Axios

Jigar Shah, head of the Energy Department's loan office, chatted yesterday with Axios Pro Climate Deals' Megan Hernbroth about his cleantech approach and what's next for the revived program.

Why it matters: It was largely dormant in the Trump era but has roughly $40 billion in loan authority for a wide range of innovative, climate-friendly projects.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced the creation of a new Office of Environmental Justice along with a series of actions "to secure environmental justice for all Americans."

Why it matters: Environmental justice seeks to ensure that all people — regardless of race, class, or national origin — receive equal protection from environmental and health hazards, and are equally able to participate in the creation and implementation of environmental laws, per the Environmental Protection Agency.

A new World Bank report finds a "disappointing" level of progress over the last decade in curtailing the burning of natural gas at oil production sites.

Why it matters: Gas flaring is a sizable source of carbon emissions.

The heat wave that enveloped the Pacific Northwest and a swath of western Canada last summer, killing hundreds, was one of the most extreme such events on record for anywhere on Earth, a new study shows.

Driving the news: The study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, ranks the severity of extreme heat events by looking at the difference between the peak air temperatures and that region's typical temperature variability.

President Biden on Wednesday approved a disaster declaration for New Mexico, which has been hit by a series of wildfires that have raged for weeks, razing hundreds of structures and causing thousands of people to evacuate.

Why it matters: The declaration orders federal aid to be made available for recovery efforts, per a White House statement — as six large wildfires burn across the northern and southwestern parts of the drought-ravaged state, driven by gusty, exceptionally dry conditions and low humidity.