ClimateWire News
Trump administration fights Republican effort to lower flood insurance costs
Justice Department lawyers are defending a FEMA program that environmentalists support.
EVs drive down China's oil demand as Iran war slogs on
Drivers are buying more electric cars and using less gasoline in plug-in hybrids, the International Energy Agency said.
West Virginia seeks to blunt data center opposition with new plan
A strategy outlined this week by Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey highlights a state law that would steer half the sector’s tax revenue toward reducing and possibly eliminating statewide income taxes.
Punishing European drought shrivels crops from potatoes to corn
A Dutch bank published an analysis that estimated heat waves and drought could reduce gross domestic product across the European Union by 1 percent for 2026.
Stingray lashings up as heat wave off Calif. draws more to shore
Bolsa Chica and Huntington state beaches reported more than 3,100 incidents so far this year, twice the number for all of 2025.
Snowmaking equipment may be put to work fighting summer forest fires
Dozens of miles of underground water pipes could prove useful beyond the winter months as the risk of wildfires grows.
Scorching summer will cost France $11B to $17B, environment minister estimates
The initial figures are based on an extrapolation of costs compiled by France’s official statistics agency.
Insurers attacked for siding with fossil-fuel industry in Supreme Court case
Property insurers show “where their loyalties lie” in urging court to block climate lawsuits against oil and gas industry, environmentalists say.
Climate case over killer Puerto Rico storm was filed too late, oil companies argue
Exxon and other fossil fuel producers told a court Tuesday that a lawsuit by the island's towns should have been filed within four years of Hurricane Maria.
Xavier Becerra says California can still meet 2035 gas car sales goal
The Democratic front-runner in the governor’s race has raised doubts about the state’s ambitious climate goals.
AI giants are quiet on climate in sign of post-ESG Wall Street
Anthropic and OpenAI haven’t disclosed their greenhouse gas emissions, made net-zero pledges or published sustainability reports as they prepare for IPOs.
Thousands flee drought in Somalia as hunger deepens and aid shrinks
Somalia has faced repeated cycles of prolonged drought followed by destructive flooding, which have displaced communities and worsened food insecurity.
India’s small steelmakers could cut emissions with renewable power switch
Renewable energy adoption remains limited among smaller steel companies despite India's clean power capacity tripling over the past decade.
Fired FEMA official asks Trump administration for Laura Loomer's sources
The agency's former CFO is trying to determine if federal officials provided Loomer with information about her termination.
Democratic governors turn to nuclear power in response to energy crunch
State officials in blue states are increasingly embracing nuclear energy as nationwide demand for electricity surges and federal funding for renewables dries up.
Court nixes Biden-era efficiency rule for cooking appliances
A three-judge panel ordered the Energy Department to reconsider its 2024 rulemaking for ovens, stoves and cooktops.
Assembly Democrats urge leaders to ‘curtail’ cap-and-invest overhaul
California lawmakers are escalating their pushback against an overhaul to the state’s signature climate policy.
California drivers fully exhausted Tesla’s new EV rebates in one week
Gavin Newsom championed the rebate program as a response to Trump administration attacks on electric vehicles.
California’s first carbon vault opens. Who’s responsible if something goes wrong?
In May, California’s largest oil producer, California Resources, began burying carbon at Elk Hills. But questions about who has authority over the project remain unresolved.
Brussels has a one-legged plan to fight greenwashing
From September, European companies won’t be able to make unfounded environmental claims. But they’ll also have no clear way of proving they’re true.
