It just got harder to be a climate criminal

The Wild West of carbon credits is no more. [Bloomberg]( This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a carbon handprint of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - [Carbon credits]( come clean. - Lessons for the [big screen](. - [Real estate]( investors scream. - Picky customers [convene](. Planet Destroyers We need to talk about Hacks. More specifically, we need to talk about Season 3, Episode 5 when Ava and Deborah get [stuck in the woods]( together: Credit: Max Even if you have no clue who [Jean Smart]( is (shame on you!!!) or what [D’Jewelry]( means, you’ll be able to understand the generational divide that exists between Ava — a Chevy Bolt-driving Hollywood writer — and Deborah Vance — a private jet-flying A-list comedian who sells decorative microwave stickers on QVC and pumps [chemical-laden fake snow]( outside Las Vegas mansion for Christmas. Although they do not see eye-to-eye on climate change, Ava convinces Deborah to make some concessions during their hike from hell, which she announces after they get rescued by a group of teens on dirt bikes: While touching, Deborah’s idea of climate compromise — an at-home QVC studio and a couple of [solar panels]( — isn’t exactly saintly. And her biggest commitment — a promise to transition half of her portfolio to “green stocks” — might sound good, but sustainable investments come with [plenty of caveats]( (for one, Matt Levine says [you can’t sell]( trees no one cuts down). As Mark Gongloff has [written](, “There is a risk of investors giving capital to greenwashers taking advantage of this sentiment.” Nobody knows that risk better than those who have dabbled in the voluntary [carbon market](. In simple terms, carbon credits — which can help finance clean energy projects and phase out coal plants — are bought and sold by companies and investors that want to help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Trouble is, “the market for credits is opaque and riddled with inefficiency,” Michael R. Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP [writes]( (free read). “Buyers can’t be sure which credits are credible, projects often don’t deliver what they promise and sellers can’t be held accountable … As a result, the market for carbon credits is much smaller — and far less productive — than it should be.” Today, President Biden, with [the help]( of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, attempted to fix those problems by announcing a new set of principles for building more transparent, responsible and effective voluntary carbon markets. “It’s an important step forward,” Bloomberg writes. And one that will hopefully usher in a new era of change, one with [hydrogen-fueled cars](,� [clean-tech supply chain]( and [carbon-capturing]( [peatlands](. And while we’re at it, maybe we can stop peddling [hair growth devices]( and [bacon-wrapped chicken breasts]( on QVC. A girl can dream! Bonus Climate Transition Reading: - Nvidia has [a business lesson]( for China's struggling solar panel-makers. — David Fickling - Freight rail is among the [cleanest forms]( of transportation. Why are regulators going after it? — Bloomberg’s editorial board - The fairest way to obtain money for many [infrastructure projects]( is to get it directly from the users. — Thomas Black MovieCrash Hacks isn’t the only thing you need to watch on Max this week. A [new documentary]( about MoviePass — the storied app that let subscribers see a film a day for only $10 a month — premiers on May 29. Jason Bailey [says]( it’s “a compelling look at the past, and as the public once again questions the necessity of the theatrical model, it’s a reminder that exhibitors must think outside the box if they want audiences to keep movie-going as part of their regular media diet.” A diet that, mind you, is [shrinking]( with each passing year: Source: National Endowment for the Arts Save for [the glamorous looks]( served at Cannes, the current state of cinema isn’t pretty. Just this past weekend, I went to see Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga with my family. Anya Taylor-Joy was 10/10, no notes, but the theater was maybe an eighth-full on a Friday night at 7 pm. Do the math — all those empty seats at several screenings each day at thousands of movie theater chains — and it’s no wonder the film’s box office debut [misfired](. Stacy Spikes, one of the original MoviePass founders, says “the industry has an inventory problem. They’re flying 747s with 20 people on them.” The subscription-based models now offered by AMC, Regal and Alamo Drafthouse help keep the seats warm, but “there is no skeleton key that magically returns movie-going levels to 2018 when MoviePass was literally giving movie tickets away,” Jason argues. Instead, theaters are going to need to get creative with their spaces. Expect to see more efforts to “event-ize” the silver screen, similar to what we saw with Taylor Swift’s [Eras Tour]( and Billie Eilish’s [listening parties]( for her latest [album](. Telltale Charts “For the first time since the financial crisis...” is never a fun way to start a sentence, let alone [an entire article](. But sometimes, mentioning that milestone is warranted. It’s been a tough couple of years for the $20 trillion US property market, and nobody is more aware of that fact than investors in top-rated bonds backed by commercial real estate debt. Last week, buyers of a [AAA portion]( of a commercial mortgage-backed security tied to a building in midtown Manhattan (try saying that five times fast!) got less than three-quarters of their original investment back — the first such loss of the post-crisis era. It sounds bad! After all, it was a $308 million mortgage. But there’s no need to panic, because Robert Burgess [says]( “we may be closer to the end than the beginning of a shakeout in commercial real estate.” What’s up with the stock market? “Just 296 of the S&P 500 companies grew sales from a year earlier, which marks some of the weakest sales breadth since 2020,” Jonathan Levin [notes](. While “those numbers aren’t terrible or recessionary from a historic standpoint; they’re just not consistent with the ‘everyone wins’ stock market we’d gotten used to.” Instead of a rising tide lifting all boats, we’re back to victors and losers. So while Walmart thrives, Target dives. “Most consumers aren’t teetering on the brink of financial catastrophe; they’re just getting choosier and forcing companies to fight for their business,” he explains. Further Reading [Accusations]( of genocide by Israel are the direct results of Netanyahu’s choices. — Marc Champion In a historic election, the ANC is [likely to lose]( its majority in South Africa. — Justice Malala The Supreme Court [fundamentally disagrees]( on what racism is. — Noah Feldman America needs to buy more than one [predator submarine]( a year to stop China. — James Stavridis “Fake it ‘til you make it,” may be common career advice, but [it doesn’t work]( with science. — F.D. Flam Myanmar’s [rebel groups]( are gaining ground. The West should help them. — Ruth Pollard Where does the phrase [“Mrs. Watanabe”]( come from? — Gearoid Reidy Bonus Watching: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wants all 18-year-olds to take part in a form of national service. Is this the best idea to come out of the UK election so far? Therese Raphael [is joining]( Adrian Wooldridge and Marcus Ashworth tomorrow to discuss. ICYMI Pope Francis [apologized]( for using [a gay slur](. [MLB umpire]( Ángel Hernández is retiring. Mexico’s [brutal heat dome]( is heading for the US. Putin got a man [mauled to death]( by a lion. The Chipotle [walk out]( method [won’t work](. Vanity Fair [edited out]( an actor’s [pro-Palestine pin](. Kickers How to turn a river into a [salmon paradise](. Pronatalist parents [claim]( the critics are [the racist ones](. [Rugs]( your descendants will fight over. When your [toddler]( is a “pint-sized Picasso.” If you give a bear [a cookie]( … (h/t Andrea Felsted for the last two kickers) Notes: Please send Oreos and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Threads](, [TikTok](, [Twitter](, [Instagram]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. Want to sponsor this newsletter? [Get in touch here](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. 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