-Market Fit🎯, State of AI investing📊

The VC Corner • 259 implied HN points • 12 May 24
đź’Ľ Business Climate finance
  1. Bill Gates has launched a €1 billion climate fund to invest in sustainable technologies. This means there is a lot of financial support aimed at fighting climate change.
  2. Finding a good product-market fit is crucial for startups. It helps ensure that a product meets the needs of consumers and can be successful in the market.
  3. AI investing is currently a hot topic among investors. There’s a growing interest in technology that leverages artificial intelligence for various applications.

Chartbook 267 JET-P: The "Paper Tigers" of Western climate geopolitics (also Carbon Notes #12)

Chartbook • 772 implied HN points • 22 Feb 24
🌍 World Politics Climate finance
  1. The JET-P programs are well-designed but underfunded, serving more as gestures than impactful solutions.
  2. The discrepancy between ambitions and resources in global sustainable development highlights a fundamental issue within Western elite power dynamics.
  3. Private finance acts as a partner to bridge the gap between governmental ambitions and limited fiscal means, but the policies often lack real-world impact.

No re-arrangement of words is going to stack those bricks

As If We Were Staying • 5 implied HN points • 05 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Climate finance
  1. There are endless ideas but not enough follow-through; we need producers who turn plans into real projects.
  2. Platforms and media reward clever re‑arrangement of ideas and engagement. That creates idea churn and distracts from doing the hard practical work.
  3. The way forward is building local regenerative hubs, coordinated funding, and hands‑on experiments that prove alternatives to extractive systems.

Biden's surprise World Bank pick portends dramatic climate finance shakeup

Callaway Climate Insights • 19 implied HN points • 23 Feb 23
🌍 World Politics Climate finance
  1. President Biden's selection of Ajay Banga as the World Bank head hints at significant changes in climate finance for developing countries.
  2. Banga's background in global business and experience with international committees positions him well to lead the $86 billion lending portfolio of the World Bank.
  3. The appointment reflects Biden's aim of enhancing climate investments in poorer nations and indicates a shift towards a new era of climate finance.

Ford electric vehicle loss forecast highlights big week to come for EV investors

Callaway Climate Insights • 19 implied HN points • 23 Mar 23
đź’° Finance Climate finance
  1. Ford is forecasted to lose up to $3 billion in its electric vehicle division due to necessary investments.
  2. Investors are anticipating the Treasury's guidance on which electric vehicles will qualify for tax subsidies.
  3. The EV industry is expected to grow significantly, with automakers racing to develop affordable and reliable EVs.