Hands up who wants to lose money?
These numbers that Rupert Darwall has put together in Real Clear Energy are extraordinary:
2022: The Year ESG Fell to Earth
The year 2022 brings an end to an era of illusions: … [it] brought environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing down to earth with a thump—for the year to date, BlackRock’s ESG Screened S&P 500 ETF lost 22.2% of its value, and the S&P 500 Energy Sector Index rose 54.0%.
Ponder how savagely poignant these losses are for the ESG doe-eyed investors. In their wildest wet dreams ten years ago they would have crawled over shards of glass naked to get coal prices up to $400USD a ton. In a year when coal and gas were obscenely expensive, the glorious cheap efficiency of solar and wind power could shine like never before.
Instead demand for fashionable random green electrons vanished. There was never a need for “random” power, and the energy crisis just peeled back the onion to reveal the true demand. Wind and solar power were just the fashion accessories that no one had to have. Coal, oil and gas were essential.
Not only did demand fall, but the supply fell too. As costs rose, factories struggled to make wind turbines, solar panels, and batteries. It turned out that random power generators couldn’t be made with random power.
Spread the word. Ask your friends — are their retirement funds invested in ESG? You will be doing them a favour.
The real transition of the last 700 years was *to* fossil fuels, and it’s still happening.
h/t GWPF, NetZeroWatch
Go Woke, go Broke!
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Just follow the money.
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I was advised by a blog similar to this to invest in the coal & gas many years ago. Too bad I was shackled to a small business with ever increasing compliance and wage costs. I would enjoy my days spent sorting out changes due to service providers upgrades, errors and network outages while attempting to make payments on time to avoid increasingly severe penalties. No time or spare cash to pursue that investment advice.
My heart goes out to those small to medium enterprises running welders, refrigeration, production lines etc. What is happening to them with random power of dubious quality? They can not justify filters within their cost base, especially when competing with sovereign wealth funded and slave industries with free trade access to their market?
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A lot of coal companies went bust in the last ten years. You might have lost everything.
But the boom is fun.
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And the next craze? Lithium battery prices.
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New Hope Corp (coal miner) is up about 200%, plus over 50% in dividends and tax credits. Woodside also strongly up. Meanwhile is anyone’s Super doing better than 1 – 2 %?
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My SMSF had its best year ever, up over 50%, thanks mainly to New Hope and Whitehaven being cashed in at +300%. Nice, but I am very aware that it was a vary rare opportunity and that I won’t be doing anything like it again. It was very satisfactory being able to bet against Gang Green and to win.
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Ken, the super mob I’m with is Brighter Super, used to be LGIA, at 27.12.2022 it is running at 9.88% YTD on its Socially Responsible Australian Shares. I don’t know the exact detail of what is in this portfolio, but it is certainly loaded with the green renewable investments boondoggle. Interesting to note that when Labour is in power the earnings go gangbusters.
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Australian, and I guess other retirement funds think they have a fiduciary duty to invest in unreliables but clearly these are heading for disaster without further taxpayer and enforced consumer subsidies (via high electricity prices).
Partly they can claim they are following the advice of “experts” and government.
But ultimately, as the economy degenerates even further, and electricity prices go even higher due to ongoing fanatical commitment to unreliables, the tax base will evaporate as will governments’ ability to keep borrowing money. People will simply stop using electricity for heating and cooling and industry because of high prices so the revenue will further evaporate.
Even Warren Buffett admits that the ONLY point in building wind farms is to harvest the tax credits. There is no point building these useless machines otherwise (or solar).
It is obvious to any well informed person that in the long term investment in unreliables is going to trash investors’ life savings.
And the pretend conservative Liberal Party are set to lose the upcoming NSW election in March which will make all mainland states Labor. The Liberals, especially NSW ones, are already fanatically committed to unreliables with Matt Kean, imagine how much worse it will be with Green Labor.
None of this will end well.
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Wonderful news and let’s hope these idiots continue to lose money.
The links yesterday to Eschenbach and Dr Pielke jnr prove that there’s no way that global energy can transition to the TOXIC S & W disasters and Albo and Bowen etc should be shamed and made to quickly change course ASAP.
Just imagine how vulnerable Aussies would be if we just relied on Solar at night + still windless days for our energy?
I don’t see why anyone doesn’t understand very simple logic and reason and why they want to hand over our country to evil monsters like Putin or the Chinese dictator?
Are our leaders really that stupid?
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In answer to your last sentence…Yes. I give you Albanese and Bowen as prime examples.
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Are our leaders really that stupid? ABSOLUTELY..
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I am going to contact my remaining superannuation fund (for US readers, tax advantaged retirement fund equivalent to 401(k)) and ask if its possible to invest in energy stocks and divest my account of unreliables. Fortunately I am in control of most of my investments apart from that and I don’t rely on this fund.
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The benefits of investing in stranded assets can’t be overstated 😉
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Francis Menton has been trying to wake up New York for years about the disastrous cost of the S & W RUINABLES transition.
But so far they’re not listening and don’t even have the ability to understand very simple sums.
In fact they also have the delusional EU loonies as an accurate reference over many years.
He compares their horrendous EU gas prices to the USA and yet these New York imbeciles want to go down this same ruinous path?
Why do left wing loonies have such an insane death wish, when we all know the countries and other leaders who’ll quickly reap the benefits?
https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2022-12-24-bring-on-the-electricity-cost-crisis
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It’s only the “useful idiots” of the Left that have the death wish. They are a slave army of the Super Elites who profit enormously from the solar, wind and covid vaccine disasters. On their private jets, sipping Krug champagne and beluga caviar the Elites are laughing all the way to:
-The tax haven bank in the Netherlands Antilles.
-The next climate “crisis” conference.
-The next WEF meeting.
-The next Event 201 or equivalent meeting.
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Even a left wing Michael Shellenberger understands the mess that the Biden donkey is creating for the USA and other OECD taxpayers and his weakness towards some of the vilest and most dangerous leaders and countries over many decades.
https://michaelshellenberger.substack.com/p/biden-war-on-energy-helps-china-saudi
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Bill Clinton said it was about the economy stupid, it’s always about the economy. Now individuals do worry about “the” economy but they are really concerned about “their” economy, the hip pocket. SMSFs may not be run by experts but they are run by people who know what they want and that is good returns and solid companies. Let Buffet dabble in start ups, me, I would rather FMG, Harvey Norman and Rio. It is so good to see the ESG mob suffer because it shows that most investors are not interested in woke extravagance especially when it is funded with their money. Those industry funds with the cute hand square are costing compulsory contributors dearly in addition to the rort filled directors payments and fees. The ESG rubbish has just burnt some more of their retirement funds.
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I should have added that the bright young things flooding to Labor might have second thoughts if they realised what it is costing them. That would take an opposition prepared to tell them the truth and provide a cheaper, far cheaper, alternative. They would not have to try hard when Bowen is spending or we will be paying for $58 billion worth of transmission wires that would not be necessary with a new HELE or a SMR. The Voice will not be cost free either.
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Tragically I think most people believe in the claims of the anthropogenic global warming fraud.
It’s a result of the deliberate dumbing-down of the education system starting in the 1960’s when the Left infiltrated education under Rudi Dutschke’s “long march through the institutions”. That’s when critical thinking skills stopped being taught.
It’s frustrating for the thinking community.
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Thank you David,
Following that logic, if even 1/2 the population ” believe in the claims of the anthropogenic global warming fraud” i.e.
from around the middle of the Bell curve down, they believe even less logical arguments.
Hence the loonies on the Round-a-Bout & Rubber Bullets at the War Memorial…. [ & Dancing with the Stars /sarc.]
Ha! Elections are ” Easy-Peasy”!
https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-319-psychographics-101/
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If you do a Goolag search for “stranded assets australia fossil” without quote marks you will see how heavily the Left are pushing the idea that proper energy sources are “stranded”.
The Super Elites of the Left are most pleased with their slave army of useful idiots for promoting this nonsense.
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The fraudulent dangerous SLR claims are one of the main reasons we need to transition to their S & W lunacy, but alas that’s also been proven wrong recently.
Willis tried to explain their Satellite error, but now another study has also agreed that there hasn’t been any acceleration in the Sat data at all.
So where’s there dangerous GLOBAL WARMING?
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/12/29/science-catches-up-with-wuwt/
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Sorry there should be their in last line, Grrrrr.
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“So where’s there dangerous GLOBAL WARMING? “
Looks ok to me.! 🙂
The answer is NOWHERE. !
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Exactly. And I am seriously puzzled at the idea that an alleged 1.5/150 years or 0.01C increase in global temperature has scared people to the point where they are blowing up working coal power stations running on free coal and gas, at least in Australia. And investing trillions in random energy with a life span of only 20 years, half in CO2 deficit.
Really if this year was 0.01C warmer than last year, how does that produce dangerous GLobal Warming? Where’s the risk?
Now we are to believe a 0.01C change suddenly produces or enhances’extreme events’ and a ‘climate crisis’ and declared ‘climate emergency’. How? No one explains these things. Apart from some scientists say. Scientists like Al Gore and Tim Flannery and hundreds of thousands of frog focussed rent seeking ecologists. When I studied ecology, it was interesting, but it was not science.
If someone increased temperatures of the entire planet by 1.5C tomorrow, I’ll bet it would not even be noticed. No one noticed the last 1.5C.
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I wonder whether ESG or the collapse of Crypto & Bitcoin will change the colour of “Verdant Earth Technologies” Crypto & NON Coal Combusting Operations?
Perhaps the Federal Government Resources & Environmental representatives should be approached to boondoggle their ESG [WEFfy Supplicant] Policies around a congruent & compliant policy position.
The Spin Doctors, Etymology Tragics & Lawyers will all be entertained – ” Oh, the humanity…”
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I have been thinking about the future, and not too distant future, shocks for shareholders invested in wind and solar based installation companies as the end of effective working life time arrives and the company assets need to be removed and replaced, almost as expensive as the original establishment expenses.
How will that effect the value of their shares, the debt increase and related interest liability?
And what will it cost to get rid of the old materials?
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Looking around the world it would seem that they are just left up to rot. Monuments to idiocy.
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That should be painted on each blade.
Monument
To
Idiocy.
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That ought to be rated a success as it ought to remove the best sites from further contention?
Look bloody awful though.
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Wait for the homeless convert them to vertical homes “out of the control zone”. Thick bullet resistant Steel that they are Bet they pull them down quick smart then. Can’t have the free people
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I trust that readers know that the Labor Victoria Government is establishing a new Electricity Commission for renewables that will become public assets and liability again, and that the Federal Labor Government along with Union Industry Super Funds are planning to invest in VEC renewables.
Does this confirm the lack of interest from private sector investors?
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They claim the electricity will be cheaper than from the “greedy” corporations but that would be only possible if consumers are taxed extra by other means to subsidise the high cost of unreliables. Alternatively, money will be borrowed for future generations to repay to subsidise the unreliables.
Note that in Victoria the Liberals (pretend conservatives) are incredibly weak and incredibly woke and are even bigger believers in unreliables than Labor.
Even former Premier Dennis Napthine said it is likely the Liberals won’t be re-elected for at least 8 years, maybe 12. If at all. So it is possible that, given Dictator Andrews has already been in power for 8 years, he could be in power for 20 or more.
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David M:
Will the Liberals be still here in 8 years. By the end of 2023 they will be clinging to Tasmania alone. The more WOKE than THOU approach has cost them WA, SA, Vic and (soon) NSW, yet many of them still think that they can gain votes by being Left of Labor.
And the query in Post 6 “Are our leaders really that stupid?” can only be answered ‘For today YES, from next year even more stupid’.
I notice that the Nationals, with many members who have actually been doing things, aren’t losing seats. Why shouldn’t they move into the outer suburbs (where they would appeal more) and leave the TEAL seats to the Liberals?
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Probably not.
And Federal.
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The long suffering Taxpayer is always on the hook. The members of the Industry Super Funds will suffer as well. It’ the ‘Pollies’ and Cronies who will win financially. But not ethically.
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And each way Albo and wavy arms Bowen are sending Australia up the same esg creek. Lights out Australia, thank the ALP/GREENS/TEALS/UNIONS/ABC.
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The LNP have also done their fair share of destruction along the way.
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Politicians like Albo and his mate Bowen (and greens and Teals) are not idiots-in the distant past I would have called them that! But consider this they crave power and
get paid 3 to 4 times the average wage/salary of ordinary Aussie sheeple.Lobbyists shower them with exclusive deals for entertainment buy them expensive meals /wine at restaurants ,they also get promised seats on Boards of companies after retirement (while collecting massive superannuation benefits- that others could only dream about)
I say all this because I happen to know an ex minister from South Australia who has personally benefited from nearly all of the above.
So no this person is not an idiot but loves telling other people what to do (still craves power and control) a true lefty politician.These people don’t really care for the useful
idiots(true use of that adjective)-voters who voted for them.
Mike Reed
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And whose factional control of the State Branch (along with a certain Senator) lead to a huge loss in the resent State election.
I use Branch as it has a wood connetation.
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It would be great if it was as simple as go woke, go broke! Of course the landscape is muddier than that, with corporate virtue signallers and hedge fund investors in mining convincing all political persuasions with campaign contributions that they are representing the majority view rather than the potential 500% increase in mining required to completely replace grids and transmission lines.
Twiggy and Simon certainly know where to place their contributions as small scale renewables investors become the useful idiots at the ballot and the whole cycle continues.
Once again the lure of a fast buck trumps critical thinking.
This country is in a political downward spiral because the leftwing knows its base is groupthink elitists who don’t care how high prices go because while in power they will subsidize costs and promote biannual ‘cost of living’ wage rises which will destroy small business and ensure more workers dependent on bureaucratic jobs and therefore one party voters. While the ‘conservatives’ barely exist anymore as they naively believe saying ‘us too’ to millennials will garner votes from a generation brainwashed in schools from early teens to believe Marxism is a romantic inclusive doctrine where everyone gets an equal share, you can escape simple biology and the food and consumer goods magically appear via container! Until the conservatives stop listening to focus groups and realise their heartland is not affluent suburbs, but working class and small business who need less red and green tape to produce, then the spiral will continue and this country will become a nation of bureaucrats and itinerant workers, brought in to do the work that entitled Marxists believe are below them.
Risong, rampant debt? Who cares!
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SimonB:
At some stage, probably when those on the government (taxpayers) payroll exceed those actually doing something useful, the whole economy collapses. The latest example is communism, which collapsed from corruption and stagnation.
The problem is that economists don’t differentiate between contributors and useless mouths. Thus importing semi illiterate migrants as industrial ‘cannon fodder’ while putting industry out of existence (with higher costs, taxes, regulations etc) doesn’t increase the economy at all.
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If only millennials were taught the communism/socialism/marxism facts in school rather than romanticized versions spouted by theorists who are on speed dial by the alphabet media for comment but of no interest to actual business!
Why is that, do you think?
With no viable opposition except a Labor lite, which refused to address the media bias of it’s funded outlets, no redress of the education system which now sees Australia ranked in the 70’s of Western countries lagging way behind Uzbekistan who outstrip us in mathematics and science, while our entitled youth believe their junk degrees are more important.
This brainwashed belief that a global village can have a resource rich country like Australia as a full bureaucracy while someone else provides food, goods and services for their pleasure is because Australia allowed this to happen, without a balanced education system!
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Damn them all. I sold my AGL, WPL and WHC shares too early some at a loss. and didn’t sell when my rare earth investments hit over 300% gain. Should have trusted my own amateur judgement.
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Whod’a thunk it.
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Ethical question: Is it permissible to enjoy, just a little, the suffering of those who not long ago wanted you to suffer?
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