When the American people elected Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States earlier this month, a large portion of climate world went into a tailspin. In the groggy reckoning of Wednesday morning, MIT Technology Review deemed the outcome a “tragic loss for climate pr … | Continue reading
The optimistic case for the Inflation Reduction Act — even under a Trump presidency, even with a Republican trifecta in Washington — rests on a “public investment first” view of climate policy. Public investment in the clean energy economy is not merely a second-best policy optio … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Super Typhoon Man-yi made two landfalls across the Philippines over the weekend, becoming the country’s fourth typhoon in 10 days • Parts of Europe are bracing for a cold snap • The Jennings Creek Wildfire along the New York-New Jersey border is 90% contained. … | Continue reading
Donald Trump has selected another stalwart of the fossil fuel industry to lead the Department of Energy. On Saturday, the president-elect put forward Chris Wright, CEO of the oilfield services firm Liberty Energy and a major Republican donor, for the job. Wright “has worked in Nu … | Continue reading
On Wednesday, Heatmap readers gathered in Washington, D.C., to hear Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado and former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Neil Chaterjee discuss the impacts of the election on climate and energy policy. Although the subject matter w … | Continue reading
Donald Trump does not care much about climate change. By which I mean not just that he does not believe the warming of the planet is a problem, but also that the entire subject is far from the top of his priority list. Unfortunately, that makes his incoming administration even mo … | Continue reading
Trump 2.0 may sound the death knell for climate tech — not the concept, of course, but the phrase. “Climate tech” became ubiquitous during the Biden era, attached to companies pitching anything vaguely related to either climate change or technology, as well as the specialized and … | Continue reading
A moment of profound uncertainty for many of America’s environmental laws has just become even more uncertain-er. This week, as President-elect Donald Trump considers how to revise or repeal the country’s bedrock climate laws, one of the country’s oldest environmental laws has be … | Continue reading
Current conditions: The Philippines issued its highest storm alert ahead of Super Typhoon Usagi • Pakistan declared a health emergency in Punjab as toxic smog worsened • Tropical Storm Sara is not expected to pose a major threat to Florida. THE TOP FIVE 1. Leading climate advocat … | Continue reading
Berkeley, California and Washington State put the transition to all-electric buildings on the ballot last week, and in both cases, it seemed to fail the test. Voters in Berkeley overwhelmingly rejected a proposed tax on natural gas that would raise money for electrification proje … | Continue reading
The Trump administration is hoping to kill the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle buyers, according to a Reuters report citing two anonymous sources within the Trump transition team. That aspiration isn’t totally unexpected — President-elect Donald Trump flirted with ending t … | Continue reading
We’ve got a high-speed charging problem. Without readily available high-speed charging, people will never let go of their range anxiety fears and buy electric; but unless you have people in EVs willing to pay to charge their cars, there’s no reason to build the chargers. The Bide … | Continue reading
This week we’re talking to Senator John Hickenlooper of Colorado who joined me yesterday at Heatmap’s Election Post-Game event in Washington, D.C., for a spirited chat about the 2024 election, permitting, and support for renewable energy in a Trump 2.0 era. We also talked about b … | Continue reading
1. Forget about the IRA – As the dust has settled post-election, it’s becoming clearer far more than the IRA is at stake in the coming Trump 2.0 administration – namely, whether what people expect in the normal course of governing will resume at all. Case in point: Massachusetts … | Continue reading
1. Magic Valley, Idaho – Sen. Jim Risch, one of the state’s loudest opponents of the Lava Ridge wind farm, said he believes Donald Trump will stop the project on Day 1. In a newly-aired interview with TV outlet KTVB, Risch said the matter has been presented to the incoming presid … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Smog in India has obscured views of the towering Taj Mahal • Thousands of people have evacuated Málaga, Spain, due to extreme flooding • Most of the U.S. will experience higher-than-average temperatures through the end of the week. THE TOP FIVE 1. Economists s … | Continue reading
A mere two years ago, climate world was awash in optimism as the tax credits in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act and other Biden-era legislation opened up exciting opportunities for climate tech companies. Now, Trump has said he wants to repeal the IRA in its entirety … | Continue reading
Tesla is ubiquitous. Following Election Day, the company’s shares broke the $1 trillion mark, making the electric vehicle manufacturer more valuable than the next 15 automakers combined. Much of that is because Elon Musk’s company is likely to benefit from its CEO having Presiden … | Continue reading
Current conditions: A brush fire caused major delays to Amtrak journeys along the East Coast • More flood alerts have been issued for Spain as new storms loom • It’s cloudy in Washington, where President Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump at the White House today. THE T … | Continue reading
The rollbacks are coming. Donald Trump’s incoming administration is expected to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, weaken the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules for power plants and tailpipe pollution, and — potentially — rewrite or repeal big swaths of the I … | Continue reading
The most important legal challenge for the renewables industry in America may have just been filed in Michigan. On Friday afternoon, about 70 towns and a handful of Michigan counties appealed the rule implementing part of a new renewable energy siting law – PA 233 – providing pri … | Continue reading
The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts were supposed to be a bonanza for the clean energy business. Renewables, with their high upfront costs compared to their costs of operating (the “fuel” — i.e. the wind the sun — is free), are especially sensitive to the cost of borrowing m … | Continue reading
Current conditions: The Philippines is bracing for another major storm, the fifth in under a month • Warnings are in place for Guam as Tropical Storm Man-Yi approaches • It is about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny in Washington, D.C., where Congress is back in session. THE TOP FI … | Continue reading
When then-President-Elect Donald Trump nominated then-Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016, everyone right, left, and center knew exactly what that meant: The top law enforcement officer from one of the nation’s most conservat … | Continue reading
Of all the eerie paradoxes of climate change, one of the most unsettling has got to be Christmas shopping in wildfire smoke. This weekend, ice skaters seeking early holiday cheer in New York’s Bryant Park did so not to the usual scent of honey-roasted nuts but to the reek of brus … | Continue reading
Since August, climate policy optimists have pointed to a letter sent by 18 Republican members of the House of Representatives to Speaker Mike Johnson imploring him to preserve the energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act. As of January, however, some of them will no long … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Outdoor activities are banned in Pakistan’s Punjab province as air pollution worsens • An atmospheric river is hammering the Pacific Northwest • The Taurid meteor shower will peak today and tomorrow. THE TOP FIVE 1. COP29 kicks off in Azerbaijan The UN COP29 c … | Continue reading
For decades now analysts of various stripes have been predicting the end of America’s reign as the dominant world power. Some thought the war on terror, in which the U.S. spent on the order of $6 trillion turning half the Middle East into a Stygian wasteland, would crack it. Othe … | Continue reading
The next Trump administration is ramping up, and we are beginning to get a sense of what it might look like. But before we get any further from the election, I want to note the one thing we absolutely know about the Trump administration’s policy: It constantly contradicts itself. … | Continue reading
I won’t sugar coat this: The election of Donald Trump to a second term with a likely governing trifecta has dealt a devastating blow to U.S. efforts to cut climate-warming pollution. I’ve spent the past four years analyzing the progress made under the Biden-Harris Administration … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Colorado’s major snow storm will continue well into the weekend • More than 900 people in Pakistan were hospitalized in a single day due to extreme air pollution • Devastating flooding continues in Spain. THE TOP FIVE 1. Guterres warns of tipping points and 1. … | Continue reading
It was a curious alliance from the start. On the one hand, Donald Trump, who made antipathy toward electric vehicles a core part of his meandering rants. On the other hand, Elon Musk, the man behind the world’s largest EV company, who nonetheless put all his weight, his millions … | Continue reading
When Republicans flipped the Senate, they took the keys to three critical energy and climate-focused committees. These are among the most powerful institutions for crafting climate policy on Earth. The Senate plays the role of gatekeeper for important legislation, as it requires … | Continue reading
The most important climate election you’ve never heard of? Your local county commissioner. County commissioners are usually the most powerful governing individuals in a county government. As officials closer to community-level planning than, say a sitting senator, commissioners w … | Continue reading
1. Madison County, Missouri – A giant battery material recycling plant owned by Critical Mineral Recovery exploded and became engulfed in flames last week, creating a potential Vineyard Wind-level PR headache for energy storage. The explosion led surrounding communities to evacua … | Continue reading
1. It’s the election, stupid – We don’t need to retread who won the presidential election this week (or what it means for the Inflation Reduction Act). But there were also big local control votes worth watching closely. South Dakotans at the ballot box successfully defeated a law … | Continue reading
We’re joined today by Frank Wolak, CEO of perhaps the most crucial D.C. trade group for all things hydrogen: the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association. The morning after Election Day we chatted about whether Trump 2.0 will be as receptive as members of Congress have been to h … | Continue reading
Current conditions: A winter storm could bring up to 4 feet of snow to parts of Colorado and New Mexico • At least 89 people are still missing from extreme flooding in Spain • The Mountain Fire in Southern California has consumed 14,000 acres and is zero percent contained. THE TO … | Continue reading
As the realities of Trump’s return to office and the likelihood of a Republican trifecta in Washington began to set in on Wednesday morning, climate and clean energy advocates mostly did not sugarcoat the result or look for a silver lining. But in press releases and interviews, r … | Continue reading
Last night, Donald Trump secured a second term in the White House. He campaigned on an aggressively pro-fossil -fuel agenda, promising to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s landmark 2022 climate law, and roll back Environmental Protection Agency rules governing power pla … | Continue reading
The re-election of Donald Trump all but assures that the next four years of climate policy will have to unfold at the local level. With a climate change denier who previously wreaked havoc on longstanding environmental regulations, opened wildlife refuges to drilling, and put the … | Continue reading
While many investors and analysts had anticipated a Donald Trump victory Tuesday — Maheep Mandloi of Mizuho Securities wrote earlier this week that stocks had “priced in” a 70% chance of Trump winning — that hasn’t stopped markets from twitching reflexively now that he’s actually … | Continue reading
South Dakota voters have rejected a ballot measure that would have eased the permitting process for a highly contentious carbon dioxide pipeline. The planned $8 billion project, developed by Summit Carbon Solutions, would carry CO2 captured from ethanol plants to sequestration we … | Continue reading
Current conditions: Power outages are likely to spread across windswept California today as PG&E tries to prevent fires • A snowstorm is brewing in Colorado • It is 80 degrees Farenheit and raining in West Palm Beach, where Donald Trump delivered his 2024 presidential victory spe … | Continue reading
As the election odds swung sharply towards Republican Donald Trump as Tuesday evening slid into Wednesday morning, climate-conscious investors, academics, strategists, and other internet personalities were mostly mute. It was a night to stare blankly at the TV, watch the needle s … | Continue reading
As of early Wednesday morning, Donald Trump seems likely to be re-elected president of the United States, becoming the first commander in chief since Grover Cleveland to serve non-consecutive terms. Trump’s probable victory has profound implications for America’s economy, securit … | Continue reading
If you’re sweating bullets in line, stay in line! Across the United States, millions of voters cast their ballots in record or near-record daily heat, including in Rochester, New York, where it hit a sweltering 81 degrees Fahrenheit (it was also the city’s hottest November day on … | Continue reading
Yes, the race for the White House is extremely important for the future of climate policy in the U.S. and, frankly, around the world. But it’s not the only race that matters. Starting at 6 p.m. ET on Election Night, Heatmap will be tracking 36 of the most important climate electi … | Continue reading