Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Money-Making Opportunities From COP28 Climate Resolution

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

This week, nearly 200 national representatives met in Dubai for the 28th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as COP28. This is one of the most consequential events of the year - and not just for the climate, but also for your wallet. Pretty much everything your money touches is attached to an invisible sustainability question. Today, Nicole explains three money moves you can make to benefit from the COP28 resolution.

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money is working as hard as you do. So why overcomplicate your money? Keep it simple with Bank of America, your one-stop shop for everything you need today and the goals you're working toward tomorrow. To get started, visit bofa.com slash newprosmedia. That's b-o-f-a dot com slash n-e-w pros p-r-o-s media. bfa.com slash newprosmedia. I'm Nicole Lappin, the only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. It's time for some money rehab. it's time for some money rehab. This week, nearly 200 national representatives met in Dubai for the 28th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as COP28. This is one of the most consequential events of the year, not just for climate, but also for your wallet. Pretty much everything our money touches is attached to an invisible

sustainability question. The food we buy at the grocery store, how much we love Teslas or not affects climate. Even the money we think is safe and sound collecting dust in our banks affects climate because many big banks use the money they earn off us to support the fossil fuels industry. So understanding takeaways from COP28 will help you forecast financial trends and make the most of them and, hey, maybe help the planet a little along the way as well. Delegates from nearly 200 parties attended COP28, including the United States, China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. The purpose of this conference is to get the world together to discuss and implement solutions to the climate crisis.

The biggest focus of COP28 was one number, 1.5. Scientists have been telling us for a minute now that if global warming exceeds 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels, there will be more of the weather events that we've been seeing like flooding, wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, been seeing like flooding, wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and they will be more catastrophic. I'll say that the 1.5 Celsius benchmark is mostly that, a benchmark. It's not like a switch will flip and then all of a sudden it's don't look up. But it is a benchmark that the international community has agreed upon as a critical goal for protecting ourselves from essentially very bad stuff. If nothing changes, we will hit 1.5 Celsius and soon, which is why it is so important that the whole global community gets together and talks about how to slow global warming. Because this goal is not small. In order to keep below

1.5 Celsius, global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut by 43% in 2030 and 60% in 2035. Now, a resolution comes out of this annual meeting. This year, 153 member states backed the resolution. Notably, the United States voted against it. This is where we can really start digging into the economic implications here. The biggest criticism is that the resolution was disappointing and did not pave the way for nearly as much action as is needed. On one hand, COP 28 is being called historic because the resolution called for members to, quote, transition away from fossil fuels. This is historic because there has never been this kind of international consensus on the danger of fossil fuels at a COP meeting to

date. And as The Guardian notes, this is the first time in nearly 30 years that the UN climate talks had cited fossil fuels as the root cause of the climate crisis. However, the disappointment comes in because the actual logistics and requirements for this transition were not clearly outlined. The resolution is full of all sorts of fuzzy language that stops real change from happening. The resolution said things like calling on nations to take action instead of mandating nations to take action, and accelerating efforts instead of accelerating results. Regardless of the fuzziness, based on the commitment to real progress by some of the negotiations represented at the talks, there are three money moves that you can make to benefit from the upcoming changes.

Number one, look into investing in companies that are in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. One of the outcomes of COP 28 was that the U.N. called on members to triple renewable energy capacity globally and double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. So that means we can expect to see companies associated with renewable energy to increase their operations and projects, which means more revenue. And that's the type of investment we should be keeping our eye on. Number two, in order to encourage more

people to reduce their individual carbon footprints, the federal government in the US will potentially bolster the incentives to go green. Already, the United States government offers tax credits and tax deductions for making climate friendly changes in your home, like putting more insulation in your house so that the building is more energy efficient, or powering your house with renewable energy like solar or wind. But you probably already know this. What you might not know is that you can actually get these tax perks if you're a renter.

For example, if your apartment has an ancient air conditioning unit in your building that barely works and you buy an ac unit that's more energy efficient you can get a tax credit for 30 of what you paid up to 600 bucks but i'll also say you shouldn't be on the hook for upgrades to your apartment you can and should have a conversation about these tax incentives with your landlord don't assume that they're up to date with the latest tax benefits like you are they change so often so constantly they're practically impossible to keep up with number three as more funding and attention are drawn to companies that prioritize sustainability these companies will

grow which will make them promising investments i mentioned this point when i was talking about renewables but this extends beyond the energy industry. Sustainable clothing, beauty, cleaning products, any product or service that's in line with COP's vision for the future stands to be positively affected by a more sustainable-friendly world. By the same token, companies that rely heavily on fossil fuels will need to innovate or risk losses. One way to benefit from the growth of sustainable businesses is to invest in funds that focus on companies that meet ESG criteria.

I mentioned this before on an episode where a listener asked me about investing in oil, but it's one of my most favorite sustainability tips, so it bears repeating. For example, there's an ETF with the ticker symbol ESGV, which is an index fund that tracks 1,500 large companies but excludes companies that get revenue from producing or selling fossil fuels, weapons, tobacco, and other controversial products that aren't so ESG. And compared to oil's 25% gains over the last five years, ESGV is up 54%. So take that, oil.

For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. The most sustainable thing you can buy is nothing. Challenge yourself by doing a shopping detox in the new year. And I don't just mean cutting out the shopping spree you would go on because you're bored, but see how long you can go without buying anything plastic. As bonus perks, avoiding plastic in your grocery store likely means you're going to fill your cart up with beautiful fruits and veggies, which always makes my body very happy. So it's a win for your health, your wealth, and the planet. Win, win, win.

Money Rehab is a production of Money News Network. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Money Rehab's executive producer is Morgan Loy. Our researcher is Emily Holmes. Do you need some money rehab? And let's be honest, we all do. So email us your money questions, moneyrehab at moneynewsnetwork.com to potentially have your questions answered on the show or even have a one-on-one intervention with me. And follow us on Instagram at Money News and TikTok at Money News Network for exclusive video content. And lastly, thank you. No, seriously, thank you. Thank you for listening and for investing in yourself, which is the most important investment you can make. Thank you.