Author: INC Staff      Published: 7/5/2025    Inside Climate News

In the end, President Donald Trump’s giant tax and spending plan rocketed past both fiscal hawks and social moderates in the House with no changes on Thursday.

The $4 trillion One Big Beautiful Bill Act is now ready to reach across the U.S. economy, slicing into every aspect of the national effort to address climate change and environmental injustice.

The 887-page legislation largely erases the landmark investment in cleaner energy, jobs and communities that a Democratic-led Congress made only three years ago in the Inflation Reduction Act.

It stomps out incentives for purchasing electric vehicles and efficient appliances. It phases out tax credits for wind and solar energy. It opens up federal land and water for oil and gas drilling and increases its profitability, while creating new federal support for coal. It ends the historic investment in poor and minority communities that bear a disproportionate pollution burden—money that the Trump administration was already refusing to spend. It wipes out any spending on greening the federal government.

President Joe Biden’s team left office expressing confidence that his climate legacy was secure because most of the $132 billion in private investment in clean energy manufacturing spurred by his programs was going to Republican districts and states.

But Republican members of Congress who spoke out in favor of clean energy—enough members to make a decisive voting bloc in both House and Senate—refused to hold up Trump’s larger agenda for the cause. The strategy of insisting on “one big” bill, coupled with political threats against would-be foes (two of whom announced in the past week they would not seek re-election), turned out to be a winning one for the president.

More of our coverage of the biggest story on the planet:

• The Inter-American Court of Human Rights says that nations have legal obligations to try to reduce the impacts and eliminate the human causes of global warming.

• During OSHA’s weeks-long hearing on the Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings draft rule that ended on Wednesday, top health and safety experts explained why relying on employers to “do the right thing” costs lives.

• The EPA placed 139 employees on administrative leave Thursday, an agency spokesperson confirmed, after they signed a “Stand Up for Science” petition using their official titles and EPA position.Big Beautiful Bill’ Set to Slash Through U.S. Climate and Justice Drive

BY MARIANNE LAVELLE, AIDAN HUGHES, AMY GREEN, ARCELIA MARTIN, DAN GEARINO, GEORGINA GUSTIN, JAKE BOLSTER, WYATT MYSKOW
Trump’s legislation will hurt clean energy, boost fossil fuels and end investment in environmental justice. Climate advocates vow to tinue the fight

‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Set to Slash Through U.S. Climate and Justice Drive BY MARIANNE LAVELLE, AIDAN HUGHES, AMY GREEN, ARCELIA MARTIN, DAN GEARINO, GEORGINA GUSTIN, JAKE BOLSTER, WYATT MYSKOW Trump’s legislation will hurt clean energy, boost fossil fuels and end investment in environmental justice. Climate advocates vow to continue the fight.

Violating California Residents’ Right to Water BY LIZA GROSS People in the nation’s richest strawberry-growing region have lacked safe drinking water for decades. A Biden administration grant promised them a clean, climate-resilient drinking water system. Trump took it away.

In Florida’s Fragile Everglades, Trump Praises ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ BY AMY GREEN The Trump administration says the detention center for undocumented migrants will house the “worst of the worst.” Conservationists are concerned about its impact on the river of grass.

Truckers Say Oil and Gas Companies Are Violating Hazardous Materials Transport Regulations BY KILEY BENSE The fracking industry says its operators strictly adhere to regulations, and it has “no greater priority” than ensuring worker and community safety.

Zohran Mamdani Made Addressing Climate Change Central to His Affordability Plan for New York BY LAUREN DALBAN The official winner of the city’s Democratic mayoral primary has a record of fighting polluting natural gas infrastructure and supports Local Law 97 to cut carbon emissions from city buildings.

In Chicago, a Landmark Environmental Justice Bill Inches Toward Passage BY SIRI CHILUKURI It’s been months since an ordinance aimed at keeping new industrial facilities out of polluted neighborhoods was introduced. Activists are pushing for action.

Wastewater Treatment Plants Channel ‘Forever Chemicals’ Into Waterways Nationwide BY ANIKA JANE BEAMER A study by the Waterkeeper Alliance across 19 states documented elevated PFAS concentrations downstream of wastewater treatment facilities and fields treated with biosolids. Unregulated discharge from industry sources are to blame, the group says.

NIH Scientists Link Air Pollution and Lung Cancer Mutations in Non-Smokers BY KEERTI GOPAL Research from the NIH’s National Cancer Institute, an agency beleaguered by funding cuts and censorship, finds that particulate matter pollution impacts lung cancer at the DNA level.

Flint Completes Required Lead Pipe Replacements BY CARRIE KLEIN Michigan has replaced the majority of lead water service lines in Flint, but millions still remain across the country.

Border Wall Plans at New Mexico’s Mount Cristo Rey Raise Environmental Concerns BY MARTHA PSKOWSKI Environmental advocates warn that border wall construction on the rugged mountain could cause erosion and sever wildlife corridors. Customs and Border Protection says it is necessary to prevent border crossings.

Helping Bees Find New Homes Across New York City, From Fresh Kills to Street Planters BY LAUREN DALBAN It’s summer and the city is buzzing with pollinators—many of which are in decline. The Parks Department and local nonprofits are trying to help.

National Science Foundation to Leave Virginia Headquarters as HUD Moves Out of DC BY CHARLES PAULLIN Trump administration officials and Virginia governor announce change but give no word on where NSF will be relocated.

📈 Trending

N.C. Has Allowed a Likely Carcinogen Into Three Rivers Serving 900,000 People BY LISA SORG Environmentalists are suing to stop the flow of 1,4-dioxane into the drinking water supply, which one local water utility found at concentrations 17 times higher than the EPA’s health advisory goal.

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