‘We are not going back’: Iran war forces global energy shift Nations split over doubling down on fossil fuels or accelerating renewables.

"History shows us that a crisis of this magnitude is also a catalyst."

The energy map is being redrawn in real time, officials said during a week of finance meetings in D.C.

@saraschonhardt.bsky.social & I explore what they said and what it means for the future.

www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

White House message to oil CEOs: Pump more oil Gasoline prices remain high as the conflict with Iran continues.

The price of gas (it’s $1/gallon more expensive now than a year ago) will be a major factor in midterms later this year.

White House message to oil CEOs: Pump more oil Gasoline prices remain high as the conflict with Iran continues.

This is now free to read: politico.com/news/2026/04/15/trump-officials-oil-ceos-gas-prices-00874147

POLITICO Pro: White House message to oil CEOs: Pump more oil Gasoline prices remain high as the conflict with Iran continues.

SCOOP: Trump admin will urge top oil & gas CEOs in a Thursday call to boost drilling it bid to lower oil prices.

Secs. WRIGHT and BURGUM will lead call. CEOs for leading companies (XOM, CVX, OXY, CLR) invited, among others.

w/ @benlefebvre.bsky.social

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2026...

‘Can’t make a squeak’: Trump’s fossil fuel push puts IMF, World Bank on defensive International financial institutions want to help countries achieve goals to move off imported oil and gas. The Trump administration would rather they don't.

The war in Iran is sparking calls by int'l financial institutions for lower-income countries reeling from the conflict to curb fossil fuel dependence.

One of the biggest obstacles is Trump.

@saraschonhardt.bsky.social & I dig into IMF & World Bank spring meetings.

www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

Zeldin stars at climate denial conference The EPA administrator became the first agency chief to speak at the Heartland Institute's annual gathering of people who say climate change benefits humanity.

Addressing a climate science deniers conference, EPA chief Lee Zeldin acknowledged his presence meant the "walls have collapsed" between federal government and a fringe group of contrarians that other administrations kept at arm's length.

w/ @chemnick.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

Dem @colorado.gov Jared Polis thinks his party should talk more about climate change — and "center" their affordability plan around it.

"I don't think there's any part of America that's been spared the impact of climate change," he told @zcolman.bsky.social on POLITICO Energy.

🎧 politi.co/4sOfPem

Iran conflict cuts deep in places that can least afford it Debt-stressed developing countries are the most vulnerable to soaring oil prices.

Philippines declaring an energy emergency. India powering down factories. Bangladesh rationing fuel. Pakistan closing schools.

The Iran war is hitting the developing world's most basic needs, disrupting everyday life.

w/ @saraschonhardt.bsky.social

www.eenews.net/articles/ira...

Vance, Wright to address oil execs amid Iran tensions The meeting comes as oil and gasoline prices have spiked after Iran closed a key waterway for global oil shipments.

VP Vance, Sec. Wright will meet with top oil execs in Washington as WH, industry deal with rising oil, gas prices resulting from the war in Iran.

w/ James Bikales

www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

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