Amazon just became the latest corporate giant to back direct air capture (DAC) tech, Ben writes.

🗞️ Driving the news: The company on Tuesday announced plans to buy 250,000 tons of removal and permanent storage services over 10 years from 1PointFive, a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum.

• The removal will occur at a Texas plant under construction that's slated to start operating in 2025.
• Amazon also revealed it's investing in CarbonCapture, a developer of modular DAC systems, via its $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund.
• Neither deal's terms were disclosed.

Why it matters: It's the tech giant's first foray into DAC, one of the carbon removal methods receiving growing investor and federal support.

• The 1PointFive agreement is among the largest corporate removal purchases to date, similar to the 315,000 ton Microsoft-Heirloom deal announced last week.
• Amazon is joining others including Meta, Alphabet and JPMorgan more in buying DAC services.

🏃🏽‍♀️Catch up fast: 1PointFive is also a key player in a separate Texas project supported by an Energy Department-backed DAC "hubs" program.

🖼️ The big picture: DAC is now among the tools Amazon's banking on — to some degree — to help reach its vow to be "net zero" emissions by 2040.

• The company is involved with a suite of renewable power projects and efforts to electrify its gigantic delivery fleet, among other steps.
• The pledge fund, meanwhile, is supporting roughly two dozen startups representing a wide range of climate technologies.

State of play: Amazon needs multiple tools.

• It has a big CO2 footprint (partly due to all that shipping), and last year its absolute emissions fell by 0.4% to roughly 71.3 million metric tons, per Amazon's sustainability report.
• Kara Hurst, VP for worldwide sustainability, said in a statement that DAC can "complement" initiatives to directly cut corporate emissions.

The bottom line: These removal volumes are a rounding error compared with what's needed for DAC to become a viable way to help stem climate change.

• Eventually reaching gigaton scale will rely on more of the kinds of investments we're seeing today.

The International Energy Agency sees a peak in demand for coal, oil and natural gas this decade, Ben writes.

Why it matters: It's the first time the influential agency has projected this will occur this decade for all three major fuels under nations' existing policies.

Driving the news: IEA boss Fatih Birol previewed the group's upcoming World Energy Outlook in a Financial Times column.

"[T]he world is on the cusp of a historic turning point," he writes.

Yes, but: Projected demand declines are "nowhere near steep enough" to meet the Paris Agreement target of holding warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, Birol writes.

Reality check: Projecting the future is stuffed with uncertainties, and there are reasons for skepticism.

There are a couple ways to interpret this chart from the Energy Department's handy "Transportation Fact of the Week" series, Ben writes.

The big picture: Home electric vehicle chargers are akin to other major appliances, not a radical addition.

• That said, they are hardly trivial to home energy use.
• And with some grids straining under existing demand, the growth of EVs is an important new source.

The bottom line: The EV transition demands planning from power companies and drivers alike.

The Democrats' 2022 climate law is in the GOP's crosshairs, so let's explore what Republicans might do via Axios Pro: Energy Policy's Nick Sobczyk.

State of play: Some climate tech investors are preparing for the possibility that Republicans win power in 2024 and peel back the law.

The big picture: Recent GOP efforts show how the initiatives may evolve.

• As time goes on — and more of this money comes online — the list of programs Republicans look to repeal will likely narrow. Trying to kill the law outright will become less politically appealing.
• Capitol Hill Republicans are currently pursuing a narrower clawback of certain major subsidies, part of a suite of tax and trade bills that House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith has moved out of his committee.
• A GOP president could make executive moves, too. That's part of why Treasury is trying to get all the tax credit guidance out the door as quickly as possible.

Between the lines: GOP White House hopefuls are going to run on repeal, but the Inflation Reduction Act appears to lack the political juice that got GOP voters fired up about Obamacare.

Subscribe to Axios Pro: Energy Policy for the full story and must-read coverage every week.

There's a new industry lobbying coalition in town: The American Critical Minerals Association, which is run out of Cornerstone Government Affairs, Ben writes.

Driving the news: The group is "committed to advancing the growth of a domestic supply chain for critical minerals, with a particular focus on processing and recycling."

• Its lengthy list of regulatory and policy goals include "effective and rapid implementation" of the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and the 2022 climate law.
• Another: "Responsible siting and operations for processing and refining facilities."

Why it matters: It arrives amid growing focus on materials needed for electric vehicles and other energy applications, as well as looming siting and permitting battles over domestic projects.

• China is a dominant player in refining and processing.
• The group says its work will benefit multiple sectors, including defense and aerospace.

What we don't know (yet): The companies involved.

"Let's be clear: this is a potential nightmare situation for GM and Ford as both [area code] 313 stalwarts are in the early stages of a massive EV transformation path for the next decade that will define future success."

That's part of the firm's take as an auto strike looms as soon as this week, Ben writes.

The big picture: Detroit automakers face tough options at a time of rising competition, the WedBush analysts wrote in a recent note.

• A lengthy strike could delay rollout of electric models.
• But UAW contract demands would impose big costs, putting upward pressure on the automakers' EV prices.