Climate Tech Newsletter: March 2, 2026

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

This week's climate headlines are defined by a collision of forces: Trump's sweeping climate dismantlement—from EPA endangerment repeal to Big Tech energy mandates and clean-tech tariffs—is clashing head-on with unstoppable market momentum in solar, batteries, and geothermal. Simultaneously, AI's insatiable power hunger is redrawing energy politics, the EU's green regulatory framework is cracking under industrial lobbying, nuclear power is staging a political comeback from Washington to Ottawa, and climate finance is undergoing a painful recalibration as net-zero commitments fracture and activist tactics evolve.

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1. How Trump's Big Climate Finding Repeal Could Actually Hurt Big Oil
   February 24, 2026 – The Guardian

2. Sam Altman Defends AI's Energy Toll: 'It Takes a Lot to Change the World'
   February 23, 2026 – The Guardian

3. This Company Claims a Battery Breakthrough. Now They Need to Prove It.
   February 26, 2026 – MIT Technology Review

4. US Supreme Court to Hear Bid by Oil Companies to Toss Climate Suits
   February 23, 2026 – Reuters

5. Angels Step In Where Others Fear to Tread to Close the Climate Funding Gap
   February 23, 2026 – Reuters

6. EU Steel Sector Pushes to Be Part of 'Made in Europe' Act, Seeks Narrow Scope
   February 26, 2026 – Reuters

7. Industry Asks EU to Keep Free Carbon Permits for Longer
   February 25, 2026 – Reuters

8. Big Tech Will Only Partly Dissolve AI Water Risk
   February 24, 2026 – Reuters

9. Solar Power's Newest Friends: MAGA Influencers
   February 27, 2026 – Politico

10. What President Trump's New Tariffs Mean for Climate Tech
    February 24, 2026 – Los Angeles Times

11. European Council Adopts Simplified Sustainability Reporting Laws
    February 25, 2026 – ESG Dive

12. Corporate Clean Energy Buying Fell Globally in 2025, Reversing Trend: BNEF
    February 24, 2026 – ESG Dive

13. It Could Be the Biggest US Data Center, Next to a Civil War Battlefield
    February 25, 2026 – E&E News

14. Trump Says Big Tech Needs to Build Its Own Power Plants. These Stocks Benefit.
    February 26, 2026 – CNBC

15. DeBriefed 27 February 2026: Trump's Fossil-Fuel Talk | Modi-Lula Rare-Earth Pact | Is There a UK 'Greenlash'?
    February 27, 2026 – Carbon Brief

16. Chart: US to Overwhelmingly Build Clean Power in 2026
    February 27, 2026 – Canary Media

17. Net Zero Is Dead. Long Live Renewable Energy.
    February 25, 2026 – Bloomberg Opinion

18. Climate Activists Deploy New Tactics Against Wall Street
    February 23, 2026 – Bloomberg

19. Scoop: DOE Meets With Utilities, Developers on Trump Nuclear Plan
    February 26, 2026 – Heatmap News

20. Italy Calls for Suspension of EU Carbon Market as ETS Debate Intensifies Across Europe
    February 27, 2026 – ESG News

21. A New Ocean Equity Tool Seeks to Give Communities More Power. Will It Work?
    February 25, 2026 – Corporate Knights

22. A Landmark Study on Biodiversity Loss Takes Aim at Harmful Government Subsidies
    February 24, 2026 – Corporate Knights

23. So Much Winning for Geothermal Energy
    February 25, 2026 – Clean Technica

24. Cleantech Under Pressure: Why Asia Pacific Is Moving Forward as Others Pull Back
    January 22, 2026 – Cleantech Group

25. Indigo Carbon Surpasses 2 Million Soil Carbon Credits in Landmark 1.1 Million Issuance
    February 26, 2026 – Carbon Credits

26. DOE's $303M Bet on Kairos Power Signals America's Advanced Nuclear Push
    February 27, 2026 – Carbon Credits

27. Canada Approves First Uranium Mine in 20 Years as Tech Giants Eye Nuclear Fuel for AI Power
    February 25, 2026 – Carbon Credits

28. Feds Announce $26.5B Loan for Georgia and Alabama Utilities
    February 26, 2026 – AP News