Climate Tech Newsletter: August 18, 2025

Welcome to last week’s edition of the CBKNY’s Weekly News Highlights. Explore the latest policies, innovations, and market trends driving the future of climate tech.

Climate Tech Insights

Microsoft’s aggressive carbon removal strategy divides Big Tech, with Amazon urging caution. Corning signs a deal to build fully U.S.-made solar panels. Europe reels from record-breaking wildfires, while Mercedes slams the EU’s combustion engine ban as unrealistic. Meanwhile, DOE unveils $1B for critical minerals, global steelmakers study Asian carbon capture hubs, and banks fund $9T in deforestation-linked companies.

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1. Microsoft Is Supercharging the Carbon Removals Market. Amazon Thinks We Should Take It Slow.
   August 13, 2025 – The Wall Street Journal

2. The Quest to Build an Affordable Electric Truck
   August 14 2025 – MIT Technology Review

3. Climate Focus Shifts as Wildfires Rage Across Southern Europe
   August 16, 2025 – Reuters

4. U.S. to Retaliate Against IMO Members That Back Net-Zero Emissions Plan
   August 13, 2025 – Reuters

5. Corning Reaches Deal to Make Fully American-Made Solar Panels
   August 16, 2025 – Reuters

6. Mercedes CEO Calls for Reality Check, Slams EU Combustion Engine Ban
   August 11, 2025 – Reuters

7. BHP Leads Global Steelmakers Group to Study Asian Carbon Capture Hubs
   August 11, 2025 – Reuters

8. U.S. Clean Energy Capacity Growth Gets Slower, Wider in 2025
   August 13, 2025 – Reuters

9. Project 2025: What a Trump Return Means for Climate Change
   August 16, 2025 – Green Queen

10. UK’s AI Ambitions Clash with Its Climate Goals
    August 12, 2025 – E&E News

11. As Air Travel Booms, Can the Aviation Industry Decarbonize for Real?
    August 12, 2025 – Corporate Knights

12. Trump Policy Impacts States’ Wind Investment
    August 15, 2025 – Canary Media

13. Forcing Dirty Power Plants to Stay Open Would Cost Americans Billions
    August 14, 2025 – Canary Media

14. China and U.S. Compete in Green Steel with DRI Hydrogen
    August 15, 2025 – Canary Media

15. How Your Solar Rooftop Became a National Security Issue
    August 15, 2025 – TechCrunch

16. Repealing EPA’s Endangerment Finding Won’t Stop State Climate Actions
    August 12, 2025 – Inside Climate News

17. SBTi Reports 227% Rise in Firms Setting Near- and Long-Term Climate Targets
    August 15, 2025 – ESG News

18. Macquarie Asset Management Provides €51M Financing for Finnish Onshore Wind Portfolio
    August 14, 2025 – ESG News

19. Global Banks, Investors Fund $9 Trillion in Deforestation-Risk Companies: Forest 500 Report
    August 15, 2025 – ESG News

20. Renewables Will Surpass Coal for Global Electricity Demand by 2026
    August 12, 2025 – Climate Base

21. Surprisingly Diverse Innovations Led to Dramatically Cheaper Solar Panels
    August 11, 2025 – MIT Climate

22. U.S. DOE Reveals $1B Funding to Boost Critical Minerals Supply Chain
    August 15, 2025 – Carbon Credits

23. Bitcoin Price Hits $124,000 Record High vs. Ethereum Near $4,800: Which Crypto Is Greener?
    August 14, 2025 – Carbon Credits