Tuesday, 15 September 2026

Trump attributed the increase in global diesel prices mainly to the Russia/Ukraine War rather than Iran, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The comment came one day after Trump urged Kyiv to stop striking Russian refineries, Semafor Net Zero reported.

Separately, the UN warned that Kyiv faces the toughest winter of the five-year war, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final plan on Monday that guts the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards for United States power plants, according to Inside Climate News. The agency said the rule exceeds its authority under the Clean Air Act by requiring control technologies that are not adequately demonstrated.

In the same action, Inside Climate News reported, the EPA proposed revoking all remaining greenhouse gas emissions requirements for power plants, arguing that their emissions have no material impact on climate change. The agency said the proposal to rescind every remaining greenhouse gas standard for the power sector would save an additional USD 370 million in direct compliance costs.

The standards being unwound were adopted under the Biden administration. Inside Climate News reported that Biden's EPA in June 2024 pointed to a regulatory impact analysis projecting reductions of 1.38 billion metric tons of carbon pollution through 2047 under the Carbon Pollution Standards.

The move follows an earlier reversal at the agency. In February, the EPA overturned the endangerment finding that underpinned its authority to regulate greenhouse gases from motor vehicles, per Inside Climate News.

That finding rests on a long-standing legal framework. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Air Act's definition of air pollutants includes greenhouse gases, and the EPA issued its endangerment finding in 2009.

Greece has rewritten its self-consumption rules to allow plug-in balcony solar systems rated up to 800 W, along with standalone batteries that are not paired with a renewable generator, according to PV Magazine.

The new framework was published by the Ministry of Environment and Energy, does not need parliamentary approval, and took effect immediately, PV Magazine reported.

Balcony PV kits and standalone batteries covered by the regime must be used solely for on-site self-consumption. Exporting electricity to the grid is not permitted under the rules, per PV Magazine.

The Greek grid operator has been told to publish safety requirements for plug-in PV systems on its website by Oct. 31, 2026, with installers required to sign a document confirming their equipment meets those specifications, according to PV Magazine.

Alongside the regulatory change, the ministry plans to channel €476 million through the Islands Decarbonization Fund to back self-consumption projects on Greek islands, PV Magazine reported.

Nine Democrats in the US House of Representatives rolled out an energy and environmental policy blueprint for 2027 centered on affordability, pitched ahead of midterm races, according to Semafor Net Zero.

The document, titled the Thriving Economy Project, contains more than 800 policy recommendations spanning data centers, energy security, agriculture, and manufacturing, Semafor Net Zero reported, describing it as the most comprehensive energy platform Democrats have advanced in years.

Rep. Sean Casten told Semafor Net Zero that measures tied to nuclear energy and research and development are more likely to attract bipartisan backing, while disagreements over extractive industries will remain a sticking point.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed back on an assertion by US President Donald Trump that Kyiv and Moscow had agreed to halt mutual attacks on energy infrastructure, according to Semafor Net Zero.

In a Monday post cited by Semafor, Zelenskyy said there is now a strong US proposal for an energy ceasefire, but that no one has yet seen any genuine desire on Russia's part to move toward ending the war.

Semafor reported that Ukraine's long-range drone campaign has driven Russian oil production to a 17-year low. The same reporting said Russian fuel imports have reached a high seven times greater than the previous record.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias recently forced the closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline, a route that had emerged as a key conduit for oil exports after the Strait of Hormuz was closed, according to Semafor Net Zero.

Semafor reports that Saudi Arabia is coming under increased military pressure on both its northern and southern borders, describing it as one of the sternest challenges yet for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

On the southern flank, Houthi rebels in Yemen have stepped up attacks on southern targets and seized strategic islands in the Bab el-Mandeb waterway, per the same report.

Semafor adds that Washington's military support for the kingdom is in question.