Zack Colman
@zcolman.bsky.social
POLITICO climate & energy reporter SIGNAL: zcolman.75
On CAN wildfire, "forest-mismanagement explanation is borrowed from the wrong forest," @zekehausfather.com writes, noting Canadian boreal is "mostly unmanaged and unsuppressed... the surge in Canadian burning tracks temperature with striking consistency." www.theclimatebrink.com/p/canadas-bo...
Canada's boreal wildfires aren't just bad forest management
Higher fire season temperatures are strongly correlated with increased area burned
theclimatebrink.com
GOP govs, utilities joining Trump pledge to ensure data centers don’t increase consumers’ costs — a sign of the topic’s political salience. Aides w/ Dem govs said they weren’t contacted. w/ @jasonplautz.bsky.social , Kelsey Tamborrino & Christa Marshall www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
GOP governors, utilities join Trump data center pledge
The governors of Montana, Wyoming and Missouri are endorsing the White House's effort to control data centers' effect on energy prices.
politico.com
@governor.ny.gov was direct when I asked about her climate commitment after she walked back NY's climate law “Do not question my credentials in this space.” Hochul made the case for all NY is doing with clean energy on her watch & where it's trying to go: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JwX...
How Governor Kathy Hochul Is Shaping New York's Energy Future
YouTube video by POLITICO
youtube.com
Aaron Szabo, the head of Trump EPA's air office, is leaving Szabo was a critical political appointee, tossing the endangerment finding on greenhouse gases — the foundation of EPA's climate rules from @alexguillen.bsky.social @zcolman.bsky.social and me More here: www.eenews.net/articles/tru...
Trump EPA air chief heads for the exit
If his deregulatory actions survive judicial scrutiny, Aaron Szabo will have played a key role in reshaping EPA’s regulatory power.
eenews.net
“It’s only when we couldn’t make any progress there that we turned more towards the administration to say, ‘Can you help us?’” Why the US oil & gas sector enlisted Trump to topple a major EU climate rule. w/ @benmunster.bsky.social & @saraschonhardt.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
‘Can you help us?’: US oil execs turn to Trump to topple Europe's climate rules
An inside look at how a climate regulation became a battleground between the U.S. and Europe.
politico.com
Have weather forecasts appeared... off? Meteorologists say workforce cuts have begun to erode a key data point for severe storm predictions. A spring tornado that took a small Kansas town by surprise sheds light on the problem. More here: www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
A ballooning problem: Weather warnings face rising risks from budget cuts
Meteorologists say National Weather Service staff shortages from President Donald Trump's workforce cuts have compromised severe weather forecasts.
politico.com
A MAGA activist who made a name in election denier circles snagged an $18.5m federal grant to build the first US coal-fired power plant since 2013. Me, Ian Stevenson & @hmnorthey.bsky.social dig into the mystery company Trump tapped to lead a coal renaissance. www.politico.com/news/2026/06...
‘This is not normal’: Trump leans on MAGA organizer to revive coal
The Energy Department is giving millions to a company partially led by a far-right activist and telecom executive to build the nation’s first coal-fired power plant since 2013.
politico.com
Truly a fun @politico.com Energy Podcast with ND Gov. Kelly Armstrong. Some might say it got ~spicy~. I live for the fun detours and the give-take in these interviews. He was ready to roll with whatever. He maybe even enjoyed it -- hopefully you do, too. youtube.com/watch?v=busl...
North Dakota’s energy production is off the charts. Can it last?
YouTube video by POLITICO
youtube.com
Electric utilities are trying to use AI to help manage AI -- but they're running into roadblocks from regulators. I spoke with tech companies & power experts about hurdles facing new tools that can squeeze more juice out of the existing grid. www.eenews.net/articles/ai-...
AI could make power grid more efficient — if utilities can persuade regulators
Advocates say a yearslong pattern of rejection from regulators has chilled the pursuit of those new tools — even as power companies are struggling to keep
eenews.net
2 Europe-based automakers are caught up in bipartisan legislation to ban Chinese vehicles from the U.S. Scoop here on why Mercedes and Volvo are caught in the crossfire: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
POLITICO Pro: Senate bill blocking Chinese cars would snare two big Europe-based automakers
Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Cars exceed the limits for Chinese control under a bipartisan bill that would ban access to the U.S. market until 2032.
subscriber.politicopro.com
"The only thing that terrifies me is BYD." Walls that kept Chinese EVs out of western economies are showing cracks. Many wary of Trump cutting a deal with Xi. Global look here w/ @jordyndahl.bsky.social, @saraschonhardt.bsky.social & @charliecooper8.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/05...
Trump-Xi summit raises a terrifying prospect for America and Europe: Chinese cars
The question is when, not if, U.S. and European auto markets will open up to Chinese EV investment.
politico.com
-tax oil and gas companies' "windfall profits" -freeze electricity rates nationally -indefinitely suspend gasoline tax -create clean energy fund @timothycama.bsky.social & I got the first look at @grahamformaine.bsky.social's energy platform. Read it here: www.politico.com/news/2026/05...
Graham Platner targets fuel tax, Big Oil in energy plan
The Maine populist Democrat wants to stop electricity price increases, but his plan is silent on a data center moratorium.
politico.com
"History shows us that a crisis of this magnitude is also a catalyst." The energy map is being redrawn in real time, officials said during a week of finance meetings in D.C. @saraschonhardt.bsky.social & I explore what they said and what it means for the future. www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
‘We are not going back’: Iran war forces global energy shift
Nations split over doubling down on fossil fuels or accelerating renewables.
politico.com
The price of gas (it’s $1/gallon more expensive now than a year ago) will be a major factor in midterms later this year.
White House message to oil CEOs: Pump more oil
Gasoline prices remain high as the conflict with Iran continues.
politico.com
SCOOP: Trump admin will urge top oil & gas CEOs in a Thursday call to boost drilling it bid to lower oil prices. Secs. WRIGHT and BURGUM will lead call. CEOs for leading companies (XOM, CVX, OXY, CLR) invited, among others. w/ @benlefebvre.bsky.social subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...
POLITICO Pro: White House message to oil CEOs: Pump more oil
Gasoline prices remain high as the conflict with Iran continues.
subscriber.politicopro.com
The war in Iran is sparking calls by int'l financial institutions for lower-income countries reeling from the conflict to curb fossil fuel dependence. One of the biggest obstacles is Trump. @saraschonhardt.bsky.social & I dig into IMF & World Bank spring meetings. www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
‘Can’t make a squeak’: Trump’s fossil fuel push puts IMF, World Bank on defensive
International financial institutions want to help countries achieve goals to move off imported oil and gas. The Trump administration would rather they don't.
politico.com
Addressing a climate science deniers conference, EPA chief Lee Zeldin acknowledged his presence meant the "walls have collapsed" between federal government and a fringe group of contrarians that other administrations kept at arm's length. w/ @chemnick.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/04...
Zeldin stars at climate denial conference
The EPA administrator became the first agency chief to speak at the Heartland Institute's annual gathering of people who say climate change benefits humanity.
politico.com
Dem @colorado.gov Jared Polis thinks his party should talk more about climate change — and "center" their affordability plan around it. "I don't think there's any part of America that's been spared the impact of climate change," he told @zcolman.bsky.social on POLITICO Energy. 🎧 politi.co/4sOfPem
Philippines declaring an energy emergency. India powering down factories. Bangladesh rationing fuel. Pakistan closing schools. The Iran war is hitting the developing world's most basic needs, disrupting everyday life. w/ @saraschonhardt.bsky.social www.eenews.net/articles/ira...
Iran conflict cuts deep in places that can least afford it
Debt-stressed developing countries are the most vulnerable to soaring oil prices.
eenews.net
VP Vance, Sec. Wright will meet with top oil execs in Washington as WH, industry deal with rising oil, gas prices resulting from the war in Iran. w/ James Bikales www.politico.com/news/2026/03...
Vance, Wright to address oil execs amid Iran tensions
The meeting comes as oil and gasoline prices have spiked after Iran closed a key waterway for global oil shipments.
politico.com
If you're wondering why you're seeing more pro-solar content from conservative voices, we have some answers here: www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
Solar power’s newest friends: MAGA influencers
The nation’s leading clean energy lobby aims to bolster solar power’s standing via conservative media partnerships, polling and Stephen Miller’s wife.
politico.com
Trump's vision for Venezuela's oil is a wager that the energy transition will not come. Latest here w/ @karlmathiesen.bsky.social www.politico.eu/article/vene...
In Venezuela, Trump expands his anti-climate empire
The U.S. president’s fossil fuel-powered world vision is a bet on the energy transition failing.
politico.eu
Scoop by @benlefebvre.bsky.social, @zcolman.bsky.social and James Bikales: Trump has a use-it-or-lose-it demand for oil companies thinking of returning to #Venezuela: They go back in NOW, and spend billions of $, or forget about compensation for their seized assets. www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
Trump’s message to oil companies on Venezuela: 'You gotta go in'
The White House has told companies they must to rebuild Venezuela's crude-pumping infrastructure if they want compensation for assets seized by Caracas.
politico.com
#COP30 "exposed the world as it is — haltingly and slowly tackling climate pollution, and fragmented by rising economic nationalism and protectionism, rather than the united, optimistic community of nations that produced the Paris climate agreement 10 years ago." www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
The world is fractured. The climate talks reflected that.
Delegates from nearly 200 nations — not including the U.S. — showed they could make some progress. But they deferred the hardest decisions.
politico.com
Past UN climate talks pushed nations to think bigger. This year, it held a mirror up to a fractured world. Our #COP30 wrap makes sense of this moment. Me w/ @karlmathiesen.bsky.social @ziaweise.bsky.social & Sarah Schonhardt, edit by @bkingdc.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
The world is fractured. The climate talks reflected that.
Delegates from nearly 200 nations — not including the U.S. — showed they could make some progress. But they deferred the hardest decisions.
politico.com
Today is “crunch day” to make progress on fossil fuel language with Lula set to fly back to Belém. 82 countries in Europe, the Pacific islands, Latin America and Africa are edging toward a “roadmap” that various countries could agree to @zcolman.bsky.social writes www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
Double down on push to abandon fossil fuels, 82 countries urge at climate summit
Governments across Europe, the Pacific islands, Latin America and Africa embraced the call. The United States did not.
politico.com
"It won’t be long before we have a queue of American governors begging BYD to set up electric car factories in the States." As the US slams the door on climate, China makes it very clear at COP30 that it's open for business. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
China strides into US-sized gap at climate talks
In the Biden era, countries interested in clean energy “were motivated to buy things from the U.S.,” an African official says. But now Beijing has few rivals.
politico.com
The US isn't at COP. But China is -- in some very obvious ways. Whether it will box out the US for the global EV and clean energy market is on minds here. The latest from Belem: www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
China strides into US-sized gap at climate talks
In the Biden era, countries interested in clean energy “were motivated to buy things from the U.S.,” an African official says. But now Beijing has few rivals.
politico.com
