COP26 prospects could ride on this one, new database

By Trey Thoelcke Published Nov 4, 12:32PM EDT

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COP26 prospects could ride on this one, new database — © ipopba / Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

(Mark Hulbert, author and longtime investment columnist, is the founder of the Hulbert Financial Digest; his Hulbert Ratings audits investment newsletter returns.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — As the world waits with bated breath for what emerges from the COP26 climate summit, I see one glimmer of hope.

That’s because there’s now a database that tracks the greenhouse gas emissions of virtually all publicly-traded global corporations, along with the progress they’re making towards global carbon reduction goals. This will enable COP26’s decision makers to set more specific, targeted and actionable goals for what each company must achieve in order to do its part to mitigate climate change.

The mere existence of a database may not strike you as much to hang your hat on, given the imminent climate catastrophe the world faces. But a database is a crucial first step, and up until recently it’s been largely missing. And, according to the famous comments attributed to the late management guru W. Edwards Deming, if you can’t measure it you can’t improve or manage it. . . .

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.