E.U. Steps Up Ocean Monitoring as Trump Administration Backs Away

3 June 2026 at 23:01

Days after the U.S. said it would kill a network of ocean monitors, European officials pledged to invest more in their version, calling it a “necessity.”

The European plan to invest roughly $107 million comes as the U.S. has said it would dismantle a sprawling network of sensors.

Unusual Greenpeace Lawsuit May Proceed, Dutch Court Says

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Karen Zraick

3 June 2026 at 20:34

Greenpeace International is arguing under Dutch law that an American pipeline company, Energy Transfer, sought to silence it with a costly lawsuit in North Dakota.

Demonstrators against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota in 2016. The lawsuits are centered on Greenpeace’s involvement in the protests.

Democrats Pledge to Fight Trump’s Termination of Ocean Monitoring Observatories

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Lisa Friedman

2 June 2026 at 21:53

The Trump administration is dismantling a $368 million deep-ocean observation system that monitors marine ecosystems and the effects of climate change.

Recovering a surface buoy — part of a network of moorings, buoys and gliders making observations of the ocean — from the Irminger Sea off Greenland’s coast, in 2021.

Trump Administration to Dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Eric Niiler

2 June 2026 at 15:32

The $368 million network of instruments collecting data in both the Atlantic and Pacific has been critical to climate and ocean research.

A mooring that was used in the Ocean Observatories Initiative was recovered after operating for a year in the Gulf of Alaska.

I.R.A. Rebates for Appliance Swaps Could Be Phased Out

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Maxine Joselow and Brad Plumer

1 June 2026 at 22:33

New guidance from the Energy Department would prevent people from receiving rebates after making such swaps.

The new guidance would also end rebates for the replacement of gas-powered dryers, heat pumps and water heaters.

Oil Prices Jump as Middle East Tensions Build

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Rebecca F. Elliott and Joe Rennison

1 June 2026 at 20:37

Some analysts said the main international oil price, which was up 6 percent on Monday, could climb much higher in the coming weeks if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t reopen.

An oil refinery in Carson, Calif. The possibility of continued fighting has raised concerns about how long the world’s stockpiles of oil and fuels will last if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen.

2025 Wildfires Were the Costliest Ever, Researchers Say

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Rebecca Dzombak

1 June 2026 at 19:28

Severe, hard-to-control blazes in densely populated areas like Los Angeles drove the year’s record losses.

Pacific Palisades, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2025. Fires in the Los Angeles area last year burned at least 90 square miles, killing at least 31 people and displacing more than 150,000.

S.E.C. Proposes to Kill Climate Change Disclosure Rule

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Maxine Joselow

31 May 2026 at 17:10

The regulation would have required all publicly traded companies to disclose whether they faced significant risks from climate change and its effects.

An oil drilling site in Wyoming. The S.E.C. rule would have required companies to disclose their contributions to climate change and the risks they faced from a warming planet.

How NextEra Energy Wielded Political Power in Florida

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Ivan Penn

29 May 2026 at 21:29

NextEra, which is seeking to buy Dominion Energy, has often butted heads with consumer groups, residents and journalists in its home state.

A Dominion Energy power plant near Davis, W.Va. NextEra Energy’s political activities are expected to be scrutinized as it seeks approval of its purchase of Dominion.

A Clean Energy PAC Helped Beat Chip Roy, and Now It Has New Targets

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Lisa Friedman

29 May 2026 at 20:47

A PAC representing wind and solar energy interests spent $1.1 million to boost the Republican primary opponent of Chip Roy, an opponent of renewables. Now they are trying to save a Republican ally in Iowa.

A group of renewable energy investors paid for this projection on the side of the Energy Department building in Washington gloating over Representative Chip Roy’s defeat in a Republican primary for Texas attorney general.

Greenpeace’s Long War With a Pipeline Titan Enters a Strange New Phase

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Karen Zraick

29 May 2026 at 02:09

This month, a North Dakota court barred Greenpeace from saying what it wanted in a European court, an unusual move. The environmental group says it is forging ahead.

A court building in Amsterdam. The North Dakota Supreme Court this month barred Greenpeace International from making claims against Energy Transfer in a Dutch countersuit.

Can New Technology Help Save North Atlantic Right Whales?

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Catrin Einhorn

28 May 2026 at 10:02

Innovative systems to keep ships from hitting North Atlantic right whales are coming into use. The Trump administration is weighing whether they can replace a bedrock protection.

E.P.A. to Repeal Some Limits on ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Lisa Friedman

26 May 2026 at 21:32

The rules were established by the Biden administration after research linked the compounds to a range of serious health problems.

Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, has argued that the agency made a procedural error when it established the drinking water standards in 2024.

U.S. Aims to Give Cold War Plutonium to Start-Ups for Nuclear Fuel

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Brad Plumer

26 May 2026 at 20:10

Companies say it’s a better way to dispose of the Cold War-era material — and fix a shortage of nuclear fuel. But the plan has also faced criticism from nonproliferation experts.

Work with radioactive materials at a plutonium facility at the at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1978.

Scientists Ditched a Scary Climate Scenario. What Now?

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Brad Plumer and Eric Niiler

26 May 2026 at 15:32

While global warming is still a threat, the decision to back away from a worst-case outlook raises questions about whether some risks have been overstated.

A wildfire burning in the Simi Valley of California this month.

Which Countries Are Profiting From the Iran War Oil Shock

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Amy Fan and Rebecca F. Elliott

22 May 2026 at 18:28

An analysis of oil export data offers clues about which nations have benefited from higher prices, and which have lost a lot of revenue.

A Very Lonely Caterpillar, Possibly the Last of Its Kind, Has Died

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Catrin Einhorn

22 May 2026 at 14:28

The Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly hasn’t been seen in the wild since 2022. The caterpillar was the last individual in human care.

Exxon Is Nearing a Deal to Pump Oil in Venezuela, Marking a Victory for Trump

NYT - Energy & Environment

By: Anatoly Kurmanaev

21 May 2026 at 20:58

The U.S. oil giant is negotiating a deal to pump oil in Venezuela, ending a standoff with its socialist rulers and marking a victory for President Trump.