By NRDC Nature's Voice.  Excerpt: Siding with NRDC and our allies, a federal court has ruled that the Department of Transportation under the Trump administration acted illegally when it tried to freeze a $5 billion federal initiative to build a nationwide network of reliable, high speed electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations and odered the funds restored. ...It aims to bu9ild EV charging stations every 50 miles on major highways across all 50 states....  Full article at https://issuu.com/nrdc/docs/nature_s_voice_summer_2026 (page 2). 

By Valerie Volcovici , Reuters.  Excerpt: WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - The Department of Energy will retain funding for major carbon direct air capture awarded under the Biden administration after targeting them for ​fund cancellation last year, according to a list of projects identified ‌by the agency that it sent to Congress this week seen by Reuters. Last October, the DOE considered cancelling billions of dollars in funding for clean energy programs, including awards for auto ​manufacturing, hydrogen and carbon capture. Projects slated for cancellation included two major direct ​air capture hubs that received $1.2 billion awards from former President Joe ⁠Biden's administration, including one that involves oil company Occidental (OXY.N) in Texas and another ​in Louisiana. ...The DOE confirmed that the South Texas DAC Hub and Louisiana's Project Cypress were on the list of nearly 2,000 projects that would ​retain their funding....  Full article at https://www.reuters.com...

By Karen Zraick , The New York Times.  Excerpt: Thomas Jorling, adviser to Republicans who cosponsored the 1970 law, disputes the Trump administration’s claim that it shouldn’t apply to planet-warming greenhouse gases. ...When the Trump administration took the extraordinary step this year of killing the government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, it made a simple argument: The Clean Air Act doesn’t allow it. Thomas Jorling, who helped write the Clean Air Act, disagrees. The 1970 Clean Air Act became law ...when climate change wasn’t as widely recognized a threat. But Mr. Jorling said in a recent interview that he and the other authors of the legislation had known that scientists would continue learning about new pollutants, and so the bill was meant to be flexible enough to encompass them. Regulating planet-warming emissions is “perfectly consistent with the Clean Air Act,” he said. ...In February, the Environmental Protection Agency revoked what is known as the “endangerm...

By Maxine Joselow  and  Lisa Friedman , The New York Times.  Excerpt: The Trump administration on Thursday filed  a new lawsuit  against California over its strict limits on planet-warming pollution from cars, arguing that the restrictions would unlawfully force a rapid transition to electric vehicles in the state. ...Across the country, 17 states representing more than a third of the American automobile market follow California’s lead on clean car standards. “Gavin Newsom is determined to continue pushing Democrats’ radical E.V. fantasy — even if doing so is illegal,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.... Anthony Martinez, a spokesman for Governor Newsom, called the lawsuit “meritless.” “While the Trump administration surrenders the future of the auto industry to China, California will continue competing globally to win the clean vehicle market,” Mr. Martinez said, adding, “This lawsuit is meritless, and we’re not backing down from this fi...

By  Carlos Martinez , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: Five ways dismantling NCAR will cost the American people, and two ways to save it. ...the Trump administration  plans to dismantle  the  National Science Foundation’s (NSF)   National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR),  a federally funded institution that underpins critical science that Americans rely on. ...1. Air Travelers Will Lose Protection. ...2. Food Security and the U.S. Agricultural Economy Will Be Put at Risk. ...3. U.S. National Security and Military Readiness Will Be Weakened. ...4. Americans in Disaster-Prone Areas Will Have Less Time to Prepare for, and Evacuate from, Extreme Weather. ...5. Americans Lose a Unique Source of National Pride. ...What We Must Do Now. ...This moment demands more than concern—it requires action. First, NSF is requesting feedback regarding its intent to restructure NCAR. ... Respond, and inform NSF  about the value and benefits of  all  of NCAR, n...

By Nicolás Rivero  and  Jake Spring , Washington Post.  Excerpt: The Energy Department on Wednesday canceled $7.56 billion in funding for 223 projects aimed at research and deployment of clean energy and other climate-friendly technology mainly in Democratic-led states. The cuts are the latest in President Donald Trump’s efforts to undercut renewable energy and other efforts to reduce the emissions driving climate change. The administration has already sought to claw back funding allotted under President Joe Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. That includes  $20 billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund , which supported investments in green technology like heat pumps and electric vehicles, and  $7 billion in the Solar for All program  to help low- and middle-income families install rooftop solar. The latest cuts include a  $1.2 billion award for ARCHES H2 , ...aimed at kick-starting the hydrogen industry in California.... ...

By Nature's Voice - Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).  Excerpt: Nearly $1 billion in funds unlawfully frozen by the Trump administration to support the transition to cleaner vehicles have been restored, following a lawsuit filed by a coalition of states and joined by NRDC and our allies. A federal district court issued a preliminary injunction that unfroze the funds for 14 states that had been apportioned funding under the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, a 5 billion bipartisan program that seeks to build electric-vehicle charging stations every 50 miles on major highways across all 50 states. The transformative program will deliver good jobs while ensuring that drivers—from urban to rural areas, in every corner of the country—have access to high-quality charging stations. ...“The administration’s halt in funding has thrown state efforts to build charging stations into turmoil, and it will mean workers and drivers suffer,” says Atid Kimelman...

 By Rebecca F. Elliott , The New York Times.  Excerpt: ...As far back as 1977, when oil prices were a big concern in the United States, a Cadillac Seville fueled by hydrogen drove in President Jimmy Carter’s inaugural parade. More recently, a signature law under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. offered generous tax credits to companies that made hydrogen in ways that release little or no carbon dioxide. That spurred a flood of investment announcements by many businesses. But the hype around the fuel is fading fast — and not for the first time. From Arizona to Oklahoma, companies are pulling the plug on clean hydrogen projects after Congress shortened the window for them to qualify for a Biden-era tax credit by five years. Projects now must be under construction by the end of 2027 to qualify, a hurdle that three-quarters of proposals most likely will not meet,  according to Wood Mackenzie , an energy consulting firm....  Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11...

By Jennifer Hiller , The Wallstreet Journal.  Excerpt: Big wind and solar projects stand to be among the biggest losers, while hydrogen and other projects get a short reprieve. ...U.S. risks a slowdown in power delivery during the global artificial-intelligence race by ending the tax credits that were part of former President Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act. The U.S. is also poised to cede advances in technologies from solar panels to batteries and electric vehicles to China. .... Loser: Big wind and solar power projects ... Winner: U.S. factories, ... Winner: Rooftop solar [??]  ... Loser: Electric vehicles  ....  Full article at https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/the-renewable-energy-sectors-relative-winners-and-losers-in-the-megabill-95e7ed48 .  See also July 2 Forbes article, Red States–And AI–Are Big Losers From Trump’s Clean Energy Massacre , and July 3 article in TechCrunch, Final GOP bill kneecaps renewables and hydrogen but lifts nuclear...

By   Rebecca Owen , Eos/AGU.  Excerpt: In 2003, several states and environmental groups sued the U.S. EPA for violating the  Clean Air Act  by not regulating emissions from new vehicles. When the  case  eventually reached the Supreme Court, a group of climate scientists  contributed an amicus brief —a legal document in which a third party not directly involved in the case can offer testimony—sharing data demonstrating that rising global temperatures were directly caused by human activity. This led to  the Supreme Court deciding  that greenhouse gases did constitute pollutants under the Clean Air Act and, ultimately, to the EPA’s 2009  endangerment finding  that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health. The endangerment finding became the basis for governmental regulation of greenhouse gases. Sixteen years later, the Trump administration is  poised to repeal it , along with  other environmental protections . In a new ...

By Jack Ewing , The New York Times.  Excerpt: A tax and policy bill passed by House Republicans on Thursday would deal a serious blow to electric vehicles by repealing many of the subsidies that have been critical to the growth of the technology. If passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Trump, the bill would sharply slow the sales and production of battery-powered cars and trucks in the United States and set back the global effort to address climate change. The measure would gut subsidies for battery manufacturing, incentives for purchases of electric vehicles by individuals and businesses, and money for charging stations that Congress passed during the Biden administration. And it would impose a new annual fee on owners of electric cars and trucks. Republican leaders ...aim to use the money the government saves on the incentives to cut taxes, primarily for high-income households and businesses. ...The rollback of sales incentives will leave the United States even f...

By Jennifer Hiller , The Wallstreet Journal.  Excerpt: The struggling rooftop solar industry faces a potentially fatal blow after the House of Representatives passed a tougher version of President Trump’s expansive tax-and-spending package. The bill sunsets rich renewable energy credits, as expected.... Credits for rooftop solar and battery storage would end this year, while those for larger solar, storage and wind energy projects would end by 2028, instead of a slower phaseout through 2031....  Full article at https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/rooftop-solar-takes-gut-punch-in-house-tax-bill-dee033fa . See also article in The Guardian: Trump’s tax bill to cost 830,000 jobs and drive up bills and pollution emissions, experts warn .

By Jonathan Allen , Reuters.  Excerpt: New York state will fine fossil fuel companies a total of $75 billion over the next 25 years to pay for damage caused to the climate under a bill Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law on Thursday. The law is intended to shift some of the recovery and adaptation costs of climate change from individual taxpayers to oil, gas and coal companies that the law says are liable. The money raised will be spent on mitigating the impacts of climate change, including adapting roads, transit, water and sewage systems, buildings and other infrastructure. ...Fossil fuel companies will be fined based on the amount of greenhouse gases they released into the atmosphere between 2000 and 2018, to be paid into a Climate Superfund beginning in 2028. It will apply to any company that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation determines is responsible for more than 1 billion tons of global greenhouse gas emissions. ...New York becomes the second state to p...

By Gary Thill & Laura Counts, UC Berkeley Has News.  Excerpt: When the U.S. government flexes its $5 trillion annual purchasing power to encourage environmental progress, companies listen—and act. A new study from the UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business shows that firms have reduced toxic emissions, developed greener products, and taken concrete steps to address climate change in their pursuit of government contracts. The study, led by Haas professor Omri Even-Tov, analyzed ten years of data on about 2,700 companies headquartered across more than 350 U.S. counties. The companies seeking government contracts not only started talking more about climate disclosures, but they cut emissions by up to 10,000 pounds per year per county and were 5% more likely to develop green technology patents. “Our research shows that when the government sets expectations as part of procurement, it’s not just greenwashing,” says Even-Tov, an associate professor of accounting and co-faculty director...

By Ehsan Masood , Nature.  Excerpt: An eleventh-hour deal that rescued the COP29 climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, is a “fragile consensus”, researchers who study climate finance have told  Nature . Visibly relieved COP delegates representing rich countries applauded in the early hours of 24 November, following a last-minute pledge in which rich countries will ‘take the lead’ in increasing climate finance for poor countries to at least US$300 billion annually by 2035. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), notably China, will also be expected to contribute to international climate funds, a first for a COP agreement. But delegates from some of the largest LMICs, including India, Indonesia and Nigeria, were furious. Some alleged that they had been pressured into a deal, so that the COP meeting did not end in failure. The delegates also did not agree on how much of the $300 billion will be in grants versus loans, nor how much will come from private or public-sector sources. C...

By Julie Johnson , San Francisco Chronicle.  Excerpt: California air quality regulators on Friday tightened a key environmental program credited with reducing the amount of pollution churned out by cars and trucks but criticized for raising the state’s already high gasoline prices. The California Air Resources Board voted 12-2 on Friday to strengthen the Low Carbon Fuels Standard, which creates financial incentives for oil and gas companies that slash emissions from transportation fuels and adds costs to companies that don’t. ...The air board said the hallmark program, established in 2011, has doubled the volume of low carbon fuels such as renewable diesel on the market, slashed regular diesel consumption in half and generated $4 billion oil and gas industry investments in cleaner fuels and technology. ...The standard works by rewarding oil and gas companies for lowering the carbon intensity of fuels, which encompasses the greenhouse gas emissions produced throughout thei...

By Riley Bunch , The Atlantic Journal-Constitution.  Excerpt: Tens of thousands of Atlantans lost power last week when Hurricane Helene swept through the south, causing heavy flooding in parts of the city and devastation throughout other areas of the state. ...Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens...announced a massive chunk of federal money, $156 million, coming to Georgia to help increase access to solar power for Atlanta’s low-income residents. Atlanta is one of three cities in the state that will benefit from the funds doled out through a renewable energy initiative tucked within the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. In total, the Environmental Protection Division announced $7 billion in “Solar for All” grants to 60 applications across the country, as part of a $27 billion pot aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions....  Full article at https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-news/georgia-program-gets-156m-from-feds-to-increa...

By Ivan Penn , The New York Times.  Excerpt: The past and the future of electricity in America are perhaps most visible in a Minnesota town surrounded by potato farms and cornfields. Towering over Becker, a community of a little more than 5,000 people northwest of Minneapolis, is one of the nation’s largest coal power plants. It is being replaced — to the dismay of some residents — with thousands of acres of solar panels and a test of long-duration batteries. Becker is one of the first of a group of seven Minnesota municipal areas, called the Coalition of Utility Cities, making the change from a fossil-fuel-based economy to clean energy. ...When the Sherburne County Generating Station, known as Sherco, completes its renewable project on adjacent land, it will stand as the largest solar farm in the Upper Midwest — replacing three coal units in Becker with three solar sites on the town’s outskirts along the Mississippi River. ...Becker crystallizes part of the legacy of the administr...

By JEFFREY MERVIS , Science.  Excerpt: In a much-anticipated decision that many scientific groups had feared, the U.S. Supreme Court today overturned a 40-year-old doctrine that gave federal agencies considerable leeway in interpreting laws passed by Congress. The 6-to-3 ruling means judges should no longer defer to the scientific expertise of those agencies on a vast range of technical questions and, instead, should make such decisions themselves. “Agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in the majority opinion in  Loper Bright Enterprises  v.  Raimondo , a case involving environmental regulations affecting herring boats. ...But in a stinging dissent, Justice Elena Kagan ...gave several examples of technical questions that she feels judges are ill-equipped to answer. The Food and Drug Administration must decide what qualifies as a protein in regulating biological products, she notes. And the...

By MARTIN ENSERINK , Science.  Excerpt: The far right’s stunning victory in the Netherlands’s parliamentary elections last fall will upset far more than the country’s immigration policies. An agreement by the four parties aiming to form a new government, presented on 16 May and debated in the House of Representatives on 22 May, also calls for cuts in science and innovation funding, rollbacks of environment and climate policies, and restrictions on the influx of foreign students. ...[Geert] Wilders, who ardently denies climate science, called in his election platform for putting all climate policies and agreements “through the shredder,” but he conceded in Parliament that won’t happen. The governing agreement leaves most climate “nonsense” in place, he said. A proposed carbon dioxide tax for industry and a plan to speed up the introduction of heat pumps in homes have both been abandoned, however....  Full article at https://www.science.org/content/article/new-dutch-right-wing-c...