Guardian: Investors Could Lose $4.2 Trillion Due to Climate Change

Private investors stand to lose $4.2T (£2.7T) on the value of their holdings from the impact of climate change by 2100 even if global warming is held at plus 2 degrees C, a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has warned.

If firm action is not taken at the forthcoming climate change talks in Paris and the Earth’s temperature warms by a further 5 degrees C then investors are facing losses of almost $7T at today’s prices, new research shows.

This is more than the total current market capitalization of the London Stock Exchange with impacts on company holdings that will come not just through extreme weather damage but also through lower economic growth.

NBC: Hacking of Connected Vehicles Shifts From Theory to Very Scary

Sometime over the next few weeks, California battery carmaker Tesla Motors plans to ask a select group of owners to begin testing its latest vehicle-operating software. Dubbed version 7.0, it will include a beta version of Tesla's new Pilot system, which will offer the ability to drive on the highway hands-free.

As with previous updates for the Model S sedan, Tesla will upload the software wirelessly, rather than requiring owners to visit its showrooms. It's an approach many other automakers are expected to adopt in the coming years, but one that raises serious concerns among experts who say it could entice hackers to shift their focus from computers to cars.

The Economist: The Global Addiction to Energy Subsidies

Energy prices have been falling for a year. Over the last month that trend has accelerated. On July 24th, the price of a barrel of oil in America reached a low of $48. In spite of this, governments are still splurging on subsidies to prop up production. Fossil fuels are reaping support of $550 billion annually, according the International Energy Agency (IEA), an organization that represents oil- and gas-consuming countries, more than four times those given for renewable energy.

MIT Technology Review: China Will Soon Leapfrog Traditional Leaders in Nuclear Power

China is rapidly moving up the global nuclear power leaderboard. Since 2012, as the traditional leaders in nuclear energy production have remained stagnant or backed off of their reliance on nuclear in the wake of Fukushima, China has added 11 new reactors and over 11 gigawatts of nuclear generating capacity.

By the end of this year, China is expected to pass Russia and South Korea and boast the fourth-largest nuclear generating capacity in the world, behind the United States, France and Japan. By 2020, it will likely replace Japan in third place.

Vox: Rooftop Solar Is Booming. But It Might Be More Vulnerable Than You Think

Rooftop solar is booming in the U.S. It grew 76 percent last year, and many expect that growth to accelerate. But a new bit of analysis from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory suggests that the growth trajectory of residential solar is more precarious than that, highly dependent upon current policies.

The LBNL study -- which models the effect of various policies on distributed solar deployment -- does contain one bit of good news for utilities: The death spiral isn't inevitable.