Axios

Sustainability has become one of the clearest tests of modern corporate communications, forcing leaders to satisfy investors, customers, employees, policymakers and activists who increasingly want different things.

Why it matters: Environmental messaging faces pressure from every direction.

AI-related demand within the largest U.S. power grid continues to keep pushing power bills higher for the 67 million Americans served by PJM Interconnection.

Why it matters: AI-related costs such as noise, pollution and higher prices have provoked a broad public pushback against data center building that's gaining traction among local and state officials.

Shares of Lucid Group plummeted Tuesday after a report that the Saudi-backed electric vehicle maker is weighing a bankruptcy filing as part of a possible restructuring.

• The company quickly denied the report, saying that "the rumors are completely false," after which its stock recovered some ground.

Why it matters: Lucid has earned rave reviews for its EVs and recently won a self-driving car deal with investor Uber — but the company has never recorded a quarterly profit.

Crack spreads — energy industry measures of the gap between crude prices and refined products like diesel — have soared in recent days as the global fuel picture is increasingly determined by global politics and war.

Why it matters: Crack spreads are basically the profit margin that refiners add on top of the price of a barrel of crude in order to come up with the prices they charge for refined products like diesel.

• Because the crack spread for diesel fuel, charted above, is rising, diesel fuel will likely get more expensive.
• And because diesel is a key input for industries like trucking and agriculture, higher diesel prices will ultimately be passed along to consumers, at least in part.

Qatar, Pakistan and other regional mediators are trying to de-escalate tensions between the U.S. and Iran and revive negotiations on a nuclear deal, according to two sources from the mediating countries and a U.S. official.

Why it matters: While President Trump announced on Wednesday that the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) and the ceasefire were "over" and ordered two rounds of airstrikes, he is focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and still wants to avoid a return to an all-out war with Iran.

After years of touting ambitious climate goals, big tech companies are now facing new scrutiny over what they disclose about AI's environmental footprint.

Why it matters: The AI boom is turning a handful of tech companies into defining players in the debate over electricity and water use. Their willingness to disclose these impacts is becoming almost as important as the impacts themselves.

Microsoft's latest environmental report shows the growing tension between its race to build AI infrastructure and its long-standing climate commitments.

Why it matters: The report mirrors recent disclosures from Google and Amazon, whose emissions and resource use have also climbed alongside AI growth.

The oil economy's surprising flexibility and countries' plans to cut reliance on the Strait of Hormuz could together limit how much the war boosts the global energy transition.

Why it matters: Energy crises have long-term consequences — like the 1970s oil shocks that brought U.S. gasoline mileage rules for cars, and the country's turn away from burning oil to make electricity.

The U.S. military struck Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, a U.S. official said.

Why it matters: This was the second day in a row that the U.S. had attacked Iranian targets in what U.S. officials say is an effort to stop Tehran from striking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

My 1,900-mile road trip last week in an electric vehicle proved it's easily doable, but the charging experience is still not as seamless and convenient as pumping gas.

Why it matters: Driving an EV is delightful. Charging an EV is what gives people anxiety. Until that problem is solved, EV sales in the U.S. will remain lackluster.