President Trump on Thursday signed a peace deal to end the war in eastern Congo and used the moment to advance another priority: securing U.S. access to critical minerals.
The big picture: The Trump administration has aggressively pursued rare earth minerals and magnets overseas — vital for everything from the production of vehicles to nuclear weapons — after China threatened U.S. access.
Copper prices have been on a tear, rising to record highs, spurred by supply disruptions and worries over Trump's tariffs.
Why it matters: When it comes to the digital economy, copper is a precious metal, vital for computer chips, EVs, data centers and just about everything that is electrified.
Auto standards are the latest energy policy fight to get subsumed into the politics of affordability that look slated to dominate the midterms.
Why it matters: Contra the late Kris Kristofferson, freedom's just another word for ... cheaper vehicles. That's what Trump officials claim by naming their rollback of auto mileage rules the "Freedom Means Affordable Cars" plan.
A geothermal energy company announced Thursday that it has discovered — with AI's help — the first commercially viable system of its kind in over 30 years.
Why it matters: Zanskar Geothermal and Minerals officials said the underground find, in a remote area of western Nevada, offers fresh evidence that geothermal can become an attractive option to meet soaring U.S. energy demand.
Editor's note: This Axios story was removed after the Nature study it was based on, "'The economic commitment of climate change," was retracted by the publication due to inaccuracies in some of the underlying economic data and discrepancies in some of the estimates for climate damages. The study authors intend to submit a revised version of the paper for peer review.
President Trump's newlyproposed fuel economy standards would roll back tough Biden-era targets that were intended to cut emissions and promote electric cars.
The big picture: Trump has been tearing up Biden administration policies he believes were intended to force EVs on Americans, and framed his latest plan as a common-sense strategy to make cars more affordable.
Waymo boasts that deploying robotaxis to new cities has become "routine." But in at least a half dozen of the markets it's targeting for expansion, it may have underestimated the policy roadblocks and political headwinds it faces.
Why it matters: Misreading local politics could foil Waymo's ambitious growth plans, erasing the giant lead the Alphabet-owned company has over competitors.
Not only is China winning the clean energy race, but it's picking up the pace when most other economies — including the U.S. — are slowing down, according to new McKinsey data.
Why it matters: The energy transition is shifting geopolitical alliances and power centers, and China is solidifying its lead while the U.S. falls back.
Sen. Ruben Gallego on Wednesday dropped an energy plan that's very much of this political moment: It leads with affordability, with climate present but not front and center.
Why it matters: The Arizona Democrat is a potential 2028 White House candidate, and his plan arrives as energy costs are atop the political radar.
