Some days, the effort to go from burning mostly fossil fuels to using renewable energy can really seem like a slog. Things are improving, but all too often, it looks like a glacial pace (back before glaciers were melting faster, of course). Snails would get bored and fall asleep watching it. It’s just that bad.
But it’s good to notice the small victories and celebrate them, and find ways to learn from them. Today’s small victory is that there are already 10 countries in the world whose electric power generation comes from 97 to 100% renewable energy sources.
Before we analyze this, let’s keep some caveats in mind. First off, this is only energy generated in each country, and not energy consumed. If power is going out to other countries or coming in from other countries, it doesn’t hurt or help this number. The year in parentheses is the year this data came from, and it’s the most recent year data was available for that country.
If you look at the top 10 list here, it’s not full of wealthy countries. Several African countries are on the list, along with countries in South America and the Caribbean. My goal in mentioning this isn’t to pick on these countries, as they’re generally not as poor as they’re often made out to be, but they’re doing a lot better at this than places like the United States, China, Russia or the UK.
If you’ve given this chart a close look, you’ve probably already noticed that most of the power comes from hydroelectric power. This isn’t surprising, because hydroelectric power has been around for a LONG time. When solar power was just a funky test project at world’s fairs and auto shows in the 1950s, many places in the world were already heavy users of hydroelectric power. It’s relatively cheap, it’s reliable, and it’s able to generate power any time of day or night and in almost any season.
When we look at the next 4 countries that are beginning to approach 100%, we can learn a bit more. Scotland, for example, is very heavy on wind, and has managed to get to 90% renewables. Kenya gets 44% of its power from geothermal. This shows us that as more countries get to the point where they’d earn an “A” on a test, we’re going to see much greater diversity in how they got there. Some countries will start to show up with large amounts of solar, tidal, or wave power.
As someone who lives in the United States, I think it’s entirely fair to paint this report as damning for us. We’ve had everything going for us, and we’re not even on the chart. We’d only earn about 20%, and get a very solid F if this was a school grade.
I think it’s totally fair to say that this reflects poorly on other “developed” countries that can’t seem to place on the list while “poor” countries aren’t emitting a bunch of greenhouse gases. Worse, the countries contributing the least, despite tens of millions in population, are the ones likely to suffer the worst under climate change.
It’s good to celebrate this small victory, but we also need this to be a kick in the pants to get our crap together!
The entrance to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters is seen during a protest on Feb. 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images
For the third time under President Donald Trump, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has pulled back from enforcing a key rule, this time targeting buy now, pay later services.
The CFPB said in a notice on Tuesday that it will not prioritize enforcement of a rule, established during Joe Biden’s presidency, that classified BNPL providers as credit card issuers subject to the Truth in Lending Act. Fintech lenders had been required to comply with more stringent consumer protections, including standardized disclosures, refund processing and formal dispute investigations.
Affirm and other BNPL firms had voiced opposition to the billing statement requirement, arguing that it would confuse users and add unnecessary friction.
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“Requiring BNPL providers to comply with rules designed for open-end credit cards creates compliance challenges and confusing outcomes for consumers,” Affirm wrote in a formal comment letter, urging the CFPB to adopt rules that reflect how consumers actually use BNPL products.
The CFPB is looking to go even further as it’s considering rescinding the rule entirely, citing a need to focus resources on “pressing threats to consumers,” especially service members, veterans, and small businesses.
In October, the Financial Technology Association, which represents major BNPL players, sued the CFPB, claiming the agency overstepped by imposing credit card-like restrictions through an interpretive rule rather than a formal one.
The CFPB notice comes as new consumer data shows mounting pressures in the market.
A Bankrate survey released Monday found that nearly half of BNPL users have faced financial problems tied to these services. As usage rises, particularly for essentials like groceries, missed payments are increasing as well.
Affirm is scheduled to report quarterly results on Thursday. Rival Klarna is on file to go public, but delayed its IPO last month after President Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs roiled financial markets.
About 764,000 wallets that purchased President Donald Trump‘s $TRUMPmeme coin have lost money on the investment, according to fresh data shared with CNBC by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
Most of the wallets that lost money held smaller amounts of the token, according to the firm’s on-chain analysis. Crypto wallets are accounts that store the keys you need to access and use your cryptocurrency holdings.
Chainalysis said that while around 2 million wallets have bought into the token, 58 wallets made more than $10 million apiece, totaling roughly $1.1 billion in gains.
The $TRUMP token, which surged in popularity after being tied to the start of Trump’s second term, has seen sharp price swings and highly uneven returns for investors. Fight Fight Fight LLC. and CIC Digital LLC., control the bulk of the token’s supply.
CNBC has reached out to Fight Fight Fight LLC. for comment on the Chainalysis numbers.
Interest in the coin spiked more than 50% after the project’s website promised the top 220 holders a seat at a black-tie-optional dinner with the president.
The $TRUMP event, set for May 22 at the president’s Trump National Golf Club, Washington, D.C., includes a reception for the 25 wallets with the largest coin balance, along with a White House tour.
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The dinner-pegged rally pushed the token’s market cap to $2.7 billion at its peak, though it has since pulled back to around $2.17 billion.
Since that rally, around 54,000 wallets have bought the coin. In total, 100,000 new wallets have purchased $TRUMP since April 15, Chainalysis said, extending the post-announcement surge despite ongoing volatility in the broader crypto market.
The Trump-branded meme token has drawn scrutiny from regulators and ethics watchdogs.
Lawmakers are now formally investigating whether the $TRUMP meme coin — and a related crypto venture called World Liberty Financial, which sends 75% of revenue to the Trump family — constitute a direct conflict of interest for the president.
The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has launched a probe into the token’s ownership structure and revenue model, while House Democrats stormed out of a crypto hearing in protest.
At the center of the controversy is the dinner competition for top token holders, promotional posts from the president himself, and ties to foreign investors including a state-backed Emirati fund and crypto mogul Justin Sun.
Launched in January ahead of Trump’s second inauguration, the token’s value initially soared to $15 billion after a series of promotional posts from the president on Truth Social and X. It lost most of that value within days.
Only 20% of the token’s total supply is currently in circulation. The remaining 80% — reportedly controlled by the Trump Organization and affiliated entities — is locked under a three-year vesting schedule. Public disclosures say insiders have agreed not to sell their allocations for another few months.
Since January, more than $324 million in trading fees have been routed to wallets tied to the project’s creators, according to Chainalysis. The token’s code automatically directs a cut of each transaction to these addresses, allowing the team to profit from ongoing activity.
Lucid Motors (LCID) reported first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, reaffirming its plans to more than double EV production in 2025. Despite the threat of new tariffs, the EV maker expects to continue building momentum after another record quarter.
Lucid stands by 20,000 EV production goal for 2025
In the first three months of 2025, Lucid delivered 3,109 vehicles, setting its fifth straight quarterly record. The company’s production is also picking up, with 2,213 vehicles built at its Casa Grande plant in Arizona. Another 600 were in transit to Saudi Arabia, where they will be assembled at Lucid’s new AMP-2 plant.
At this rate, Lucid is on track to deliver around 12,500 vehicles, easily topping the 10,200 vehicles it delivered in 2024.
With its first electric SUV, the Gravity, now rolling out, Lucid is poised to see even more demand throughout the year.
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Lucid reported first-quarter revenue of $235 million, up slightly from the $234.5 million in Q4 2024 and an increase of 35% from Q1 2024.
Despite higher sales, the EV maker cut its net loss to $366 million from over $680 million in the first quarter of 2024. Lucid also improved gross margins by 37 pts year-over-year (YOY) to -97%.
Even with the added tariffs, Lucid still expects to produce around 20,000 vehicles in 2025, more than double the roughly 9,000 cars it made last year.
Like most automakers, Lucid is preparing for a shakeup under the Trump administration, including possibly ending the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Earlier today, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said there’s “a better chance we kill it than save it” during an interview.
Lucid Gravity electric SUV at a Tesla Supercharger (Source: Lucid Motors)
The company said, “A thorough analysis of tariffs, supply chain, and related macroeconomic uncertainties is ongoing.”
Lucid ended the first quarter with around $5.76 billion in total liquidity, which the company said is enough to fund it into the second half of 2026, when it plans to launch its midsize platform.
Lucid midsize electric SUV teaser image (Source: Lucid)
Former CEO Peter Rawlinson said earlier this year that Lucid’s midsize platform is “finally when we compete directly with Tesla.” The first two vehicles are expected to be an electric SUV and sedan, starting at around $50,000, which could rival Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3.
But first, it will focus on its new electric SUV. The Lucid Gravity Grand Touring is available to order starting at $94,900 with up to 450 miles of range. Later this year, Lucid will launch the lower-priced Touring trim, starting at $79,900.
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