Axios

The Trump administration is considering deep cuts to NOAA while seeking to end much of its climate change work, according to an internal document seen by Axios.

Why it matters: The proposal, if Congress enacts it, would squash some of the nation's premier climate change research programs.

Oil prices have fallen so steeply this month that it's no longer profitable for many companies to drill new wells in major U.S. patches.

Why it matters: Deal activity slows dramatically when the underlying economics don't work.

Microsoft inked a multimillion-ton CO2 deal with CO280, a startup that says it has cracked the code to scaling large-scale removal tethered to pulp and paper mills.

Why it matters: CO280's offtake deals with Microsoft and other buyers could advance integration of carbon removal into huge, incumbent industrial sectors.

President Trump threatened Mexico with more tariffs and sanctions on Thursday over a water dispute at the southern border.

What he's saying: "Mexico OWES Texas 1.3 million acre-feet of water under the 1944 Water Treaty, but Mexico is unfortunately violating their Treaty obligation," Trump said in a Truth Social post, referring to a 1944 agreement that requires Mexico to deliver to the U.S. 1.75 million acre-feet of water over a five-year cycle.

Iran is considering proposing during talks with the U.S. that the two countries work on an interim nuclear agreement before pursuing negotiations over a comprehensive deal, a European diplomat and a source familiar with the issue told Axios.

Why it matters: President Trump has set a two-month deadline for negotiations with Iran on a new nuclear deal — and in the meantime ordered a build up of U.S. military forces in the Middle East as another option if diplomacy fails.

Base Power, a provider of residential backup batteries in Texas, has raised $200 million in new venture capital funding.

Why it matters: Distributed home power — a key building block to creating virtual power plants — has been tough to scale, outside of rooftop solar.

While plenty of fossil fuels will power data centers, a big new report argues that fears about AI speeding up climate change "appear overstated."

Why it matters: Weighing AI's electricity thirst against ways it can help cut emissions is a wild card in the global energy and carbon future.

President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to redefine the word "showerhead" in federal rules, which the White House said would "end the Obama-Biden war on water pressure and make America's showers great again."

The big picture: As part of the Obama administration's environmental measures, the Energy Department said that showerheads should not pour more than 2.5 gallons per minute, including all nozzles. Trump eased this rule during his first term after complaining that some showerheads don't adequately rinse his hair, but the Biden administration reinstated it.