Dead Hydrogen Hubs and Ghost Forests

Current conditions: A “pretty good chance of rain” in Los Angeles over the next few days won’t dampen World Series celebrations • Typhoon Kong-rey makes landfall as the most powerful storm to hit Taiwan in 28 years • Record-warm temperatures across the Northeast mean trick-or-treaters can leave their jackets at home.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Valencia looks like it was struck by ‘a strong hurricane’

Shocking photos of the catastrophic damage to the Valencia region of Spain have begun to emerge after more than a month’s worth of rain fell in a single day. The official death toll from the storm, which hit Tuesday night, is at 95, though that number is expected to rise as search and rescue operations continue. In pictures, the aftermath in places like Sedaví looks “eerily similar to the damage left by a strong hurricane or tsunami,” the Associated Press reports, with dozens of cars piled on top of each other in the narrow streets between buildings.

Though it is too soon to know whether or to what extent climate change played a role in this week’s devastation, the intense rainfall was caused by cold air moving over the warm Mediterranean, an effect that is expected to become more severe in future years as the sea warms and evaporation increases. Separately, World Weather Attribution released a report on Thursday showing that the top 10 deadliest extreme weather events since 2004 were made worse by climate change and collectively killed more than half a million people. Meteorologists expect more heavy rain in the hardest-hit regions of Spain on Thursday.

David Ramos/Getty Images

2. Why hydrogen hubs are struggling

A year after the Biden administration named the seven regional clean hydrogen hubs selected to receive $7 billion of support from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, almost half are “running into serious trouble,” Heatmap’s Jael Holzman reported Wednesday for The Fight. Several companies have pulled out of or paused projects; CNX indefinitely stepped away from a blue hydrogen hub in West Virginia, while Fortescue would not confirm that a hydro-powered production plant intended for Washington state will still be built.

“Conversations with experts and stakeholders indicate to me this could be evidence of broader macroeconomic issues hitting the hydrogen industry, from inflation pushing up the price of electrolyzers to the stubbornly low price of natural gas,” Holzman wrote. Or perhaps it’s “a calm before a storm of hydrogen investment” that’ll follow full implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act’s production tax credit. Jael’s take? “This is further proof we live in a disorganized energy transition.”

3. Tesla endorses California’s LCFS, despite Trump’s vow to axe it

Tesla joined Hyundai, GM, Audi, Rivian, and other major car makers in endorsing California’s low carbon fuel standard program, which sets declining limits for transportation fuel emissions in the state. Tesla’s participation in the letter from automakers to California lawmakers, obtained by Politico on Wednesday, puts the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, at odds with Donald Trump, who has vowed not to allow “California politicians to get away with their plan to impose a 100% ban on the sale of gas-powered cars and trucks,” a misleading reference to the LCFS.

Musk has spent more than $75 million supporting Trump’s campaign and has been promised a role in a Republican administration, while Trump, in turn, has tempered some of his more aggressive rhetoric on EVs. As Paul Waldman wrote for Heatmap, it would appear Musk is gunning for two things: “He would like government to give him more money, and he would also like it to get out of his way.”

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4. Tariffs on Chinese-made EVs go into effect in Europe

The European Union enacted higher tariffs on electric vehicles made in China on Wednesday. The tariffs come on top of the preexisting 10% rate and vary by manufacturer based on subsidies they receive from China, ranging from an additional 7.8% for Tesla to 35.3% for SAIC Motor of Shanghai.

European carmakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW oppose the tariffs, worrying they will hurt their sales in China if the country decides to retaliate, Bloomberg writes, while Reuters reports Beijing has already quietly told its domestic automakers not to make significant investments in countries that voted for the tariffs, including France, Poland, and Italy. China has publicly slammed the tariffs as unfair and protectionist and warned that the plan will make it more difficult for Europe to lower its emissions.

5. Tucson school district approves ambitious student-drafted climate action plan

While the federal election is still four days away, climate has already won one proposal put to the vote in Arizona. This week, the Tucson Unified School District board of governors approved in a 3-2 vote an ambitious student-led plan to cut emissions in half by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2040, in part by electrifying its entire bus fleet, increasing plant-based meal options, and limiting its food waste, Fast Company reports. The plan will also require almost all schools in the district to have a designated “cooling room” by 2027 to combat Arizona’s dangerous temperatures, and for climate education to be included in the schools’ curricula. The Arizona Youth Climate Coalition researched and wrote the climate action plan; its co-leader, Ojas Sanghi, called the TUSD decision “a beacon of hope for young people everywhere fighting for their future.”

THE KICKER

The United States Geological Survey recently announced that it is investing in new research into “ghost forests,” the spooky remains of woodlands that have been killed by rising seawater. When researchers drilled into the dead snags, they discovered the trees are home to tiny organisms that convert methane into less-potent carbon dioxide.

Melinda Martinez, USGS