Axios

First Solar announced Thursday it plans to build a new solar module manufacturing plant close to its flagship plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, as a result of solar energy demand and the tax overhaul President Trump signed into law last year.

Timing: This comes as the competition in the global solar industry continues to brew. The company said it’s expected to create 500 new jobs, and that construction will begin sometime this year and production to kickoff in late 2019.

As seen in the graphic above, based on EarthTime's deforestation data and story, Brazil's Rondônia state changed drastically over a 30-year period. It started as pristine forest in 1984, then came a single road the following year that exploded into a town of 20,000 people with tens of thousands of square kilometers of forest cut for crops and cattle.

Why this matters: Deforestation can create areas of extreme heat, make forests vulnerable to mega-fires, and lead to the loss of habitat for millions of species. Forests lock in carbon — and about 12% of man-made climate emissions today are linked to deforestation.

In one of the more emotional passages of his speech to Congress on Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron testified to the critical, existential nature of climate change, calling on President Trump to face the challenge with U.S. allies.

Why it matters: Since Trump announced in June 2017 his intention to eventually withdraw from, or renegotiate, the Paris Agreement, the issue of climate change has offered Macron a way to raise his profile as an international player. Although disappointed by Trump’s position, he has also paradoxically been one of its largest political beneficiaries, assuming for France the climate leadership role that the U.S. has vacated.

French President Emmanuel Macron said at a remarkably candid postgame for a small group of reporters last evening that his State Visit left him convinced President Trump will withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, and that the U.S. president wants to create "a series of new Trump's deals."

His big takeaway: "[Y]our president is a dealmaker. You always have to understand the rationale of your counterpoint. He's a dealmaker. So he wants to find a deal and he wants to find a deal under his condition."

Oil and gas giants Shell and Total, two of the world's largest energy companies, both reported a big jump in first quarter profits on Thursday.

Why it matters: The earnings show the fruits of the oil price recovery in recent months — with prices now around their highest levels in over three years thanks to lower global stockpiles, geopolitical tensions and other forces.

Following days of friendly handshakes and photo ops with President Trump during his state visit to the U.S., French President Emmanuel Macron shifted his tone during his address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday, taking jabs at Trump in four different areas.

Macron's focus: Trade wars, isolationism, the potential collapse of the Iran nuclear deal, and Trump's decision to exit the Paris climate accord.

French President Emmanuel Macron issued an implicit condemnation of President Trump's "America First" outlook to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday: "We can choose isolation, withdrawal, and nationalism … But closing the door to the world will not stop the evolution of the world.” He added later, "The United States is the one who invented this multilateralism. You are the one now who has to preserve and reinvent it."

The big picture: Though President Trump and Macron projected a jovial friendship during their time together in Washington this week, Macron came prepared to change Trump's isolationist mind on key global agreements, like the Paris climate agreement and Iran nuclear deal.

Kleiner Perkins’ green tech investors are back in business, this time with a spin out fund named G2VP. According to a SEC filing, it has closed nearly $300 million, which it began raising last year.

The backstory: A decade ago, Kleiner Perkins made a lot of headlines for the disappointing results of its enthusiastic clean-tech investing.

Speaking at an Axios event Tuesday, Al Gore likened climate change activism to a suite of other morally driven movements — such as gay rights and abolishing slavery — but sociology experts say climate is unique in a way that makes it harder to rally around.

Why it matters: For all the debate around climate change, Congress has never passed comprehensive legislation on the matter since it became a public concern decades ago. Climate is also not a top priority compared to other issues for most Americans.