Sign In or Create an Account.

By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy

Politics

Will SCOTUS Block a Major Air Pollution Rule?

On being a good neighbor, Rivian’s results, and China’s emissions

Will SCOTUS Block a Major Air Pollution Rule?
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Heavy rain caused extreme flooding outside Rio de Janeiro • Japan is enduring record-breaking warm winter weather • It’ll be 72 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny at Peoria Stadium in Arizona for the MLB’s first spring training game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Supreme Court weighs challenge to EPA pollution rule

The Supreme Court this week has been hearing arguments in what CNN called “the most significant environmental dispute at the high court this year,” and things aren’t looking good for the Environmental Protection Agency. Several states and energy companies want to block the EPA’s “good neighbor” plan, which seeks to impose strict emissions limits on industrial activities in 23 states in an effort to prevent pollution from drifting across state lines and forming dangerous smog. Challengers say the regulation is overreaching and want its implementation delayed. Yesterday the court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical of the EPA’s authority, citing the fact that lower court decisions have paused the regulation in 12 states.

Environmental groups worry a ruling against the EPA here could set a dangerous precedent. “The Supreme Court — if it were to block this rule — would effectively be saying to industry, ‘Look, any time you face costs from a regulation, come on up and take a shot. We might block that rule for you,’” Sam Sankar, senior vice president for programs at Earthjustice, told E&E News.

2. Rivian to cut 10% of salaried workers

Rivian released its Q4 earnings yesterday, and the results were a mixed bag. The company saw $4.4 billion in annual revenue, up 167% from 2022, but it still lost more money per vehicle ($43,000) in Q4 than in the two quarters prior. It also forecast no growth in vehicle production for 2024, and said it will cut 10% of its staff as EV sales growth slows. “We firmly believe in the full electrification of the automotive industry, but recognize in the short-term, the challenging macro-economic conditions,” CEO RJ Scaringe said. The company is expected to unveil its smaller, more affordable R2 electric SUV in two weeks. Scaringe has called the vehicle “Rivian’s version of the Tesla Model 3.”

3. America will soon get its first Stellantis EV

In more EV news, Stellantis announced that its first U.S.-bound electric vehicles have rolled off the assembly lines in Italy this week and will arrive stateside by the end of the first quarter. The first dealer allocations of the Fiat 500e models sold out in less than a week. The car is lightweight, has a range of about 150 miles, and is one of the cheapest EVs in the U.S., starting at $32,500. Globally it has sold more than 185,000 units, but Stellantis seems to know Americans like big cars, and reportedly plans to launch electric pickups, SUVs, and muscle cars.

Fiat 500eStellantis

4. China’s climate targets in jeopardy as CO2 emissions rise

China’s carbon emissions increased by 12% between 2020 and 2023, putting its 2025 climate goals in jeopardy, according to analysis from Carbon Brief. One reason for the emissions uptick is that drought has reduced output from hydropower, forcing China to rely more on coal. “China has approved 218 GW of new coal power in just two years, enough to supply electricity to the whole of Brazil,” reportedReuters. But at the same time, huge amounts of renewable energy are coming online. This presents a strange contradiction: Coal plants will see less use, which could spark outcry from all the new coal plant operators, and “potential pushback against the energy transition,” said Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst for the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. China is the world’s biggest CO2 emitter.

5. ‘World’s most sustainable company’ sued for pollution

Radius Recycling, the metal recycling giant that research firm Corporate Knights last year dubbed the “world’s most sustainable company,” is being sued by an environmental group for allegedly polluting the San Francisco Bay with heavy metals and other pollutants, Reutersreported. Radius makes “some of the lowest-carbon emissions steel made in the world,” but has recently pivoted to focus more on recycling metals. The lawsuit, brought by San Francisco Baykeeper, accuses the company of failing to limit pollution from its operations. Last year Radius settled in three similar lawsuits.

THE KICKER

Sales of plug-in hybrids increased by 83% in China last year, compared with 21% growth for fully-electric battery powered vehicles.

You’re out of free articles.

Subscribe today to experience Heatmap’s expert analysis 
of climate change, clean energy, and sustainability.
To continue reading
Create a free account or sign in to unlock more free articles.
or
Please enter an email address
By continuing, you agree to the Terms of Service and acknowledge our Privacy Policy
Energy

Exclusive: Trump’s Plans to Build AI Data Centers on Federal Land

The Department of Energy has put together a list of sites and is requesting proposals from developers, Heatmap has learned.

A data center and Nevada land.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The Department of Energy is moving ahead with plans to allow companies to build AI data centers and new power plants on federal land — and it has put together a list of more than a dozen sites nationwide that could receive the industrial-scale facilities, according to an internal memo obtained by Heatmap News.

The memo lists sites in Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado, and other locations. The government could even allow new power plants — including nuclear reactors and carbon-capture operations — to be built on the same sites to generate enough electricity to power the data centers, the memo says.

Keep reading...Show less
Economy

AM Briefing: Liberation Day

On trade turbulence, special election results, and HHS cuts

Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Loom
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: A rare wildfire alert has been issued for London this week due to strong winds and unseasonably high temperatures • Schools are closed on the Greek islands of Mykonos and Paros after a storm caused intense flooding • Nearly 50 million people in the central U.S. are at risk of tornadoes, hail, and historic levels of rain today as a severe weather system barrels across the country.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Trump to roll out broad new tariffs

President Trump today will outline sweeping new tariffs on foreign imports during a “Liberation Day” speech in the White House Rose Garden scheduled for 4 p.m. EST. Details on the levies remain scarce. Trump has floated the idea that they will be “reciprocal” against countries that impose fees on U.S. goods, though the predominant rumor is that he could impose an across-the-board 20% tariff. The tariffs will be in addition to those already announced on Chinese goods, steel and aluminum, energy imports from Canada, and a 25% fee on imported vehicles, the latter of which comes into effect Thursday. “The tariffs are expected to disrupt the global trade in clean technologies, from electric cars to the materials used to build wind turbines,” explained Josh Gabbatiss at Carbon Brief. “And as clean technology becomes more expensive to manufacture in the U.S., other nations – particularly China – are likely to step up to fill in any gaps.” The trade turbulence will also disrupt the U.S. natural gas market, with domestic supply expected to tighten, and utility prices to rise. This could “accelerate the uptake of coal instead of gas, and result in a swell in U.S. power emissions that could accelerate climate change,” Reutersreported.

Keep reading...Show less
Yellow
Podcast

The Least-Noticed Climate Scandal of the Trump Administration

Rob and Jesse catch up on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund with former White House official Kristina Costa.

Lee Zeldin.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

The Inflation Reduction Act dedicated $27 billion to build a new kind of climate institution in America — a network of national green banks that could lend money to companies, states, schools, churches, and housing developers to build more clean energy and deploy more next-generation energy technology around the country.

It was an innovative and untested program. And the Trump administration is desperately trying to block it. Since February, Trump’s criminal justice appointees — led by Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia — have tried to use criminal law to undo the program. After failing to get the FBI and Justice Department to block the flow of funds, Trump officials have successfully gotten the program’s bank partner to freeze relevant money. The new green banks have sued to gain access to the money.

Keep reading...Show less