Exclusive: The Natural Resources Defense Council is rallying the climate movement to help enable and shape large-scale carbon dioxide removal.

Why it matters: NRDC is among the largest and most influential green NGOs and has deep connections to Democratic lawmakers and officials.

• Its embrace could help broaden political support for carbon removal and shape policy if climate becomes a federal priority again.

The big picture: It's shifting toward more active support for carbon removal — with safeguards — in a new paper that provides NRDC's most detailed statement yet on the topic.

• It lands as some advocates distrust CDR as a meaningful, safe way to fight global warming — and even call it a distraction from cutting emissions.

🗞️ Driving the news: The movement has a "critical window to shape how CDR pathways and policies develop," it states.

• Environmentalists bring technical and policy chops, and relationships with communities that will live adjacent to new infrastructure, it argues.

Zoom out: The paper notes the need for CDR in light of the near-certain overshoot of the 1.5°C warming target.

• It says there is "no longer a plausible route to climate stability" without large-scale adoption of methods that remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
• "Our engagement can involve more than harm reduction alone. We, the environmental community, can actively guide CDR toward responsible development while maintaining ambition on emissions reduction," it states.

The intrigue: NRDC hopes to persuade CDR skeptics and opponents within the climate movement.

• It argues that today, the "loudest voices" backing CDR are fossil fuel, agribusiness, Big Tech and other corporate players.
• This "industry dominance" and lack of strong policy has allowed some bad projects to proceed, such as initiatives that harm old-growth forests and projects that use CO2 for enhanced oil recovery.

🔍 Zoom in: The document offers nine principles for CDR, such as supplementing, not replacing, emissions cuts.

• Projects must be "unambiguously" carbon-negative and have robust monitoring and verification.
• Projects should not imperil the ecological integrity and biodiversity of lands and waters. Protection of local air quality and public health is also key.
• Prioritizing community and Indigenous engagement is vital.

🏈 State of play: NRDC says an "interwoven" set of policies can help CDR scale up.

• It backs federal R&D funding, support for permitting and large demonstration projects, and steps to create market demand, such as government procurement.
• The paper also urges creation of a wider "governing framework" that weaves together CO2 accounting and monitoring principles, trade policy, national goals and project-level rules.

🏃 Catch up quick: The Trump administration has scaled back federal backing for CDR, but some remains.

What we're watching: NRDC plans to share the paper with other environmental groups and some Capitol Hill offices, spokesperson Emily Deanne tells Axios.

Mike Rogers, the Republican hopeful in Michigan's open Senate race, is backing the Trump administration's weakening of Biden-era auto mileage rules.

Why it matters: It's among a handful of tight races that will decide control of the Senate. And auto policy changes are high stakes stuff in the state that's home to the Detroit Three automakers.

Driving the news: "The Green New Scam would cost Michiganders thousands, and Abdul El-Sayed is its biggest fan," a Rogers campaign spokesperson tells Axios, referring to his Democratic opponent.

• "Ending this expensive and haphazard mandate is the right decision for Michiganders," the spokesperson adds.

The other side: "Right issue, wrong target. I'd rather Trump bring down our gas prices by ending the stupid war he got us into," El-Sayed said in a statement.

Catch up quick: The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a major auto industry group, said Trump officials "made the right call to better align fuel economy standards with the law and current market conditions."

• The rules would bring average light-duty mileage requirements of 34.9 miles per gallon in model year 2031, the Transportation Department estimates.
• That means modest efficiency gains, but far from Biden-era rules projected to bring around 50 miles per gallon by then.

State of play: The regulatory analysis alongside the rule projects it will reduce average vehicle costs by nearly $1,300 in model year 2031.

• But consumers would also spend more on gasoline, making the projected net savings much more modest.
• Check Table 8-3 here and Table 722 here to see granular estimates of various costs and benefits, if that kind of detail is your jam. (And the NYT reports that some economists have challenged the savings projections.)

What we're watching: Getting comments from campaigns is one thing, but I'll be curious to see whether this surfaces on the campaign trail in the closing weeks of the race.

👋 Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself from the case on whether cities and states can bring climate lawsuits against oil giants in state courts.

• Why it matters: It tightens the margin of error for industry groups and Trump administration lawyers campaigning to have the suits tossed out of state courts.
• What they're saying: "Justice Alito's recusal is likely bad news to the petitioners as he is among the more preemption-friendly justices on the Court," writes environmental law scholar Jonathan Adler.
• Catch up quick: No reason was provided for the recusal. Critics have pointed to his holdings in oil companies, even though he does not have stock in the two firms whose case is directly before the court. Go deeper

🗳️ The Senate will debate legislation that tells state regulators to consider new safeguards that ensure utility ratepayers don't bear the cost of the data center buildout.

• Why it matters: It comes ahead of the midterms, and Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), the lead sponsor, is locked in a tight battle that could help decide control of the chamber.
• State of play: While the measure sailed through the House with bipartisan support, Politico and other outlets report that Democrats are still deciding their posture. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), the energy panel's top Democrat, has called it too weak.

▶️ Shell and partners today announced plans for a major expansion of the LNG Canada project.

• Why it matters: While the project has been on the drawing boards for years, today's rollout implicitly says the Middle East conflict makes the case for supply from stable regions.
• The big picture: The project will supply Asian customers "at a time when diversity of energy supplies and energy security are increasingly important," Cederic Cremers, Shell's president of integrated gas, said in a statement.
• State of play: The estimated $23 billion investment will double the capacity of phase one, which is already operational, when the expansion comes online. Shell is targeting the early 2030s.

⚛️ The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will today green-light construction of a GE Vernova Hitachi small modular reactor at a Tennessee Valley Authority site, per Bloomberg and the Knoxville News Sentinel.

That's estimated crude oil production across the Americas in 2030, a gain of over 10%, per a new Bloomberg Intelligence report.

Why it matters: The "hunt for security" due to the Middle East conflict will bring more capital to this hemisphere, it finds.

• "Foreign investment, once trapped in high-risk jurisdictions, will be reallocated to the Americas, home to more than 30% of global crude oil production capacity," the report states.