| Energy Realism this past week focused on alternative energy and COP26 looming on the horizon. There is a global energy crunch, and widening anti-fossil fuel policies are a primary cause of it. Oliver McPherson-Smith knows that this has this year’s festive season shrouded in uncertainty. To stave off a cold and empty Christmas, President Biden needs to fix his half-baked energy agenda. The obsession with more expensive, less reliable wind and solar energy even creeps into the discussion of alternative energy sources that could actually come from fossil fuels, such as natural gas-based hydrogen. Greens demand only “green hydrogen,” coming from wind and solar, and totally reject the “blue hydrogen” that could be derived from natural gas. Kristine Wiley believes that there is a clear need for “all hydrogen” since “only renewables” is a completely unrealistic energy position. As we advance toward Glasgow and COP26 in just a matter of days, Bob Inglis and John Sweeney want the U.S. to consider adopting Carbon Border Adjustments to foster more international cooperation to fight climate change. Such a policy would ensure that laggards such as China would not be able to capitalize on U.S. climate action. Yet, we already know that many countries have little to no interest in helping the climate fight. Struan Stevenson notes the variety of reasons why Iran, for instance, is simply “too scared” to attend Glasgow, with the reasons going far beyond the energy space. Essential Reading R. Boffo & R. Patalano, OECD As of 2020, the amount of professionally managed portfolios that have integrated key elements of ESG assessments surpassed $17.5 trillion globally. Despite some current shortcomings, the evidence suggests that ESG can deliver high portfolio performance. Yet, there surely needs to be a more uniform system for ESG definitions and ratings among providers. In the News Zachary B. Wolf, CNN Penny MacRae, SCMP Greta Thunberg, The Guardian Catherine Clifford, CNBC BBC News Adam Cabot, RealClearDefense The Seattle Times Elliot Gulliver-Needham, BusinessGreen Hazel Bradford, Pensions & Investments Financial Post Silla Brush, FA Mag Avery Ellfeldt, E&E News William Horobin, Bloomberg Oliver Milman, The Guardian Samuel Webb, Independent Yahoo Finance Yahoo Finance's Jessica Smith reports on the Senator Manchin (D-WV) opposing a key part of President Biden's climate agenda. CNBC Television John Kilduff, Again Capital founder, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the rise in crude prices and to provide an outlook for the months ahead. Global Returns Project Sasja Beslik, Tariq Fancy and Harriet Lamb join the Global Returns Project to ask, ‘Is ESG Greenwash?’ Moderated by Natalie Kenway, introduced by Sir Dieter Helm. PragerU What’s more important for a company: to make a profit, or to do “social good?” More and more companies seem to be focusing on the latter. But is that a good business strategy? And, w... | 