Current conditions: A cold snap in Europe could deplete natural gas supplies • More than two feet of lake-effect snow could fall this weekend in upstate New York • Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, has become the most polluted city in the world, prompting a push for more EVs.
THE TOP FIVE
1. Millions of Americans could see record cold in January
Bitterly cold weather is descending on the central and eastern U.S. this week, and it could last through the whole of January. The first Arctic blast will send temperatures plunging as much as
20 degrees Fahrenheit below normal, and that will be followed by an even colder burst of air next week, and then another. “This will likely be the most significant cold we have seen in years,” said forecasters at the National Weather Service office. Energy demand will surge, and a lot of snow and ice could cause power outages in some areas. Already a winter storm is forecast for the Central Plains this weekend, with the weather system shifting eastward to the Mid-Atlantic region next week. Even Southern states like Texas and Florida will feel the cold. “At this time, it looks like there will be at least three major blasts of Arctic air that will affect the Southern states,” AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva said. “The first outbreak will be from Jan. 3-4, the second on Jan. 7-8 and then the third round on Jan. 11-12.”
AccuWeather
2. Tesla’s sales dropped in 2024
Tesla reported yesterday that it had
delivered 495,570 cars in the last three months of the year, and 1,789,226 in 2024 as a whole. As Heatmap’s Matthew Zeitlin noted, that represents a decline in annual sales from 2023 — Tesla’s first annual decline in more than 10 years, back when the company’s deliveries were counted in the hundreds or single-digit thousands — although the fourth quarter figure is a record for quarterly deliveries. Tesla had forecast around 515,000 deliveries to meet its “slight growth” goals. The company had cited “sustained macroeconomic headwinds” weighing on the broader electric vehicle market in its most recent investor letter, and again referred to “ongoing macroeconomic conditions” to explain the miss on deliveries. While Tesla’s car business appears to have stalled to some extent, the energy storage business is another story. The company said that in the fourth quarter of last year it had deployed 11 gigawatt-hours of storage, and 31.4 gigawatt-hours in the year as a whole. If Tesla’s deployment rate in 2025 merely matched its fourth quarter rate, it would mean 40% annual growth.
3. Report: Biden to permanently ban some offshore drilling
President Biden is expected to issue an executive order permanently banning new offshore oil and gas drilling in large sections of U.S. coastal waters,
Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources. As soon as Monday, Biden will invoke the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, a 72-year-old law that gives the president authority to ban drilling, but doesn’t include any wording to allow presidents to revoke a ban. That means President-elect Donald Trump will not be able to easily reverse the move. Environmental groups applauded the report. “Restricting offshore drilling is a big win for the climate, marine wildlife, coastal communities, and economies, and would be yet another chapter in President Biden’s historic climate legacy,” said Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club. Fossil fuel groups, naturally, were less thrilled.
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4. U.S. EV sales continued to rise in November
Monthly sales of electric vehicles in the U.S. were up 11.5% year-over-year in November, according to
new data from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. Just over 141,400 plug-in EVs were sold in November alone, bringing the total for the whole year to about 1.4 million, up 9% from the same period in 2023. New electric models like Honda’s Prologue and Chevrolet’s Equinox are helping drive the increase: Sales for both rose nearly 70% between October and November. Meanwhile, more and more new charging ports are being installed across the country, with 2,490 added in November, bringing the total to 205,000.
5. Morgan Stanley leaves Net-Zero Banking Alliance
Morgan Stanley has
become the latest lending giant to part ways with the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. The investment bank announced yesterday it would leave the world’s largest banking climate coalition, following recent departures by Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs. The firms have said they remain committed to their internal net zero goals, but the exodus is “the latest sign corporate America may retreat from climate goals during Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president,” the Financial Times noted.
THE KICKER
“The main buyers of [gas-powered] cars in Norway are rental companies because many tourists are not familiar with EVs.” –Ulf Tore Hekneby, head of Norway's biggest car importer. In 2024, battery-powered vehicles made up 90% of new car sales in the Scandinavian country.
AccuWeather
