EnviroPolitics Blog

How China became #1 in renewable energy

By Christian Shepherd and Jinpeng Li, Washington Post

China’s takeover of nearly every technology needed for the green energy revolution happened gradually — then all at once.

China now eclipses every other country when it comes to installations of wind and solar power, a striking transformation from 15 years ago. It was fueled by a gold rush of entrepreneurship and unwavering government support, including through hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies.

In the race to master technologies of the future, green energy is one arena where many analysts agree that China has pulled ahead of the United States in almost every key area, from electric vehicles to solar panels.

That gap is likely to widen under President Donald Trump, analysts say. As Trump focuses on boosting fossil fuel production and cutting funding for clean energy projects, China is further increasing investment in renewable energy technologies.

“It is difficult to overstate China’s singular lead across clean energy technologies. The gaps are both enormous and historically unprecedented,” said Milo McBride, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a think tank.

Recent policies in the United States, Europe and India to support green industries have created a handful of competitors, he said, but the fundamental dynamic has not changed. “To abate China’s lead across everything is going to cost a lot of money, and it’s going to be difficult,” McBride said.

How China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter by far, manages this newfound influence over the energies of tomorrow will have far-reaching ramifications for global politics, trade and the fight against climate change.

With a climate-skeptic president in the White House, Beijing sees an opportunity to cement its commanding lead and fulfill one of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s key goals: to surpass the United States and European nations in advanced technologies.

Read the full story here

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Tesla buyers today wiping egg off their formerly progressive vehicles

By Tobi Raji and Joe Heim, Washington Post

About 10 years ago, Tom Blackburn became one of the first 100,000 people to buy a Tesla Model S. The purchase was part of a broader effort to adopt a more environmentally conscious lifestyle, which also included installing solar panels on his Virginia home.

Now, the 76-year-old is worried about the message his car might send to others: that he supports Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has embraced right-wing politics, boosted antisemitic conspiracy theories on his personal X account and become a central figure in President Donald Trump’s administration. As a small act of protest, Blackburn purchased a bumper sticker that reads, “I bought this before I knew he was crazy.”

Marylander Carla Harne, 41, has watched the tide turn against Tesla and Musk from the front seat of her sleek, fiery red Model 3. Harne’s interactions with others over her car had mostly been positive — until last year, when, hours after Trump was elected president of the United States, someone threw “probably a dozen” eggs at her car as she drove home from work.

“My windshield was just covered,” Harne said.

Andrew Loewinger of Northwest D.C. sold his Model S in November to protest Musk and his “abhorrent politics and actions.”

“After I sold the car, I got a customer satisfaction survey from them, and what I wrote, which I still believe, is that Musk has irretrievably damaged the brand, and I would not associate with that brand again, period,” Loewinger, 71, said.

Across the decidedly blue Washington region, some Tesla owners — once seen as part of a pioneering sustainability movement — are grappling with the CEO’s emergence as one of the most powerful right-wing political figures in the country. Musk, the world’s richest person, spent at least $288 million to help elect Trump and other Republican candidates, making him the 2024 presidential election’s biggest donor.

Now, as head of the newly created U.S. DOGE Service, Musk has raced to execute his vision of a dramatically smaller government, wiping out swaths of the federal workforce, slashing diversity and inclusion efforts, and ripping up deals with government contractors. The broad-brush bludgeoning of federal agencies and programs has been cheered by Trump’s MAGA base, but it has also run in to a flurry of lawsuits and legal challenges seeking to halt what critics view as an unconstitutional process. Even some of Trump’s senior advisers have been surprised and frustrated by the seeming freedom of DOGE, which stands for Department of Government Efficiency, to do anything it wants, according to Washington Post reporting last week.

Read the full story here

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How Trump Is Crushing U.S. Climate Policy

President Trump has quickly transformed America’s approach to the environment, withholding funds and stretching the limits of presidential power.

By David Gelles , Lisa Friedman and Brad Plumer, New York Times

In a few short weeks, President Trump has severely damaged the government’s ability to fight climate change, upending American environmental policy with moves that could have lasting implications for the country, and the planet.

With a flurry of actions that have stretched the limits of presidential power, Mr. Trump has gutted federal climate efforts, rolled back regulations aimed at limiting pollution and given a major boost to the fossil fuel industry.

He is abandoning efforts to reduce global warming, even as the world has reached record levels of heat that scientists say is driven largely by the burning of fossil fuels. Every corner of the world is now experiencing the effects of these rising temperatures in the form of deadlier hurricanes, floods, wildfires and droughts, as well as species extinction.

To achieve such a wholesale overhaul of the country’s climate policies in such a short time, the Trump administration has reneged on federal grants, fired workers en masse and attacked longstanding environmental regulations.

All new presidents have their own agendas, but the speed and scale of Mr. Trump’s efforts to uproot climate policy is unprecedented. “This is not the kind of stately tennis match of the usual switch-over in administrations,” said Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice, an environmental law firm. “This is full on Fight Club.”

Read the full story here

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Cuomo enters NYC mayor’s race, seeking to unseat Adams

The comeback attempt, three years after Andrew M. Cuomo resigned as governor in scandal, will test New Yorkers’ appetite for second chances, and change.

By entering the New York City mayoral race, Andrew Cuomo (left) immediately assumes front-runner status over his rivals, including incumbent mayor, Eric Adams (right). Photo Credit…Johnny Milano for The New York Times

By Nicholas Fandos and Emma G. Fitzsimmons, New York Times, March 1, 2025

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Saturday that he would run for mayor of New York City, upending the race to unseat Eric Adams and setting up an audacious comeback attempt three years after he resigned in disgrace.

With near-universal name recognition, deep-pocketed supporters and a decade as governor, Mr. Cuomo is expected to quickly assume front-runner status for the June Democratic primary, albeit with hefty baggage.

In a 17-minute video announcing his run, Mr. Cuomo, 67, attempted to reintroduce himself to New Yorkers on his preferred terms: as a tested manager, law-and-order moderate and forceful leader capable of rescuing a city that he said now “feels threatening, out of control, and in crisis.” He did not explicitly mention Mr. Adams, and said he would try to work with President Trump where he could.

“Today, it is necessary to launch a bold action plan to turn New York City around to save our city,” Mr. Cuomo said.

But his candidacy is also poised to push to the fore other, potentially divisive questions about the staying power of the #MeToo movement and the direction of the Democratic Party at a time when Mr. Trump is asserting power well beyond Washington.

Mr. Cuomo has spent years and $25 million in taxpayer funds for legal fees fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations prompted his resignation in August 2021. To win, he will have to convince New Yorkers that he is innocent — or at least to look beyond his transgressions and a field of newer talent.

Read the full story here

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May 1 is deadline for NYC building owners to file gas reports

By Jullee Kim, Emily M. Lamond, and Haley G. Brescia, Cole Schotz, February 28, 2025

As we reported last month, 2025 is the first year most buildings over 25,000 square feet are required to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the City’s Department of Buildings (DOB) under Local Law 97.

Due by May 1 each year, these reports will reflect the building’s energy usage from the year prior (e.g., reports submitted in May 2025 will report 2024 usage) and demonstrate whether a building complies with its building-specific greenhouse gas emissions cap.

These reports must be submitted through the DOB’s online portal and certified by a registered design professional, such as a licensed engineer or a registered architect (RDP).

The City touts Local Law 97 as one of the most ambitious plans for reducing emissions in the nation. The May 1 annual report deadline is the vehicle for the City to identify those buildings that did not meet their emissions limits. This means, in less than two months, your RDP must be able to answer the following two questions about each building subject to Local Law 97:

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Trump’s out to fast-track deportations of hundreds of thousands

By expanding use of the “expedited removal” law from within 100 miles of a border to the entire country, Trump officials will try to remove more than 1 million migrants admitted to the United States during the Biden administration.

By Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti, Washington Post

The Trump administration has directed federal officers to identify immigrants who can be rapidly removed from the United States without a court hearing as part of its quest to boost deportations, according to an internal memorandum viewed by The Washington Post.

The memo circulated at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Feb. 18 details the agency’s latest strategy to accelerate removals and identifies their potential targets. More than 1 million migrants who wereadmitted to the United States through an array of initiatives during President Joe Biden’s administrationcould be flagged for “expedited removal” proceedings, though officials have instructed immigration officers to pore over the nearly 8 million deportation cases on their dockets to find more.

Migrants could be speedily deported if they crossed the border illegally, were waved into the country on parole or with a notice to report to immigration authorities, and have not applied for asylum, the memo said. Immigrants who arrived legally through a port of entry also may be targeted if they lacked immigration documents or misrepresented themselves, the memo said.

Lawyers said this group could include Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and others who entered legally through a Biden parole program, which President Donald Trump terminated, if they lack any other immigration status. Migrants who booked appointments through a U.S. Customs and Border Protection app to enter through a border checkpoint also could be swept out of the country.

“This is allowing ICE to go after a lot of people that are here, that have been here for a long time,” said Paul Hunker, former ICE chief counsel in Dallas, who said the fast-track deportation process historically has been meant for newer arrivals, not people who have deep roots in their communities.

Read the full story here

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How China became #1 in renewable energy

Tesla buyers today wiping egg off their formerly progressive vehicles

How Trump Is Crushing U.S. Climate Policy

President Trump has quickly transformed America’s approach to the environment, withholding funds and stretching the limits of presidential power.

Cuomo enters NYC mayor’s race, seeking to unseat Adams

The comeback attempt, three years after Andrew M. Cuomo resigned as governor in scandal, will test New Yorkers’ appetite for second chances, and change.

May 1 is deadline for NYC building owners to file gas reports

Trump’s out to fast-track deportations of hundreds of thousands

By expanding use of the “expedited removal” law from within 100 miles of a border to the entire country, Trump officials will try to remove more than 1 million migrants admitted to the United States during the Biden administration.

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