Trump’s allies still waiting for him to land his hardest climate blow

23 September 2025 at 17:00

The president has yet to announce his plans for the 1992 Senate-ratified treaty that underlies the world’s efforts to counter global warming.

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on Sunday.

EPA reorganization sparks fears of ‘political interference’

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Hannah Northey， Ellie Borst and Sean Reilly

23 September 2025 at 02:33

“Today is day one of the new EPA,” Administrator Lee Zeldin said. Union officials say the revamp is meant to intimidate scientists and undermine science.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin listens as President Donald Trump holds a Cabinet meeting in the White House on Aug. 26.

Judge allows work to restart on New England wind project that Trump halted

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Kelsey Tamborrino

23 September 2025 at 02:24

Judge says there is "no question in my mind" of irreparable harm to the offshore wind project.

The order said Revolution Wind is likely to suffer irreparable harm if it isn't able to restart work on the project, which is 80 percent complete.

‘We are not winning’: Greens look for new spark under Trump 2.0

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Zack Colman

23 September 2025 at 00:36

Environmental groups that have watched President Donald Trump shred their climate victories are beset by internal divides, slumping fund-raising and a debate on how to fight back.

Some climate activists — including demonstrators at Saturday's "Make Billionaires Pay" march in Manhattan — are trying to make their case as part of a broader protest against President Donald Trump's policies and the influence of the ultra-wealthy.

Climate change ‘beyond scientific dispute,’ National Academies report says

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Alex Guillén

18 September 2025 at 00:27

The report is a sharp rebuttal to a recent Trump administration's report, and Republicans have already targeted the report as “a blatant partisan act.”

A report from one of the U.S.' top scientific bodies says long-term observations "confirm unequivocally" that human emissions are warming the planet and raising new dangers.

Trump’s killing of climate grants has recipients second-guessing federal help

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Alex Guillén

15 September 2025 at 22:17

"The risk is way too high and the effort is way too large," said one environmental group founder about federal grants.

River erosion is threatening to subsume critical infrastructure used to offload diesel and gasoline from ships for the village of Kipnuk, Alaska.

Johnson backs Virginia wind project in break with Trump

Politico | Energy & Environment

11 September 2025 at 00:09

Gasoline's hit to Americans' wallets expected to hit a 20-year low

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Ben Lefebvre

10 September 2025 at 04:57

Spending on gasoline will average less than 2 percent of drivers' disposable income this year, the Energy Information Administration predicted in a bit of welcome economic news for President Donald Trump.

A sign at a Sinclair gas station is seen next to an Arco gas station advertising gasoline prices, June 10, 2024, in Long Beach, California.

Fired FEMA chief recounts ‘hostile relationship’ with Trump officials

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Thomas Frank

8 September 2025 at 22:49

"I wanted to choke some people," Cameron Hamilton said in a podcast interview last week.

Cameron Hamilton said his relationship with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem soured after he was given a lie detector test.

States, companies sue Trump administration over wind farm stop-work order

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Kelsey Tamborrino

4 September 2025 at 22:57

Revolution Wind argued in the filing that the administration lacked the legal authority for the order.

Turbines from Deepwater Wind are seen off the Rhode Island coast.

Appeals court sides with EPA in climate grant terminations fight

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Alex Guillén

3 September 2025 at 00:08

The court said the claims must be brought before a special court that handles contract disputes involving the federal government.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has likened the Biden-era climate grants to "lighting taxpayer dollars on fire."

In windy Iowa, a GOP lawmaker faces a reckoning over Trump’s clean energy war

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Josh Siegel

2 September 2025 at 04:01

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks held her seat by a razor-thin margin in 2024, but could see her support erode because of her vote to end incentives for renewable energy.

Wind turbines stand near Pomeroy, Iowa, on July 5, 2025.

Even at Yosemite, 'the shadow of Donald Trump is over everything'

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Heather Richards

31 August 2025 at 19:00

Budget cuts left one of America's premier national parks with dozens of fewer staffers than last summer.

Laundry hangs to dry in a residential campground in Yosemite National Park in California on July 18.

Shrinking post-Katrina levees need $1B in upgrades

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Thomas Frank

31 August 2025 at 04:00

Twenty years out from the New Orleans disaster, the city's levee and flood wall system must be raised or the region could become ineligible for federal flood insurance.

An aerial view of the downtown skyline of New Orleans with rebuilt homes and vacant lots where homes once stood in the Lower Ninth Ward in the foreground Tuesday.

Judge dismisses EPA grant termination lawsuit

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Alex Guillén

30 August 2025 at 06:40

The ruling regarding environmental justice block grants could be reflected in other grant termination litigation, including over the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

A judge has ruled for the first time that EPA has the power to rescind the grants awarded by the Biden administration.

Katrina inspired a $3B wetlands rebuilding project. Louisiana just killed it.

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Miranda Willson

29 August 2025 at 22:02

A pillar of the state's coastal restoration plan is dead. Its backers say it would have offered the most effective, natural storm protection.

An Army Corps of Engineers construction crew performs work to reduce the flow of the Mississippi River at Neptune Pass, a new channel near the delta.

Trump's former FEMA chief opens up — and says administration is 'delaying' aid

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Thomas Frank

28 August 2025 at 06:09

Months after his firing, Cameron Hamilton contradicted the administration's claims of efficiency and suggested officials could be "lying" to the American people.

Cameron Hamilton, then-acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, testifying before Congress earlier this year.

FEMA staffers accuse Trump of weakening disaster programs

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Zack Colman

25 August 2025 at 23:13

The signatories said FEMA under President Donald Trump has strayed far from the disaster preparedness reforms designed to correct the agency's mistakes in responding to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

FEMA staffers publicly rebuked Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FEMA leadership as the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaches.

Trump Energy secretary: ‘We’re going to get blamed’ for rising power prices — but they’re Democrats’ fault

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Josh Siegel

20 August 2025 at 00:00

In an interview with POLITICO, Chris Wright insisted that the Trump administration’s efforts to stifle development of solar and wind power are not causing costs to spike.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, center, visits the Ames National Lab with some lawmakers in Ames, Iowa, on Friday.

Trump administration deepens crackdown on solar and wind tax credits

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Kelsey Tamborrino and James Bikales

16 August 2025 at 02:44

New Treasury Department guidance limiting eligibility for lucrative tax credits follows Trump’s executive order to “strictly enforce” restrictions on the incentives.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, June 27, 2025.

Sierra Club staff says boss’s ouster is ‘a relief’

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Robin Bravender

13 August 2025 at 02:41

Ben Jealous said he’s fighting the group’s “disheartening” decision to fire him.

Then-Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous speaks with a reporter at the group's offices in Washington on Oct. 26, 2023.

Sierra Club board fires leader Ben Jealous

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Robin Bravender

12 August 2025 at 09:08

Jealous oversaw several rounds of layoffs and sparred with staff during his two years as executive director.

Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous speaks with a reporter at the group's offices in Washington on Oct. 26, 2023.

Trump team pushes to oust No. 2 official at world energy body

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Brian Dabbs and Sara Schonhardt

10 August 2025 at 02:00

The administration and its Republican allies in Congress say the Paris-based International Energy Agency discourages fossil fuel investments around the world.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, left, has threatened to end U.S. support for the International Energy Agency, complaining about "nonsensical" projections that run afoul of President Donald Trump's championing of fossil fuels.

Trump team pushes for ouster of top IEA official

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Brian Dabbs and Sara Schonhardt

10 August 2025 at 02:00

The administration and its Republican allies in Congress say the International Energy Agency discourages fossil fuel investments around the world.

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office on Aug. 6, 2025, in Washington.

GOP senators place holds on Trump Treasury nominees in renewable energy standoff

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Kelsey Tamborrino and Josh Siegel

5 August 2025 at 03:53

The actions follow an effort by a handful of Senate Republicans to meet with administration officials about the future of the tax credits for wind and solar projects.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who sits on the Senate Finance Committee, recently announced in the Congressional Record that he placed holds on the Treasury nominees.

Trump administration moves to repeal climate ‘holy grail’

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Alex Guillén

30 July 2025 at 01:18

The repeal of the finding on the dangers greenhouse gases pose to human health and welfare will face fierce legal challenges.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has proposed undoing the greenhouse gas endangerment finding, the legal basis for most of EPA's climate regulations.

Researchers quietly planned a test to dim sunlight. They wanted to ‘avoid scaring’ the public.

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Corbin Hiar

27 July 2025 at 19:00

Hundreds of documents show how researchers failed to notify officials in California about a test of technology to block the sun’s rays — while they planned a much huger sequel. 

The west coast of North America is one area the Marine Cloud Brightening Program has considered for a 3,900-square-mile solar geoengineering test. A boat is seen off the coast of Costa Rica.

NOAA places 2 veteran officials on leave

Politico | Energy & Environment

By Ben Johansen and Daniel Cusick

26 July 2025 at 03:15

It comes less than a week before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee takes up the confirmation of Neil Jacobs, the president's nominee to lead NOAA as its administrator.

Neil Jacobs served as NOAA’s acting administrator during President Donald Trump’s first term, where he found himself embroiled in the “Sharpiegate” scandal.

Trump switches off power line project financing amid AI scramble for new energy

Politico | Energy & Environment

By James Bikales and Kelsey Tamborrino

24 July 2025 at 07:00

The canceling of a federal loan guarantee for a major power grid project comes despite the White House pledge to expand the energy network to feed the voracious power appetite from new data centers.

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