Julia Simon

@juliaradio.bsky.social

NPR's Energy and Climate Solutions Correspondent SF by way of Nigeria, Indonesia, and Egypt • 🇳🇬🇮🇩🇪🇬 For tips my Signal juliaradio.33

Climate change is just constantly checking in on family and friends around the world who are experiencing events ie wildfire, smoke or heatwaves that are made more intense and/or likely by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. (This weekend it's checking in on family in France. They're okay but 💔)

Around 70% of planet-heating emissions come from burning oil, gas and coal. You may have noticed 👀 oil and gas prices are higher because of the US-Israeli war with Iran - and Q2 profits for oil companies are expected to be big. Senators now want to tax those windfall profits in the U.S. More ⬇️🎧📻

Oil companies are making billions. In the U.S., calls to tax their windfall are growing

Higher oil prices since the Iran war began mean many oil companies have brought in excess profits. Some U.S. lawmakers want to tax those windfall profits and give the money to lower-income Americans.

npr.org

Oil companies will announce their profits from the 2nd quarter later this month. They're expected to be big-in part because of high oil prices because of the Iran war. The U.K. taxes those windfall profits. Now @whitehouse.senate.gov tells NPR he has a plan to tax them here in the U.S. More ⬇️🛢️🎧📻

Oil companies are making billions. In the U.S., calls to tax their windfall are growing

Higher oil prices since the Iran war began mean many oil companies have brought in excess profits. Some U.S. lawmakers want to tax those windfall profits and give the money to lower-income Americans.

npr.org

Oil companies are projected to see big profits in Q2 from higher oil prices linked to the Iran war... Now calls for a U.S. windfall oil tax are growing. This tax - @whitehouse.senate.gov tells @npr.org - wouldn't have the same issues the windfall oil tax in '80s had 🛢️👀 More ⬇️ only on @npr.org 🎧📻🛢️

Oil companies are making billions. In the U.S., calls to tax their windfall are growing

Higher oil prices since the Iran war began mean many oil companies have brought in excess profits. Some U.S. lawmakers want to tax those windfall profits and give the money to lower-income Americans.

npr.org

Solar's sharp rise continues. As of April 2026, global solar capacity now exceeds 3 terawatt. 1 gigawatt → 1 terawatt: 20+ years 1 terawatt → 2 terawatt: 33 months 2 terawatt → 3 terawatt: 19 months

Bild

In today's story about the ongoing Iran war, oil and gas analysts write: "If China's car industry were handing out a salesman of the year award for 2026 President Trump would be a leading contender." They're talking about Chinese EVs, folks. IEA projects oil demand to fall this year🛢️ More here ⬇️

The Iran war has pushed some countries away from oil and toward clean energy

The new round of bombing in the Middle East has underscored the precarity of relying on fossil fuels. The war is speeding up the global transition to EVs, solar and batteries, experts say.

npr.org

George Santos called me after my story revealing federal investigations into his suspected market manipulation on Kalshi. And he said: "This story is going to get you a gun in your face." Then he lied about it. www.npr.org/2026/06/04/n...

I wrote about George Santos. Then he made a violent threat and lied about it

NPR reported on new federal investigations examining the former Congressman's bets on the prediction market site Kalshi. Then he threatened the NPR reporter who broke the story.

npr.org

Forget shark week -- It's climate solutions week y'all This year the theme is LOCAL solutions - ways that cities and states and neighborhoods are stepping up when the federal government backtracks on climate action. I'll thread the stories here as the week goes on... Here's our intro ⬇️📻🎧

As the federal government rolls back climate action, U.S. cities and states step up

NPR's Julia Simon kicks off Climate Solutions Week with a look at how cities and states are working to reduce emissions.

npr.org

Want to learn more about Los Angeles mayoral candidate and former reality TV star Spencer Pratt? He makes a cameo in our story about false narratives related to the LA fires. Read here 🎧📻 @npr.org ⬇️ (No paywalls, as always!)

After the LA fires, false narratives on social media impacted state policy

Misinformation spread quickly after the wildfires in Los Angeles last year. Some of these false narratives on social media had an impact on California policy.

npr.org

This was a hard story to report. Newborns who don’t get a vitamin K shot are 81 times more likely to develop a condition where they bleed uncontrollably. But more and more families are declining the shot. And babies are dying. www.propublica.org/article/more...

Babies Are Bleeding to Death as Parents Reject a Vitamin Shot Given at Birth

A lifesaving injection given at birth to prevent severe bleeding has become collateral damage of the anti-vaccine movement.

propublica.org

Something that's rare? Major fossil fuel producers - including Nigeria, Canada and Australia - getting together to find concrete ways to transition away from fossil fuels. That's what's happening with more than 50 countries gathered in Santa Marta Colombia right now. 📻🎧 only on @npr.org ⬇️ 🇨🇴🇳🇬🇨🇦🇦🇺+🌏

Could this conference be a 'turning point' for the world's use of fossil fuels?

Against the backdrop of an energy crisis and a warming planet, more than 50 countries have come to Santa Marta, Colombia, to discuss concrete ways to phase out oil, gas and coal.

npr.org

It's rare that you're at a conference where you hear a prominent CLIMATE SCIENTIST say he's "never felt so encouraged" ... ... but that's what's going on at the first international conference on the transition away from fossil fuels in Colombia🛢️🇨🇴🌍 Read + listen to our reporting on @npr.org 🎧📻⬇️

Could this conference be a 'turning point' for the world's use of fossil fuels?

Against the backdrop of an energy crisis and a warming planet, more than 50 countries have come to Santa Marta, Colombia, to discuss concrete ways to phase out oil, gas and coal.

npr.org

A month ago I was in a "ballroom" at CERAWeek in Houston, Texas. A jazz band played while executives from LNG companies schmoozed with US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. They were celebrating the US becoming the largest global exporter of LNG. (Here's our story from that ⬇️)

The Iran war created a global natural gas shortage — a windfall for U.S. companies

With Qatar's liquefied natural gas still offline, U.S. companies see an opening and are bringing in new investments.

npr.org