Dear Readers,
America just celebrated its 250th birthday! Unfortunately in Summer of 2026, America finds itself stepping back from climate stewardship. Under President Trump, America was responsible for nearly 50% of global C02 emissions growth due to data center explosion growth and the blocking of new wind and solar plants. Still, as we note in this month’s policy watch, the Trump administration’s efforts to stymie the climate transition is being challenged in court and moving foward.
I’d love it if you tried the Green Place’s first game, Overshoot. It can be found at https://overshoot.greenplace.earth/. Overshoot is a game that simulates running a fossil-dependent economy and trying to grow it without overheating the planet.
I made an effort this month to abridge the publication and only focus on key findings. Feel free to reply to this email if you have any comments. As usual, thanks for reading. Best,
Ted
El Niño is rapidly forming in the Pacific, in what could be the strongest climate event on record. The El Niño will send ripples across the planet, and will increase risks of costly extreme weather events such as tornadoes and winter storms.
Already Western Europe is in a record-shattering heatwave. The UK logged its hottest June day on record at 35.7°C and France its hottest day since measurements began in 1947, with deaths prevalent across the continent. WMO has confirmed an ~80% chance of El Niño forming June–August and ~90% by November, and scientists warn the combination of El Niño and structural warming could push 2026 to the warmest or second-warmest year on record.
FAO and WFP have launched a first-ever joint anticipatory appeal seeking $202 million to help 8.8 million people prepare before the impact. By preparing for the fallout from the El Niño in advance, the FAO and WFP “identify risks before they become emergencies.”
Global energy-transition investment hit a record $2.3 trillion in 2025, and Q1 2026 climate equity funding reached roughly $21.5 billion, with North America capturing $10.1 billion. Noteworthy deals include Alphabet's $4.75 billion acquisition of clean energy developer Intersect to feed its data centers, and Cypress Creek's $3.5 billion raise for one of the largest US solar-and-battery projects. The energy-transition money is now overwhelmingly an AI-electricity story.
The energy transition is demonstrating resiliency to the Trump administration’s efforts to thwart it. On June 15, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit dismissed an appeal by the Trump administration to freeze wind energy permitting. The development has been hailed as one of the most significant victories against the Trump administration in its campaign to forestall the energy transition.
The transition is moving full steam ahead despite Washington, not because of it.
America’s green transition could have an achilles heel, and it's not simply opposition from Trump. As with AI, renewable infrastructure depends heavily on critical minerals. The supply chain for critical minerals runs through America’s geopolitical adversary: China.
The instinct is to blame geology. But that’s not the full story. China holds 49% of global rare earth reserves — a commanding share, but not a monopoly. What it holds instead is the processing: roughly 90% of global refining and separation capacity, and 94% of the world's permanent magnet manufacturing — up from about 50% two decades ago. The bottleneck isn't what's in the ground. It's who can turn it into something a turbine can use.
Read the full article at the Green Place: https://greenplace.earth/articles/917-test