Zack Colman

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

#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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

"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.

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...

Enviro group that helped lead Keystone Pipeline opposition suspends US operations The group will keep three U.S. positions open in hopes of reviving operations in the future.

NEW: 350.org, the group that spearheaded opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, has suspended US operations amid funding woes.

350 helped popularize the “Keep It In The Ground” movement that has become foundational to green activism.

www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Trump’s fossil fuel crusade confronts the climate faithful Pulling out of the Paris climate agreement was not enough, an ex-aide to the U.S. president says on the eve of a summit in Brazil: "You have to potentially destroy it."

Trump is no longer content to stand aloof from the global alliance to combat climate change. His new goal is to demolish it.

@karlmathiesen.bsky.social⁦‪‬⁩ & I explored Trump’s multi-prong strategy to instead build a coalition reliant on US fossil fuels.

www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

People in Middle-Income Countries Say Climate Change Is Affecting Their Community Large majorities in nine middle-income countries say global climate change is affecting their community. About half or more in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico see a great deal of impact.

"A new survey of nine middle-income nations finds widespread concerns about climate change. Large majorities in these countries say global climate change is affecting the area where they live."

via @pewresearch.org

www.pewresearch.org/global/2025/...

Slow rollout throttled Biden’s big clean energy ambitions, former staffers say An “executive branch machinery that defaulted to caution, process, and reactive strategies” undercut the ex-president’s massive energy and infrastructure programs, a report by his former staffers deta...

"their work has proven less durable than they expected.”

Kelsey Tamborrino & Jessie Blaeser cover a Biden alumni autopsy of the admin's failure to protect its green legacy, which echoes many of the issues @politico.com uncovered in our Biden's Billions series.

www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

UN: Nations well off-track of Paris climate agreement goals U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement would erase another 0.1 C of progress.

Nations remain far off-track of Paris climate agreement goals, with the planet almost certainly seeing long-term warming exceeding 1.5 C as soon as this decade, per the UN.
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

POLITICO Pro: White House: Trump won't send 'high level' officials to climate talks The news comes as diplomats from around the world wonder how and whether President Donald Trump will disrupt the COP30 negotiations in Brazil.

NEW: Trump won't send "high level representatives" to COP30 climate talks, WH confirms.

It remains unclear if career staff from agencies will attend.

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025...

Trump’s anti-climate crusade crashes EU’s COP30 preparations A Greek veto prevents the EU from reendorsing a global carbon price on shipping in its position for next month’s climate summit.

Trump's ability to delay a vote imposing a carbon emissions levy on global shipping is already scrambling negotiations for next month's COP30 climate talks in Brazil, @ziaweise.bsky.social reports.

www.politico.eu/article/trum...

A lot of the tension boils down to Wright's willingness to take a deliberate, methodical approach to cuts -- including evaluating programs, seeking industry input -- and Trump politicos who want to quickly slash any energy spending with even a hint of Biden attached to it.

It's one major example of how Wright, a successful fracking exec, has at times struggled to slot into politics and the broader government bureaucracy.

Wright dallied on these decisions for months. WH took over process when it learned of Wright's timing, worrying doing it so close to the shutdown would squander leverage over Democrats.

The "straw that broke the camel's back," as one person told me, was Wright blindsided WH by telling them he intended to formally cut billions in energy contracts days before the govt shutdown.

‘It just seems so messy’: How Chris Wright went wrong with the White House Missteps in cutting clean energy spending and friction between staffers has led to questions about whether the former fracking company CEO will remain in the Cabinet.

Tensions are rising between Energy Sec. Chris Wright & the WH over a series of political missteps and policy disputes.

w/ @benlefebvre.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Big ups to @catherineaallen.bsky.social who helped with the analysis and the many colleagues who had a hand creating the great graphics in this story

Anyway I’m on vacation so truly don’t @ me, just read the story

The government’s own data rebuts Trump’s claims about wind and solar prices The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power co...

Trump & his Cabinet say wind & solar are making electricity more expensive.

Federal data say the opposite.

Our analysis showed states w/ > avg wind/solar generation & > avg acceleration of wind/solar since ‘21 were likelier to have < avg power prices.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Green power is sometimes the cheapest power — despite what Trump says The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power co...

Green power is sometimes the cheapest power — despite what Trump says.

The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but our analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power costs.

Trump’s nuclear power push stirs worries about US weapons stockpile The scramble to build new reactors to supply power to AI data centers may include plutonium from the nation’s nuclear deterrent.

Scoop by @zcolman.bsky.social for @politico.com: A Trump administration plan to boost civilian nuclear power would harvest the plutonium "pits" manufactured for nuclear weapons — raising concerns about the impact to U.S. defenses:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

The upshot of this story: As Trump pursues a sincere desire to revive the nuclear industry, his promises to nuclear power developers are running into conflict with national security concerns.

Lots of previously unreported docs & communications put that on display in the story.

Oklo said Wright is not playing favorites, noting he has broadly promoted a next generation nuclear power technologies.

DOE said Wright divested and resigned from anything that would appear to create a conflict of interest before he took the DOE role.

One company that stands to benefit is Oklo, one of the most prominent of new wave nuclear power companies.

It is the most public about its desires to use plutonium as a bridge fuel.

Energy Sec. Chris Wright sat on its board until he took over the department.

Trump’s nuclear power push stirs worries about US weapons stockpile The scramble to build new reactors to supply power to AI data centers may include plutonium from the nation’s nuclear deterrent.

The Trump admin has considered diverting plutonium that supports the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal to energy companies, raising national security concerns within the government.

I've got exclusive details here:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.

Now free to read:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...