Axios

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for records related to hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen during the 2016 presidential campaign, the New York Times reports.

Why it matters: The Southern District of New York said earlier this month that it had "effectively concluded" its federal investigation into the payments without charging anyone except for Cohen, who is currently serving out a 3-year sentence for campaign finance violations. State prosecutors are now investigating whether the Trump Organization falsely listed its reimbursement of Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels as a legal expense, which would be illegal under New York law, per the Times.

Solar costs have dropped precipitously in the last decade across South Asia and the Pacific, new research from consultancy Wood Mackenzie shows.

Why it matters: It’s a sign of potential good news to come for efforts to address climate change. As nations in South Asia rapidly increase their electricity consumption, renewable energy will increasingly be able to help fill that demand in the coming decades.

As climate change and our debate around it intensifies, so are the words we use to describe it.

Why it matters: The presidential election season is directing more attention to our words and characterizations as we follow debates and rallies around the country. Words are especially important on a topic like climate change that is less tangible than others, like healthcare.

BP and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing are partnering on a joint venture to deploy a network of electric vehicle charging stations in China.

Why it matters: The move signals a major expansion of BP’s increasing investments in the electric vehicle charging space, says Axios' Ben Geman. China is the world’s largest EV market, and the partnership's aim to "quickly" become the nation’s leading charging provider is ambitious.

Go deeper: BP moves into China's electric vehicle charging market

An explosion and fire at an Exxon Mobil oil refinery in Baytown, Texas, caused minor injuries to 37 workers and forced nearby residents inside on Wednesday before being brought under control, Reuters reports.

The big picture: This is the second big explosion at an American refinery in as many weeks. The other was in Pennsylvania, where the economically struggling refinery shut down after the explosion. These disasters show the inherent risk we take with our dependence on explosive fuels for our lives. This Texas refinery makes products that go into plastics.

Ford is starting to position itself as more than a manufacturer of cars and trucks. It also wants to be an orchestrator of urban transit, helping cities move people efficiently from A to B.

The big picture: Legacy automakers are scrambling to reinvent themselves in the face of disruptive technologies like automated vehicles and car-sharing. Ford is trying to take a more holistic approach than others, partnering with urban planners to address their cities' current transportation problems while laying the technology foundation for tomorrow's AVs.

CEOs of the world’s biggest oil companies will face critical questions from environmentalists at an invite-only forum Sept. 23 in New York City, on the sidelines of a major UN climate summit.

Why it matters: The burning of fossil fuels that oil and gas companies produce is a big reason Earth’s temperature is rising, yet their products are also the foundation of the global economy.

Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told Axios in an exclusive interview that he will call for a plan aimed at counterbalancing the Green New Deal.

Driving the news: Moniz, who was the energy secretary from 2013 to 2017 under President Obama, is delivering a speech today at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event in D.C. touting energy innovation.

As the political urgency around climate change has grown, activist shareholders are increasingly pressuring fossil fuel companies to change how they operate.

The big picture: Climate-related reforms have received especially strong support from large institutional investors, yielding changes in disclosure, governance, compensation and more.