A year after President Trump signed a GOP the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a budget law phasing out clean energy subsidies, the effects have proven to be mixed rather than devastating. EV sales dropped to 5.9% of new car sales by mid-2026, and forecasts for new wind and solar capacity through 2035 have been slashed significantly, with billions in manufacturing project cancellations across batteries and decarbonization equipment. Still, rising electricity demand, especially from tech companies' data centers, is cushioning the blow, since renewables and batteries remain the fastest technologies to bring online. Forecasts for wind and solar have actually been revised upward somewhat since the law's immediate aftermath, though they remain below pre-law projections. Analysts caution it's hard to isolate the law's precise impact amid other market forces. Notably, the law preserved credits for costlier emerging technologies like advanced geothermal, nuclear, and battery storage, potentially positioning the U.S. to drive down costs globally over time.

Barcelona has begun distributing heat-monitoring bracelets to about 1,400 outdoor workers, including street cleaners, park staff and waste collectors, as Spain endures deadly heatwaves that caused over 1,000 excess deaths in June. The devices track body temperature and alert wearers with sound and vibration if they're at risk, prompting them to stop working. The initiative follows the death of a 51-year-old street sweeper in Barcelona last June during a heatwave, though officials say the bracelet program was already planned before that incident, which they say accelerated its rollout. Spain recorded its second-hottest June on record and is bracing for another heatwave. Workers like Brigade Supervisor Ester Jimenez express growing concern about heatstroke risk as temperatures continue rising, reflecting broader efforts across Spain to adapt working conditions to increasingly extreme climate conditions after several heat-related worker deaths in recent years.

Writing for Bloomberg, energy analyst David Fickling argues that the common narrative about the energy transition, that private markets favor fossil fuels while government pushes green idealism, is backwards. Private investment in oil, gas and coal has fallen from about 50% to 28% since 2015, while public investment remains 53% skewed toward dirty energy. Worse, state fossil fuel subsidies, inflated by the Strait of Hormuz conflict, could reach $1.43 trillion this year, rivaling total public and private investment in the sector combined. This isn't unique to Trump's America; the EU and UK also subsidize fossil fuels far more heavily than renewables. Clean energy subsidies total only about $480 billion versus far greater sums propping up fossil fuel affordability. Fickling contends that taxpayers, not free markets, are keeping fossil fuels alive, and that removing this artificial support would let private capital's already-clear preference for clean energy accelerate the transition.

California Resources Corporation launched the state's first operational carbon capture and storage project, injecting CO2 from its own gas-processing plant deep underground at the Elk Hills oil field: up to 100,000 tons annually, part of a larger planned capacity of 38 million tons. The milestone comes as California finalized new carbon pipeline regulations, potentially enabling more such projects statewide. Supporters, including industry figures and some policymakers, view this as a critical proof-of-concept for carbon removal technology, which the IPCC considers necessary for limiting warming, though it remains a tiny fraction of what's needed globally. Critics, including environmental justice groups such as Earthjustice, worry about inadequate environmental review, leaky old oil wells, weak pipeline safety rules lacking odorant requirements, and distrust of fossil fuel companies overseeing the transition. The project faces ongoing litigation, and its future intersects with uncertain federal climate funding, a wavering private carbon-credit market, and California's competing pressures to both boost oil production and phase out drilling by 2045.

A brutal heat wave in France in late June killed an estimated 2.5 to 3 million poultry birds, as temperatures topped 105°F in key farming regions. Chickens are especially vulnerable to extreme heat because they can't sweat, and their feathers trap warmth; when overheated, they pant, leading to dehydration and exhaustion. Industrial broiler chickens, bred to grow quickly, run especially hot metabolically, making them even more susceptible. Farmers described devastating losses, overwhelmed disposal systems, and failed cooling equipment, while some employed misting, fans, and other measures with limited success. This mirrors a similar 2003 heat wave that killed millions of birds, showing how little progress has been made in protecting livestock compared to humans from heat-related mortality. Experts warn there's no single fix, only partial mitigations like better airflow, shade, and lower stocking density, leaving farmers to adapt as extreme heat events become more frequent with climate change.