Axios

The annual switch to a pricier variety of gas known as summer blend is almost complete — meaning prices at the pump are likely peaking and could fall before beach season begins.

Why it matters: Summer blend fuel, a higher grade of gas, can add up to 15 cents per gallon in the spring, according to NACS, the trade organization for fuel and convenience stores.

The Climate Funders Justice Pledge (CFJP) has mobilized $120 million in funding from major climate donors, the group tells Axios.

Why it matters: The new milestone demonstrates the growing recognition that minorities and low-income residents tend to suffer the most from climate change, including extreme weather events such as heat waves and flash floods.

California's "Big Melt" from its historic snowpack is set to accelerate when temperatures reach as much as 20 degrees above average this week, forecasters warn.

By the numbers: The statewide snowpack contained a snow water equivalent (SWE) on Monday that was 256% of average for the date, and temperatures are forecast to break 80°F in parts of the Sierra Nevada for the first time this year by Thursday.

• In the San Joaquin Valley, which is already experiencing flooding, temperatures are expected to reach as high as 95°F by Friday.

An activist who this week won the most prestigious environmental award for her work defending the Amazon said she hopes to motivate more people to stand up to polluting industries.

The big picture: Alessandra Korap, a leader of the Munduruku people in the Brazilian Amazon, was named a Goldman Environmental Prize winner on Monday for her fight against mining in the tribe's territory.

• Korap helped lead a campaign to pressure British mining company Anglo American to withdraw 27 permit applications for "mineral exploration and research."
• Gold mining in Munduruku and other territories has caused deadly mercury poisoning, according to NGOs and community leaders.
• Along with illegal logging and cattle-ranching, it has also contributed to record deforestation in the Amazon, which carries a worldwide impact.

What she's saying: Korap told Axios Latino that the prize is a recognition of environmental and Indigenous land protection fights other communities around the world also face. She also hopes people in other countries are encouraged to protect the planet.

• "The language is different, the people are different. But the battle is the same," said Korap, who speaks Portuguese.
• "The people shouldn't be afraid to fight. Shouldn't be afraid to defend their communities, children and forests. We have to continue resisting," she added.
• "It's not easy when the great and powerful have your land… but the strength should come from the river, the freedom of the bird to go where it wishes, from the forest [and] from the people."

Between the lines: Korap and other activists face great danger for their work in Latin America, which has been the deadliest region for environmental and land rights defenders in the past few years, according to annual reports from NGO Global Witness.

• Attacks on activists in Brazil are attributed mostly to illegal loggers, ranchers and miners.

Background: The Goldman Environmental Prize, or the "Green Nobel" as some know it, is awarded yearly to activists from six regions of the world in recognition of their grassroots work.

• The other winners this year are Delima Silalahi of Indonesia; Diane Wilson of the United States; Tero Mustonen of Finland; Chilekwa Mumba of Zambia; and Zafer Kizilkaya of Turkey.

Editor's note: At the request of the Goldman Environmental Prize, the dollar amount awarded to winners has been removed from this story for security reasons.

Axios Standards Editor Carlos Cunha contributed to this report.

Subscribe to Axios Latino to get vital news about Latinos and Latin America, delivered to your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee chairman James Comer signaled he's prepared to subpoena special climate envoy John Kerry's office, if it doesn't cough up documents he's seeking.

Driving the news: In a new letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Comer, re-ups document demands, arguing the Biden administration has long "refused" to provide info.

Big names in the venture capital world are launching a first-of-its-kind group to ensure startups begin life on a climate-friendly pathway — and stay that way as they scale, Ben writes.

Driving the news: The new Venture Climate Alliance is designed to align firms' portfolios with a "net zero" emissions future, and help individual companies they finance do the same.