The Trump administration has eliminated the use of the "social cost of carbon" in federal rulemaking, reversing decades of climate policy and economic analysis.
The administration directed agencies to stop including climate-related economic damages in cost-benefit analyses unless legally required, sidelining a tool used to justify pollution limits.
First developed under Obama and expanded under Biden, the social cost of carbon has ranged from $42 to $190 per ton, representing climate-driven harms like floods, fires, and droughts.
Critics say the move dismisses scientific consensus and opens the door for the administration to weaken regulations on emissions-heavy industries.
Key quote:
“It’s very clear that climate change is causing harms to people in the United States and around the world, and that these harms are growing worse with increasing warming.”
— Robert E. Kopp, climate scientist at Rutgers University
Why this matters:
Climate change already imposes massive and growing economic costs — from flooded cities to deadly heat waves, from disappearing coastlines to disrupted agriculture. The social cost of carbon is a widely accepted tool for quantifying these harms and guiding decisions on everything from fuel efficiency standards to power plant permits. Eliminating it from regulatory decision-making means agencies may no longer weigh the long-term damage of pollution against short-term industrial costs. This shift could accelerate fossil fuel development, prolong environmental harm, and erode decades of work linking economics and climate science. It also increases the likelihood of legal challenges as environmental groups argue that agencies are ignoring fundamental climate risks.
U.S. energy firms are retreating from drilling and halting clean power projects as President Trump’s policies trigger market instability and investor anxiety.
Oil and gas companies are slashing investments and shutting down rigs, citing Trump’s tariffs, trade policies, and pressure on OPEC+ as major disruptors to profitability.
Renewable energy projects, including major offshore wind farms, are being delayed or canceled following Trump’s orders to freeze clean power approvals and halt billions in federal grants.
Despite slashing environmental rules and promising cheap gas, Trump’s policies have left the U.S. just as dependent on foreign oil and facing growing costs for energy infrastructure.
Key quote:
“This is not ‘energy dominance.’”
— Anonymous energy executive, quoted in a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas survey
Why this matters:
The turbulence in the U.S. energy sector comes at a time when global demand, climate threats, and technological competition are colliding. Fossil fuel firms are reeling under policy whiplash and rising costs, while renewables—once on a strong growth trajectory—are now shackled by regulatory uncertainty and a hostile political climate. Trump’s moves to roll back clean energy development and impose steep tariffs are not only stalling domestic projects, but also risking long-term energy security and economic competitiveness. Paused solar and wind projects, particularly offshore, leave millions of homes without cleaner, more stable power sources as cities grow hungrier for electricity. Meanwhile, the steel and component price hikes driven by trade tensions are affecting oilfield operators. If these trends continue, the U.S. could lose ground in both energy independence and the global race for next-generation technologies — especially AI infrastructure that depends on vast, reliable power.
Oregon and Washington pledged to lead the country in renewable power, but a federal bottleneck and lack of investment in transmission lines have left them trailing behind Republican-led states.
Since 2015, just one large renewable energy project has been approved for connection to the Northwest’s federal power grid, run by the Bonneville Power Administration.
Lawmakers in Oregon and Washington passed aggressive carbon-reduction mandates without ensuring the infrastructure needed to deliver new solar and wind energy existed or could be expanded.
Bonneville, burdened by decades-old debt and a risk-averse funding model, has been slow to upgrade its outdated transmission system, stalling more than 200,000 megawatts of proposed clean energy.
Key quote:
“We don’t have a prayer of meeting our heralded, flag-waving renewable energy goals. The dialogue will be to blame Trump; it won’t be to blame ourselves for poor planning and extremely low expectations.”
— David Brown, founder of Obsidian Renewables
Why this matters:
Without sufficient transmission capacity, even the best renewable projects — solar farms on sun-soaked plateaus or wind turbines along blustery ridges — can’t connect to homes and businesses. This creates a chokepoint that not only stalls climate action but also raises costs and increases the likelihood of blackouts. Meanwhile, the centralized control of grid access by Bonneville Power Administration, a uniquely structured federal agency with little local accountability, has made it difficult for regional leaders to intervene or invest directly. As other states, including Texas and several in the Midwest, modernize their energy systems and bring renewables online faster, the Pacific Northwest’s green ambitions risk becoming more symbolic that functional.
A small startup in Massachusetts has built and road-tested a solid-state battery that could one day make electric vehicles cheaper, safer, and longer-lasting than gas-powered cars.
Factorial Energy, co-founded by Siyu Huang and Alex Yu, developed a solid-state battery that was recently tested on the road in a Mercedes EQS sedan after more than a decade of research and setbacks.
Unlike conventional lithium-ion batteries, Factorial’s solid-state version eliminates flammable liquid electrolytes, offering the potential for faster charging, greater range, and improved safety — but also comes with significant manufacturing challenges.
With backing from Mercedes, Hyundai, Stellantis, and LG Chem, the company improved its factory yield from 10% to 85% and plans to begin fleet testing in preparation for potential commercial release by 2028.
Why this matters:
Solid-state batteries represent one of the most promising technologies for reshaping transportation. Today’s electric vehicle batteries rely on flammable liquid components, charge slowly, and weigh a lot. Solid-state batteries could solve all three problems — charging in minutes, traveling longer distances, and dramatically reducing fire risk. They also open the door to lighter vehicles and cleaner air. Yet building them at scale has proven nearly impossible. These cells are sensitive, hard to manufacture consistently, and easily ruined by minor defects. That’s why Factorial’s progress matters: they’ve not only built a battery that works but also manufactured enough of them to put into a moving car. If they or competitors can push the technology into mass production, the ripple effects could be vast.
As climate fears mount among children worldwide, the World Council of Churches has released a new handbook to help religious communities pressure financial institutions to move away from fossil fuel investments.
The World Council of Churches published “Hope for Children Through Climate Justice,” a legal and ethical guide for churches to hold fossil fuel investors accountable without necessarily going to court.
The handbook combines legal tools, science, and gospel teachings to help churches in over 120 countries advocate for climate justice rooted in human rights and religious values.
Rather than litigation, the approach encourages moral pressure and shareholder actions that can compel companies to shift toward renewables, as seen in a successful Australian case.
Key quote:
“This handbook is a source of hope for children. The main goal is really to save children’s lives and to create perspectives for children to project themselves in a beautiful future.”
— Frederique Seidel, senior program lead on children and climate, World Council of Churches
Why this matters:
Studies link climate anxiety in youth with increased depression, insomnia, and a sense of helplessness. The World Health Organization has warned that climate change is the biggest health threat facing humanity. Children, whose bodies and immune systems are still developing, are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, pollution, and climate-related disasters. By grounding advocacy in both scripture and international law, churches can help drive a shift in public accountability and corporate responsibility.
A majority of European and British farmland has lost its natural ability to store water and carbon due to decades of over-farming, worsening floods, droughts and food insecurity, a new report finds.
More than 60% of EU farmland and about 40% in the UK suffer from soil degradation linked to intensive agriculture, undermining their ability to store water and carbon.
Degraded soils contribute to both flooding and drought by failing to absorb water, creating a feedback loop that worsens the climate crisis.
Government initiatives to support soil restoration in the UK are faltering, with funding cuts and paused incentives creating uncertainty for farmers.
Key quote:
“We are losing the natural infrastructure that manages water.”
— Spokesperson, Save Soil initiative
Why this matters:
Industrial farming, with its emphasis on chemical fertilizers and deep tilling, has stripped soils across Europe and the UK of their organic matter. Without this sponge-like structure, rain runs off quickly, carrying nutrients and pesticides into waterways and flooding lowlands, while dry spells leave crops parched. This weakens the land’s ability to grow food, threatening long-term food security and driving up prices for staples. It also limits the land’s role in fighting climate change, as degraded soil holds far less carbon than it could. As more land turns to dust, the climate gets hotter, weather more extreme, and clean water scarcer.
A flaring event at Shell’s massive ethane cracker in Beaver County lit up the sky for days, prompting health complaints and community concern over transparency and safety.
On April 25, Shell’s Pennsylvania plastics plant initiated flaring that continued for several days, causing bright light, noise, and odors that disturbed residents across multiple townships.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a notice of violation tied to the flaring, citing cumulative emissions and visible air pollution; Shell attributed the incident to a maintenance-related safety event.
Residents criticized Shell and DEP for limited and delayed communication, while some reported health symptoms and air monitoring showed elevated levels of volatile organic compounds for most of April.
Key quote:
“I opened my back door and it was like a zombie apocalypse had hit the Earth.”
— Hilary Starcher-O’Toole, executive director of the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Community
Why this matters:
The Shell ethane cracker plant in Beaver County represents the vanguard of a new wave of petrochemical development in the U.S., promising jobs but bringing with it serious questions about public health and environmental safety. Flaring — used to burn off excess gases — emits a mix of pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds like benzene, a known carcinogen. The long, bright nights, strange odors, and reports of respiratory issues in places like Aliquippa and Beaver Falls raise broader concerns about how well environmental regulations are enforced, especially when polluters communicate mainly via social media. As Shell moves toward full-scale operations, the balance between economic gain and public health becomes more precarious, especially in places that already bear the burden of industrial pollution.
