Net Zero

1. Wright’s LNG warning
2. Hydrogen hope
3. Trump derails decarb
4. Big new battery
5. Broken finance promises

Fossil subsidies and a heat pump slump.

Wright’s LNG warning

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright will warn European leaders in Brussels today that the EU’s climate regulations put the region’s energy security at risk and will get in the way of a recent commitment to buy $750 billion in energy products from across the Atlantic.

“Europe’s embrace of a climate agenda and a march to net zero was wrong,” Wright told reporters, arguing that it constrained the bloc’s access to new energy sources just as it was rushing to stop oil and gas imports from Russia following the 2022 Ukraine invasion.

US gas producers are eager to sell more to Europe, he said, but concerned about the legal exposure and cost of compliance with regulations targeting methane emissions across the gas supply chain and ESG-related corporate reporting requirements. “We’re here to work on removing non-tariff barriers that are getting needlessly in the way of bringing more energy into Europe,” he said, speaking on the sidelines of the Gastech conference in Milan.

Hydrogen hope

Despite the high-profile cancellations of dozens of projects globally over the past year, low-carbon hydrogen production is still growing steadily, according to new industry data. Investment in new clean hydrogen projects topped $110 billion in the last year, across more than 500 projects, a report by the Hydrogen Council, a lobbying group, found. That’s up from $75 billion in 2024. The greatest share of investment is concentrated in China, where the government “has made a strategic choice to give the industry massive backing and make it the next new technology they want to own and lead on,” Council CEO Ivana Jemelkova said in an interview.

Hydrogen could be a lower-carbon alternative to natural gas, and has ridden a wave of hype over the past few years. But with prices consistently uncompetitive, demand scant, and government incentives in the US and elsewhere drying up, there’s a growing perception in energy circles that the hydrogen bubble has burst. That’s unfair, Jemelkova argues, since many more projects are moving forward than being cancelled. The biggest obstacle at this point, she said, is fluctuating policy that leaves investors uncertain about the economics of a given project. One measure that could help, a recent report from the International Energy Agency argued, is subsidies that support hydrogen purchases, rather than production.

AI is already reshaping the energy sector. The grid is its next frontier. New technology is enabling utilities to transform customer experiences, unlocking new ways to optimize the grid, and elevating service quality and resilience. But bringing these innovations to scale will present real challenges.

On the sidelines of Climate Week NYC, Semafor will sit down will sit down with Brookfield Managing Partner and COO of Renewable Power & Transition Natalie Adomait, Duke Energy SVP & CAO Bonnie Titone, and Kraken Chief Corporate Development and AI Officer Assaf Biderman to explore the opportunities and challenges of deploying AI solutions in the energy sector.

Sept. 2025 | New York City | Request Invitation

Trump derails decarb

The Trump administration’s rollback of wind, solar, and electric vehicle policies, coupled with a push for more fossil fuel production, could slash the pace of US decarbonization by more than half over the next 15 years, a new report found.

Although greenhouse gas emissions aren’t projected to rise over the next decade, Rhodium Group found that the pace of cuts is slowing sharply, and what were once worst-case projections under former US President Joe Biden are now best-case under President Donald Trump. In last year’s report, the group projected that US emissions would fall by between 38%-56% by 2035. This year, Rhodium expects only a 26%-35% decline by 2035. The gap between both projections is roughly equivalent to the emissions from California, Florida, and Michigan combined in 2024.

Driving the reversal are Trump’s cuts to renewable energy tax credits, his rollback of environmental regulations as part of his “drill, baby, drill” agenda, as well as soaring electricity demand from AI. The first seven months of the current US administration “have seen the most abrupt shift in energy and climate policy in recent memory,” Rhodium analysts wrote.

—Natasha Bracken

Big new battery

Capacity, in megawatts, of the largest grid-scale battery system in Eastern Europe, which was switched on outside of Kyiv this week. The $146 million project, a collaboration between Ukrainian energy company DTEK and US energy storage manufacturer Fluence, will help up to 600,000 homes weather blackouts as Russia resumes its attacks on Ukraine’s power system, and will facilitate the addition of more solar and wind.

Broken finance promises

Kenyan President William Ruto said Western leaders were breaking a “climate blood pact” by failing to honor promises to help African nations adapt to climate change.

Speaking at an Africa climate summit, Ruto said climate inaction was costing tens of thousands of lives, compounding development challenges for the world’s poorest nations after massive international aid cuts.

Though Africa accounts for less than 4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is facing the brunt of climate change: Six of the 10 countries most vulnerable to a warming climate are in Africa, which has in recent years been buffeted by devastating droughts and floods, both of which are exacerbated by climate change.

New Energy

• The share of American homes and businesses powered by renewable energy is hitting record highs, despite Trump’s assault on the industry.
• The president of one of the world’s largest heat-pump makers has warned of a “structural slump” in Europe.
• Saudi Arabia is building some of the world’s biggest solar farms, making it one of the fastest-growing markets for solar power.

Fossil Fuels

• The US subsidizes the fossil fuel industry by nearly $31 billion a year, according to a new analysis.

Finance

• Australia’s second-largest pension fund has invested around $660 million in a climate fund.

Tech

• Spain’s power grid has nearly reached full capacity, limiting the country’s ability to become a European hub for data centers.

Politics & Policy

• EU member countries are discussing how much of the emissions target in the block can be met by buying foreign carbon credits.
• Five US offshore wind projects are under review, potentially signaling more bad news for the renewable energy sector.

Minerals & Mining

• ExxonMobil wants to start producing graphite, a key material for building batteries, by the end of the decade.