renewable energy
Newsletter
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EU shifts course on climate policy as deregulation accelerates
The European Union has begun scaling back major environmental protections under the Green Deal, sparking concern among campaigners who say the bloc is rapidly losing its climate leadership.
In short:
- Since late 2023, the EU has delayed or weakened key Green Deal measures, including anti-deforestation rules, pollution standards for automakers, and sustainability reporting requirements for corporations.
- The new European Commission, increasingly influenced by center-right and far-right parties, has prioritized cutting red tape for businesses, aligning more closely with industry interests and distancing itself from past climate commitments.
- Environmental groups warn the shift reflects a broader political backlash against climate policy, mirroring developments in the U.S. and UK and threatening long-term public health and environmental goals.
Key quote:
“This is highly relevant because it’s the first proposal under the simplification agenda that’s been put forward and … it’s not just weakening it a little bit, it’s slashing it. The heart of the proposal has basically been taken out.”
— Paul de Clerck, campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe
Why this matters:
Europe’s Green Deal was once hailed as a global blueprint for cutting emissions, protecting biodiversity, and making the economy more sustainable. Its current unraveling comes at a time when rising temperatures, pollution-linked diseases, and extreme weather are already straining public health systems and ecosystems. Policies to curb deforestation, regulate corporate polluters, and cut industrial emissions have direct links to reducing cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and cancer. Rolling back these rules under the guise of competitiveness risks shifting the burden of pollution from industries onto people, especially children, the elderly, and low-income communities. As the EU softens its stance, its credibility on climate leadership is weakening, just as global cooperation is needed most to limit irreversible environmental harm.
Read more: Greenwashing law reversal deepens political rift in European Union
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Proposed tax rules risk choking U.S. clean energy projects over China supply links
A budget bill moving through Congress could block most U.S. clean energy projects from receiving tax credits if any part of their supply chain includes ties to China.
In short:
- The Senate version of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” includes language that defines “prohibited foreign entities” so broadly that it could disqualify projects over minimal links to Chinese suppliers.
- The tax credit restrictions are written in ways that require companies to trace their supply chains multiple steps upstream, often beyond what’s realistically knowable.
- Compliance is both costly and difficult, with companies potentially losing tax credits over small components like bolts or subcomponents whose origin they can't verify.
Key quote:
“Practically speaking, as these bills are written, there’s no way to have sufficient confidence that one is compliant because the rules are just so extensive and get at such attenuated factors that the taxpayers themselves won’t have the information they need.”
— Seth Hanlon, senior fellow at the Tax Law Center at New York University School of Law
Why this matters:
Clean energy development in the U.S. depends heavily on tax credits to attract investment and compete with fossil fuels. But new legislative language could turn these financial incentives into a minefield. The bill’s vague and expansive definitions may effectively disqualify many solar, wind, battery, and EV projects that have even remote ties to Chinese suppliers. China dominates the global supply chain for many clean energy technologies, from photovoltaic cells to battery materials, so this could cripple large swaths of the transition. The stakes are high: Delays or rollbacks in clean energy buildout could slow efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce air pollution, especially in communities already burdened by fossil fuel infrastructure.
Learn more: Republican tax plan would expand oil industry subsidies and cut clean energy support
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US regulators weigh risks to power grid after Europe’s blackout reveals weak spots
A sweeping power failure in Spain and Portugal has spurred U.S. energy regulators to examine vulnerabilities in the American grid as climate stress and renewables reshape the system.
In short:
- A large-scale blackout in Spain and Portugal in April was triggered by a cascade of engineering failures, including inadequate voltage control, affecting both renewable and fossil fuel power plants.
- U.S. grid officials say the American system has stronger voltage support requirements for renewables, but gaps remain, including the absence of mandatory low-voltage ride-through capabilities for all solar installations.
- Experts warn that rising electricity demand, a changing energy mix, and limited grid interconnections leave parts of the U.S. vulnerable to a similar chain-reaction failure.
Key quote:
“It’s so important that we look holistically at all the resources on the grid today and identify whether there are any gaps in our bulk power system reliability standards that would prevent a similar incident from occurring.”
— David Rosner, commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Why this matters:
The U.S. power grid is facing mounting pressure from intensifying heat waves, surging demand from electric vehicles and data centers, and a transition to cleaner energy sources. As fossil fuel plants retire and solar and wind play a larger role, grid stability depends on seamless coordination between many power sources — each with different technical traits. A single breakdown in voltage support or poor coordination can rapidly spiral into massive outages, as shown in Europe. With the U.S. experiencing more extreme weather, weak links in grid operations raise the risk of blackouts, threatening public health, emergency response, and critical infrastructure, especially in underserved communities.
Read more: How fragile power grids and extreme weather combined to cause Europe’s biggest blackout in decades
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Credit: Grégory ROOSE/Pixabay
China ramps up solar and wind power as clean energy output shatters global records
China installed enough solar and wind power between January and May to match the total electricity use of countries like Indonesia or Turkey, even as its clean energy industry faces deep financial strain.
In short:
- China installed 198 gigawatts of solar and 46 gigawatts of wind in the first five months of 2025, setting a new global benchmark in clean energy expansion.
- In May alone, China added 93 gigawatts of solar and 26 gigawatts of wind — enough to match Poland’s total electricity consumption, according to analysts.
- Despite the rapid growth, major Chinese solar companies are reporting steep losses, with industry leaders warning of a “death cycle” due to extreme price competition.
Key quote:
“We knew China’s rush to install solar and wind was going to be wild but WOW.”
— Lauri Myllyvirta, senior fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute
Why this matters:
China’s breakneck pace in expanding its clean energy infrastructure marks a pivotal shift in global energy dynamics, especially as the country remains the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. While its investments in solar and wind reflect major progress in reducing reliance on coal, the rapid expansion is coming at a financial cost. Fierce market competition has pushed prices down so far that manufacturers are struggling to survive, risking the long-term health of the sector. As clean energy becomes a cornerstone of China’s industrial strategy, the balance between economic growth and environmental sustainability will be tested. Globally, China’s choices shape the future of renewable energy supply chains, battery production, and climate outcomes.
Learn more: China pivots toward renewable energy in global investments
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Credit: 1photo/BigStock Photo ID: 18776198
The hidden cost of powering your phone might be someone else’s cancer
As the world races to secure rare earth elements for tech and defense, residents of Baotou, China bear the brunt of toxic pollution and displacement.
In short:
- Baotou is China’s rare earth capital, fueling global tech and military industries while dealing with toxic waste and widespread health problems.
- Residents living near tailings ponds have faced cancer, birth defects, and neurological disorders linked to exposure from mining byproducts.
- While Beijing touts environmental cleanup and economic progress, local communities have been displaced, and evidence of illness and contamination persists.
Key quote:
"Large-scale extraction quite often proceeds at the expense of the health and well-being of surrounding communities, pretty much regardless of the context."
— Julie Klinger, associate professor at the University of Delaware
Why this matters:
China calls Baotou its “rare earth capital,” and it’s not exaggerating. More than 80% of the country’s known reserves are extracted and processed here. But what’s left behind after the magnets and metals are separated is an environmental nightmare — tailings ponds leaking toxics substances, and ghost towns where farms once fed generations. While Beijing talks up cleanup efforts and green growth, those living closest to the waste say the truth is much dirtier. Global tech giants and defense contractors rely on Baotou, but its people are paying with their health. The rest of the world rarely looks backRead more: In push to mine for minerals, clean energy advocates ask what going green really means
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Newsletter
Credit: Sebastian Ganso/Pixabay
UK advisers say reaching 2050 climate targets is within reach, but urgent policy shifts needed
The UK remains on track to meet its legally binding climate goals, but only if the government reforms its energy pricing and accelerates policy implementation, according to a new report from the Climate Change Committee.
In short:
- The Climate Change Committee said the UK can meet its net zero targets if it reforms energy taxes to make electricity cheaper than gas and follows through on planned policies.
- Labour’s recent actions — such as lifting the ban on onshore wind and boosting offshore wind — have helped shift the policy landscape in the right direction.
- The CCC warns that the current system, which imposes heavier levies on electricity than gas, discourages necessary shifts to low-carbon energy and unfairly burdens electricity users.
Key quote:
“This is an optimistic report. It is possible to meet our carbon budgets for 2030 and 2050, provided we take steps forward [on policy].”
— Piers Forster, chair of the Climate Change Committee
Why this matters:
The way a country taxes its energy can shape everything from how homes are heated to how goods are made. In the UK, electricity costs are inflated by policy choices that penalize low-carbon energy while making gas comparatively cheap. This makes it harder to cut emissions from heating, industry, and transportation, sectors that must switch to electricity to meet climate goals. Unequal energy costs also hit poorer households harder and stall the adoption of clean technologies like heat pumps and EVs. As climate deadlines draw closer, the structure of energy bills affects everything from air quality to economic fairness.
Related: UK residents take government’s climate strategy to European human rights court
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A California solar company puts power in the hands of its workers
In the Sierra Nevada foothills, a worker-owned solar company is showing how cooperatives can build better jobs and community resilience — even in a volatile energy market.
In short:
- California Solar became a worker-owned cooperative in 2019, giving employees a stake in the company, a say in its decisions, and a cut of the profits — with about half of the staff currently choosing to buy in.
- The co-op model has helped the company weather the rollercoaster of the solar industry, including shifting policies, inflation, and cuts to California’s rooftop solar incentives.
- While the work is demanding, employee-owners say they value the accountability and solidarity, especially when navigating challenges like pandemic pay cuts and climate-fueled grid outages.
Key quote:
“I haven’t run into any other construction environments where you have construction workers saying, ‘Love you.’”
— Lars Ortegren, California Solar’s co-founder and director of construction services
Why this matters:
Cooperative models like California Solar’s suggest a way forward — one that not only lowers carbon emissions, but also lifts up workers and strengthens community health through economic stability and energy independence. What’s quietly revolutionary is how this structure builds resilience in a field that’s famously turbulent. In a clean energy future that’s often promised but rarely equitable, this co-op offers a tangible example of how community-rooted ownership might be part of the fix — not just for jobs, but for justice.
Read more: The real scam — rail against renewables, run away with factories
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