Inside: Historic flooding ravages the Midwest; Lloyd's of London unveils misconduct policy after Bloomberg Businessweek report; It's a great time to own coal; Nissan put Ghosn's kids through college; Animal-rights group goes after Levi's days after IPO. —Eric Roston

Sustainable Finance

Cutting power emissions beyond 80 or 90 percent by 2050 is a pipe dream, several utility chiefs agreed at this week's Bloomberg NEF Summit in New York. "We do not have technologies at our disposal right now to go to a 100 percent reduction," said Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good. Plus side: It's not so long ago that getting to 80 percent was the pipe dream. BP has set up a $100 million Upstream Carbon Fund to cut greenhouse gas emissions from exploration and production operations over the next three years. 

The biggest independent commodity traders, including Glencore and Vitol Group, are facing bribery and corruption investigations in the U.S., Brazil and Switzerland. 

Lloyd's of London will ban employees — potentially for life — if they are found to have engaged in sexual misconduct. The plan emerged in response to a Bloomberg Businessweek story last week.

NextEra Energy and Consolidated Edison say the U.S. solar industry could face "significant job losses" if Hanwha Q Cells persuades the U.S. to bar imports from rivals that it says infringes its patents. 

Lyft's IPO paperwork makes sure the company's co-founders maintain control even if their marriages end in divorce settlements. "This has to be in response to the Bezos divorce," said Mark Ressa, a Bay Area specialist, of the Amazon.com founder's billion-dollar split-up.

In Brief

• Cloud Peak Energy, the Wyoming coal miner which sought and received Trump administration help, faces delisting from the New York Stock Exchange for "abnormally low" price levels.
• EDF and supermarket company Metro France signed a three-year renewable power purchase agreement, the nation's first. 
• BlackRock has hired Tanya Levy-Odom and Shannon Nelson to its investment stewardship team, which works with companies on governance issues. 
• The U.S. House Financial Services Committee postponed at least until May a subcommittee hearing looking at ways to improve ESG disclosures.
• Bain Capital Double Impact acquired a majority stake in Rural Sourcing, an IT services provider that taps talent in small and mid-size cities across America. 

Environment

Record flooding crippled farms and railways throughout the Midwest, adding environmental disaster to difficulties brought by the trade war. Corn prices dropped after a Valero Energy ethanol plant in Albion, Nebraska. Waters reached at least eight Superfund sites in three states. 

The U.S., China and India drove global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels to a new record last year, according to the International Energy Agency. The Bloomberg Carbon Clock shows atmospheric CO2 levels nearing 413 parts per million, or about 48 percent higher than pre-industrial times. 

What are green bonds? And how green is green? 

It's the best time to own dying coal companies. U.S. coal companies shoveled almost $3.7 billion back to investors, in dividends and buybacks, in the 12 months through September. Strong export prices are bringing in the cash, for now, as the industry faces existential threats from other power technologies, efficiency and climate policies. Global Infrastructure Partners is done with coal, partner Salim Samah said at this week's BloombergNEF Summit. 

This fuel-cell CEO doesn't see fuel-cell cars in our future. In Germany, millions of electric cars are needed to decarbonize the transport sector, likely over the wishes of the auto industry and its loyal customers.

Former PG&E CEO Geisha Williams made her first public appearance since leaving the bankrupt utility at the BloombergNEF Summit. "Climate change is upon us," she said. "It's the new normal." Victims of California's recent wildfires are asking a bankruptcy court to prioritize them above others expecting funds from PG&E. California is preparing for another season of deadly fires, reports David R. Baker. 

Batteries are killing the economics of summer-peak gas plants. An 85 percent drop in lithium-ion battery prices has made stored renewable power cheaper in some cases than peaking gas plants, which are used during the period of highest demand in the summer, according to BloombergNEF. 

Mexico's underground economy in trash could end up on the junk heap if the nation overhauls waste collection. In Brazil, 2 million tons of garbage may be saved from the southern Atlantic Ocean if the nation succeeds in an effort to cap litter and pollution at storm drains. 

With big storms and weather ravaging electric grids, utilities are shelling out more money to replace them. Outlays may rise even higher as climate risk grows, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. AT&T taps the Energy Department's long-term climate modeling to help demystify the future. 

Social

Uber and Lyft drivers in California staged a one-day strike March 25 to protest Uber's announced 25 percent wage cut. The drivers asked the ride-share platforms to guarantee a $28 minimum hourly rate. 

Goldman Sachs women make 50.6 percent less than their male colleagues per hour, and 66.7 percent less in bonuses. The hourly figure is nonetheless an improvement over last year's 56 percent gap. 

Wanted: Several thousand women to govern corporate America.

Why the ethnicity pay gap is even more complicated than gender. 

Gilead Sciences' Truvada is the only drug authorized in the U.S. for HIV prevention. The Trump administration's goal to end the epidemic in America by 2030 is prompting a new round of questions about drug prices. Truvada can cost $20,000 a year.

Governance

Levi Strauss & Co. held a $623 million IPO this month and within days heard from an angry shareholder. PETA, the animal rights organization, bought shares to fight the company's use of cow hide for the iconic patches sewn into the back of its jeans.

Nissan Motor paid for Carlos Ghosn's four children to attend Stanford between 2004 and 2015. Ghosn's 1999 employment contract included the benefit, which may have been worth more than $601,000. The children each graduated at or near the top of their high school classes. 

Aviva Investors wants executive pay rethought at FTSE 100 companies. In a letter to CEOs, the fund manager's chief called for analysis of bosses' added value and how their pay compares with the wider workforce, the Telegraph reports. 

Volkswagen investors can seek reimbursement for losses even if they can't prove top managers knew about the company's diesel emissions scandal, a German court decided.  

Texas Pacific Land Trust postponed voting on a new trustee who is pushing for greater transparency at the 131-year-old company. 

Note: Please send tips, suggestions and feedback to Emily Chasan at echasan1@bloomberg.net.

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