$1Tprojected global fossil fuel subsidies in 2026 as governments struggle to shield consumers from Iran-war-driven energy prices
My Take
What matters today, and why.
- El Niño flipped sugar from glut to deficit in a single season, with raw sugar futures up 25% since July. Brazil, India, and Thailand lost yield simultaneously, collapsing the supply buffers that normally absorb a single bad harvest.
- Amazon's Wharton County groundwater permits cover only offices and fire suppression. The surface-water cooling demand for 13 data center buildings remains unresolved, and that is the larger draw, unquantified and unpermitted.
- Fuel subsidies could exceed $1 trillion this year as governments shield consumers from Iran-war oil prices near $100 a barrel. The UNDP warns that sustaining those caps is getting harder as borrowing costs rise, and the crisis may not peak until early 2027.
— Julia Polk
Deep Reads
The few stories that actually move the picture today.
Policy & geopoliticsStates allege Corteva shields tens of billions in PFAS liabilities; taxpayers and communities absorb cleanup costs.
Planetary & human healthA Grist investigation into the coalition backing Boulder, Colorado's landmark Supreme Court climate…
DC energyCeres and Bluefield Research analysis reveals that data centers' indirect water consumption at…
Policy & geopoliticsThe Trump administration is pressuring the EU to release emergency diesel stockpiles to increase…
Cleantech & energy financePimco President Christian Stracke argues that surging capital demand from hyperscalers and the AI…
New & Notable
Not the big news — the interesting one. Emerging, surprising, worth a look.
People unconsciously adopting AI chatbot speech patterns in daily conversation.
MacArthur 'genius' studies Antarctic sea ice secrets; funding reveals hidden climate leverage points.
Also Tracked
A sample of what else is on the radar today.
Subscription Coming SoonMore depth, more reporting, more analysis.