The leading contenders to head NOAA include a former acting head of the agency, a Shell executive and an ex-Interior Department official.

Why it matters: As one of the few agencies that affects Americans' daily lives via weather forecasts and warnings, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is critical for public safety and the economy.

• The Commerce Department agency also is one of the globe's top climate science hubs, funding research and processing data from around the world. It's typically led by a relatively apolitical subject-matter expert.

Zoom in: At least three names are circulating for NOAA administrator, according to numerous people who spoke to Axios on condition of anonymity: Neil Jacobs, Ruth Perry and Margaret Everson.

• But with President Trump, a surprise nominee is always possible.
• Jacobs is a contender for the role he held in an acting capacity during Trump's first term. He has a background in computer modeling and could help bolster the agency's weather forecasting and AI capabilities.
• He would, however, come with some baggage, having been reprimanded by Commerce's Inspector General — along with others — for his role in the episode known as "Sharpiegate."

Jacobs has been working for the Earth Prediction Innovation Center, known as EPIC, to develop open-source weather models that can be used by government entities, universities and private sector forecasters.

The intrigue: Perry currently leads regulatory affairs for Shell Renewable Generation in the Americas.

• Perry has extensive experience with offshore energy and on the so-called "wet side" of NOAA, but less experience with the agency's atmospheric and space forecasting responsibilities.
• Also in the running is Everson, a former adviser to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt during Trump's first term and interim head of both the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Typically a NOAA leader isn't announced until well into a president's first term, though the Trump White House has been moving unusually swiftly to name agency heads.

What's next: The new NOAA leader will have to contend with upgrading the network of Doppler radars and telecommunications equipment for Weather Service forecast offices, along with integrating AI modeling into the typical workflow of a forecaster.

• The administrator may also have to work with Congress to maintain funding for climate-related programs, given the administration's antipathy to the reality of human-caused global warming.

Between the lines: Project 2025, a governing blueprint for a Republican administration that President Trump distanced himself from on the campaign trail, called for NOAA to be broken up and partly dissolved.

• Trump has since tapped into Project 2025 for ideas and personnel.
• At his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick shot down Project 2025's recommendations to break up NOAA or transfer some of its functions to the Interior Department.
• Under that proposal, some well-known parts of the agency, including the National Weather Service, would be privatized.

The bottom line: Each candidate would bring strengths and weaknesses to the gig, and it's possible that other individuals will emerge as finalists.

The U.K. submitted its new emissions-cutting goals to the UN yesterday, and it contains commitments that would require significant new policy changes in order to be met.

Why it matters: The U.K. is signaling that with the U.S. at least temporarily leaving the Paris climate agreement, it is seeking to be viewed as a climate action leader.

Zoom in: The next round of climate targets, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are due by next month, ahead of COP30 in Brazil.

• The government under Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated its intention to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels.
• This top-line goal had been announced at COP29 in Baku, but the NDC contains far more details.

Yes, but: The U.K. had previously committed to cutting emissions by at least 68% below 1990 levels by 2030, which remains in place. However, the 2035 target is new and would require new policies to achieve it.

• It is not yet clear how the government plans to meet the new target, though it has a stated goal of becoming a "clean energy superpower" and has been working over time to cut emissions.
• "Looking ahead, we will deliver an updated cross-economy plan to meet our climate targets in due course, with full detail of policy packages for all sectors," the document stated.

Zoom out: It isn't just the U.K. that would require new policies to limit global warming and meet its commitments.

• The world as a whole is off course to sticking to the Paris targets.

The fusion industry sees an opportunity in the Republican reconciliation push with the GOP's focus on "energy dominance" and baseload power.

Why it matters: Fusion could be a grid game changer, but the industry thinks it gets paltry support relative to other energy technologies funded through DOE.

• "We actually think fusion fits a lot of the themes that President Trump and the Republicans in Congress are talking about," said Trent Bauserman, head of federal affairs for Commonwealth Fusion Systems.

Driving the news: The Fusion Industry Association is pushing the Hill to dole out nearly $10 billion over five years to various fusion programs in reconciliation, CEO Andrew Holland told Axios.

• That would include $2 billion for DOE's milestone-based fusion development program and $3.7 billion for test stands and research facilities at the Office of Science.
• It's an opportunistic play for something the budding industry has persistently asked for: supplemental federal funding to pump up commercialization and flesh out programs authorized — but not funded — by the CHIPS Act.

Reality check: It's going to be tough to persuade Republicans to spend that kind of money when they're trying to pay for tax cuts and programs they view as the "green new deal."

• Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, the House's top energy appropriator, predicted the Trump administration would be "pro-fusion" but wouldn't have the same "fiscal appetite" for it as the Biden administration.

Between the lines: Still, fusion may have an ally in prospective Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

• "The last decade has seen more progress than in my lifetime, and I would love to see that come to commercial power in the next decade," Wright said at his confirmation hearing.

Go deeper: For the full story — and smart, quick intel on energy and climate policy for your job — get Axios Pro Policy,

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