Business & Finance - Inside Climate News

Electric Vehicles Strain the Automaker-Big Oil Alliance

By Marianne Lavelle — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 09:05:00 +0000

In the clean car battle, the oil industry leans on friends—including Donald Trump—to keep gasoline transport alive, while carmakers steer toward an EV future.

By Marianne Lavelle

Politically Charged: Fourth is a series about how political polarization threatens the EV future.

Employees Suing American Airlines Don’t Want Their 401(k)s in ESG Funds

By Mathilde Augustin — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 09:05:00 +0000

Their class-action lawsuit could have broad repercussions, prompting other companies to go quiet on sustainable investing.

By Mathilde Augustin

A class-action lawsuit against American Airlines filed by employees opposed to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) funds used in their 401(k)s could redefine how employers handle ESG investing and respond to further litigation.

The Most Expensive Farm Bill Ever Is Stalled, Holding Back Important Funds Aimed at Combating the Climate Crisis

By Georgina Gustin — Sat, 13 Jul 2024 09:10:00 +0000

Lawmakers approved spending bills for agriculture this week, but bickered over environmental regulations and the lack of progress on the bill.

By Georgina Gustin

In an often-contentious hearing on Wednesday, members of the House Committee on Agriculture fired shots at each other over the Biden administration’s attempts to regulate farm pollution.

Clean Energy Is Booming in Purple Wisconsin. Just Don’t Mention Climate Change

By Kristoffer Tigue — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

As America’s culture wars rage on, Democrats are marketing renewable energy in battleground states as a win for the economy and labor unions. Will it work?

By Kristoffer Tigue

Scott Walker’s disdain for climate-friendly policies was no secret.

US Government Launches New Attempt to Gather Data on Electricity Usage of Bitcoin Mining

By Keaton Peters — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 21:33:04 +0000

The Energy Information Agency is starting the process to require cryptocurrency miners to submit energy consumption data after a previous attempt faced legal challenges.

By Keaton Peters

The fast-growing cryptocurrency industry is a major consumer of electricity, but no one—not even the U.S. government—knows exactly how much energy goes into the armada of computers used to ‘mine’ Bitcoin and other digital assets. The U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates that cryptocurrency mining uses between 0.6 percent and 2.3 percent of all electricity per year, but the agency may soon be able to access more precise information.

Making Sense of the Year So Far in EV Sales

By Dan Gearino — Thu, 11 Jul 2024 18:00:00 +0000

Ford and Kia were way up in U.S. sales; Tesla remains down, but improved a bit.

By Dan Gearino

With half of 2024 now on the books, U.S. electric vehicle sales continue to grow, for some manufacturers by leaps and bounds. But the overall pace has slowed compared to last year at this time.

Sen. Britt of Alabama Confronted on Her Ties to ‘Big Oil’

By Lee Hedgepeth — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 22:46:14 +0000

A Sunrise movement activist approached the senator in the halls of Congress and asked about her campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. Britt later thanked the activist for helping promote her bedrock belief in “energy dominance.”

By Lee Hedgepeth

Amalia Hochman isn’t from Alabama, but she’s willing to fight for it anyway.

Texas Leaders Worry That Bitcoin Mines Threaten to Crash the State Power Grid

By Keaton Peters — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Residents in the small town of Granbury are raising alarms over noise from a local Bitcoin mine, while state lawmakers warn that the energy-hungry facilities risk “crashing” the electrical grid.

By Keaton Peters

GRANBURY, TEXAS — Cheryl Shadden cannot sleep. The 61-year-old nurse, who works at hospitals giving patients anesthesia, says she is kept up at night by the nonstop mechanical whir of fans spinning to cool tens of thousands of computers.

This Proxy Season, Companies’ Success Against Activist Investors Surged

By Mathilde Augustin — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Climate investors have long used shareholder proposals to voice their demands on emissions reductions and renewable energy. But this year, they didn’t fare all that well before the SEC.

By Mathilde Augustin

Shareholder proposals are a critical tool for activist investors fighting climate change, allowing them to formally bring up issues like emissions goals during a company’s annual meeting by submitting them to a vote.

Former Pioneer CEO and Son Make Significant Political Contributions to Trump, Abbott and Christi Craddick

By Martha Pskowski — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 20:19:21 +0000

A new Public Citizen report describes a family oil and gas empire with ties to Texas regulators facing increased scrutiny. Pioneer, its former CEO and his son have contributed $4.1 million to state and federal candidates since 2020, according to the report.

By Martha Pskowski

Former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield and his son Bryan have ramped up political contributions since 2020, according to the non-profit Public Citizen.