// climate

All signals tagged with this topic

Apr 23

Trump's Return Reverses Three Decades of Environmental Momentum

The article documents a shift: environmental regulation and climate action have operated as a one-directional ratchet since 1970, with each administration adding layers even when rolling back specifics. Trump's second term threatens to unwind that accumulation—not just pause it—by dismantling enforcement agencies, gutting the EPA's authority, and signaling to state actors that environmental compliance is now optional. Permitting timelines collapse, renewable energy subsidies disappear, and corporate compliance calculus shifts overnight. The environmental movement faces an unfamiliar scenario where defending existing ground becomes the primary battle rather than advancing new gains.

theme-brand sustainability climate

Apr 16

Microsoft's Carbon Removal Exit Exposes Market Reality

Source: NYT > Business

Microsoft's decision to pause its $1 billion commitment to carbon removal credits exposes a fundamental problem: the economics of the sector don't work at scale. Voluntary corporate purchases alone cannot sustain companies trying to commercialize capture technology. Microsoft was the largest buyer in an immature market. Its exit removes the primary customer base that allowed startups to operate without proven unit economics or clear paths to profitability. The industry now faces a harder question—whether carbon removal requires direct government procurement and carbon pricing mandates to survive, rather than relying on ESG-motivated tech spending.

theme-culture climate media

Mar 28

Talking with David Roberts

Source: Paulkrugman

The migration of serious climate journalism from institutional platforms (Grist, Vox) to independent Substack represents the hollowing-out of legacy media’s ability to maintain beat expertise, signaling that readers now expect specialized knowledge to live in direct creator relationships rather than branded mastheads—a shift that fragments our shared information ecosystem even as it empowers individual voices.