Trump orders aim to boost coal for grid reliability, AI

However, the executive orders that could direct power plants to stay open will likely have little effect on coal-fired generation, according to analysts.

By Ethan Howland • April 10, 2025

Trump EO targets state climate, emissions and ESG policies

The executive order directs the attorney general to halt enforcement of state laws or civil actions targeting energy companies over climate change.

By Lamar Johnson • April 9, 2025

USDA tells digester funding applicants to remove diversity, climate language

The announcement means federal funding for anaerobic digesters on dairy farms could be unpaused for applicants willing to change project language.

By Jacob Wallace • April 9, 2025

Women’s trade organization granted temporary restraining order in DOL, Trump DEI case

President Donald Trump failed to properly define DEI in his Jan. 20 and Jan. 21 executive orders, Chicago Women in Trades claimed, thus putting its funding at risk.

By Caroline Colvin • April 7, 2025

DOJ attorney in EPA funding freeze case breaks with Zeldin’s fraud comments

“You said that there was waste, fraud, abuse,” Judge Tanya Chutkan said to Department of Justice attorney Marc Sacks. “You seem to be abandoning that position now.”

By Diana DiGangi • April 7, 2025

EU parliament votes to ‘stop the clock’ on sustainability reporting

The European Parliament voted Thursday to delay reporting timelines for the bloc’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

By Lamar Johnson • April 4, 2025

Tennessee ends Wells Fargo probe after bank scraps net-zero target

The state's attorney general commended Wells Fargo’s “pro-consumer decision to step away from utopian policymaking." Seventeen other states had joined the probe.

By Rajashree Chakravarty • April 2, 2025

European Council adopts proposal to delay sustainability reporting

The European Parliament has set an April 1 vote for the “stop the clock” measure, which would officially delay reporting deadlines for the bloc’s corporate sustainability laws.

By Lamar Johnson • March 31, 2025

Trump repeals Biden-era clean energy manufacturing orders

The move cuts funding for electric heat pump manufacturing, as well as solar production and biomanufacturing research and development.

By Sara Samora • March 31, 2025

SEC withdraws defense of climate-risk disclosure rule

The agency will no longer defend its rule requiring companies to disclose certain climate-related risks, a move one commissioner called an attempt to “unlawfully” dismantle the rule.

By Lamar Johnson • March 28, 2025

House Republicans probe EPA climate grant recipients

The House Oversight Committee chair is spearheading an investigation into the eight environmental groups that received funding through the Biden-era Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

By Zoya Mirza • March 28, 2025

California Gov. Newsom uses judicial streamlining provision to advance 600 MW of solar, storage

A BayWa r.e. solar and battery farm is the 24th project to benefit from the California Environmental Quality Act’s judicial streamlining provision.

By Diana DiGangi • March 27, 2025

EPA to review ‘waters of the U.S.’ rule

The rule defines which wetlands or bodies of water fall under the Clean Water Act. The three previous presidential administrations have adjusted its scope.

By Mary Salmonsen • March 26, 2025

How fashion leaders are thinking about tariffs, textile sustainability

Companies should focus on smart sourcing and responsible manufacturing in response to fluctuating tariffs, per Stephen Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association.

By Laurel Deppen • March 25, 2025

EEOC outlines how DEI might be ‘unlawful’

Documents outlining discrimination related to “DEI at work” have prompted attorneys to say that employers should re-evaluate their DEI programs now.

By Caroline Colvin • March 24, 2025

Federal judge blocks EPA’s $14B GGRF funding freeze

The EPA “proffered no evidence to support their basis for the sudden terminations, or that they followed the proper procedures,” said U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. 

By Diana DiGangi • March 24, 2025

BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street seek dismissal of red states’ coal antitrust suit

The asset managers said the Republican-led states offered “no plausible facts” to support the claim that the three firms conspired to collectively cut coal production in the U.S.

By Lamar Johnson • March 21, 2025

EPA yanks air quality permit for 1.5-GW Atlantic Shores offshore wind project

EPA Region 2 requested the permit remand as part of President Trump’s mandated review of offshore wind projects, the agency said.

By Diana DiGangi • March 21, 2025

CARB asked to implement California’s climate disclosure laws, align with global standards

Ceres asked the California Air Resources Board to support climate laws to “help deliver standardized, high-quality disclosures of companies’ climate related financial risks.”

By Zoya Mirza • March 21, 2025

Amid shifting views on ESG, investors retain climate focus: Berkeley Climate Summit

Anti-ESG backlash, reporting hurdles and regulatory uncertainty have put sustainability at a crossroads, panelists said.

By Suman Bhattacharyya • March 19, 2025

Sustainability as strategy: Why smart companies keep ESG policies despite political headwinds

ESG integration delivers operational benefits that transcend political viewpoints, says Aquent Sustainable Solutions Vice President Jody Mousseau.

By Jody Mousseau • March 18, 2025

SEC pushes back Names Rule compliance dates

Funds will now have an additional six months to comply with the rule requiring funds’ investment strategies to align with any advertised purposes, like ESG or sustainability.

By Lamar Johnson • March 18, 2025

IRA credits and energy demand continue to drive renewables investments

Despite the Trump administration’s focus on fossil fuels and opposition to the IRA, analysts anticipate the renewables market will continue benefiting from high energy demand.

By Diana DiGangi • March 18, 2025

Deere shareholders vote down anti-DEI proposal

The move comes months after the tractor giant rolled back its support for “social or cultural awareness events” in July.

By Nathan Owens • March 17, 2025

EU sustainability, supply chain simplification efforts face ‘split’ parliament, experts say

Efforts to simplify compliance “shouldn't compromise the protection of the people and the planet,” a policy adviser to a member of the European Parliament said at a conference.

By Lamar Johnson • March 17, 2025