Karl Mathiesen

A Test Drive Through Brazil in Donald Trump’s Worst Nightmare The biggest story of the climate summit might be the brand-new EVs on the streets outside.

🚗 Bringing all the governments of the world — bar the United States — to Brazil for a UN climate conference showed the doom and gloom over the cost of doing something to stop climate change is a peculiarly Western pathology.

Dispatch from Belém.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

The Strange and Totally Real Plan to Blot Out the Sun and Reverse Global Warming A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat. The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.

NEW: A billionaire-backed global cooling startup is a few years away from potentially seeding the stratosphere with sunlight-reflecting particles.

This is the inside story of how Stardust is developing planet-altering tech that it hopes to sell to the US government. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

The Strange and Totally Real Plan to Blot Out the Sun and Reverse Global Warming A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat. The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.

"key threshold had already been crossed. Humanity had gained the power to turn down the sun, and barely anyone on the planet even knew. What’s more, that untested power was now effectively for sale." politico.com/news/magazin... Amazing story by @karlmathiesen.bsky.social & @corbinhiar.bsky.social

The Strange and Totally Real Plan to Blot Out the Sun and Reverse Global Warming A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat. The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.

Stardust. The Israeli-U.S. company with a strange and totally real plan to block out the sun and reverse global warming.

Reporting this story involved a complete relearning of what I thought I knew about the climate future.

w/@corbinhiar.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Climate summit proposal dodges call to accelerate move from fossil fuels The final text of a proposed deal would be a disappointment for European countries and low-lying Pacific island nations.

NEW: Climate summit proposal dodges call to accelerate move from fossil fuels

www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

The sad, sorry state of COP

NEW: The sad, sorry state of COP

www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Brazilian lawmakers seek to decimate green laws one week after hosting climate summit Changes would damage President Lula’s efforts to cast Brazil as an environmental leader.

🚨'The worst environmental setback in Brazil's history.'

Just a week after COP30 ends, it looks almost certain that Brazil's agribusiness dominated Congress will strip almost all oversight of damaging projects.

My report from Brasília.

www.politico.eu/article/braz...

E&E News: Geoengineering startup has been secretly lobbying Congress for months Stardust Solutions hired Holland & Knight, but the lobbying giant says it "inadvertently" failed to publicly disclose its work for the startup, as required by law.

NEW: Geoengineering startup Stardust Solutions has been secretly lobbying Congress for months

w/ @corbinhiar.bsky.social

subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...

Stardust's new investors include the billionaire Chris Sacca and the Agnelli family, an Italian industrial dynasty.

The startup plans to spend the cash on "controlled outdoor experiments," the CEO says.

But critics remain skeptical of its business plan: "I don't think that is, at all, reasonable."

Israeli-American global cooling startup raises $60M to test sun-reflecting technology The fundraising haul marks strong enthusiasm for experiments aimed at lowering temperatures, said the company. But it also raises questions about commercializing technologies with potentially damag…

A once-outlandish idea for reversing global warming takes a major step toward reality.

w/ @corbinhiar.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/glob...

Hoekstra’s mano a mano with China wobbles climate summit EU’s top climate envoy’s war of words sparks fears of diplomatic discord ahead of COP30.

"Some were left wondering what Hoekstra hoped to achieve when he attacked Beijing for a “clearly disappointing” climate plan — especially after the EU had failed to present its own strategy."

w. @l-guillot.bsky.social and @marieccles.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/wopk...

A question I thought it would be easier to find the answer to than it is. Can any climate scientists on here tell me how to calculate how much excess CO2 there is in the atmosphere now as opposed to pre-industrial levels? ie 280ppm vs 425ppm expressed as tons?

Don’t abandon forest law over IT problem, Ribera urges Commission Vice president of the EU executive says computer issues not good enough reason to further delay anti-deforestation law.

After Environment Commissioner Roswall delays EU forest law blaming IT issues, the Commission's VP Teresa Ribera tells us she's really not convinced.

“There may be [IT problems] — I don't know."

"I think that it is very controversial to give it up."

www.politico.eu/article/euro...

Europe’s climate clout melts away China stands ready to fill the gap as EU infighting leaves a vacuum in global climate talks.

“Many in China now characterize the EU as a middle power."

How Europe sabotaged it's place at the head of the climate pack.

With @ziaweise.bsky.social and @saraschonhardt.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/euro...

There's actually two typos in the ad. So we're very sorry, but it's a no.

‘They should be ashamed’: Green backsliding is wrecking Europe, EU’s first climate chief warns From wildfires to far-right gains, Connie Hedegaard says Europe can’t afford to go soft on climate while China races ahead and companies like BP backtrack.

“If policymakers fail to act, they risk fueling the very populism they claim to fear.”

@thisisbartosz.bsky.social‬ scoops an unvarnished view of the EU's climate backtracking from Connie Hedegaard.

www.politico.eu/article/gree...

Saudi Aramco employee named lead author of global climate report Mustafa Babiker was proposed for the key role last month.

NEW: Saudi Aramco employee named lead author of global climate report

www.politico.eu/article/saud...

Big job leading one of the best teams in the business...

#journojobs

jobs.mpleo.net/en/politico/...

Europe learned to love American gas. This is how Trump wrecks it. Backroom deals, embassy contacts and brown liquor built a booming export trade. Now, the lobbyist who saw it all says the U.S. president’s dalliances with Vladimir Putin are an incoming “aste…

NEW: Backroom deals, embassy contacts and brown liquor built a booming trade of American LNG to Europe.

Now, the lobbyist who saw it all says the U.S. president’s dalliances with Vladimir Putin are an incoming “asteroid” for the industry.

www.politico.eu/article/euro...

‘She’s pretty much alone’: The EU’s greenest leader fights the tide The European Commission’s second-most powerful politician is isolated, beleaguered and under attack — just like the green policy she has vowed to protect.

‘She’s pretty much alone’: The EU’s greenest leader fights the tide

Teresa Ribera, the EU's 2nd in charge, has won significant victories in secret against a combination of attacks and disinterest.

w/ @ziaweise.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/tere...

Global climate science body roiled by controversies stoked by Saudis, US The proposed selection of a Saudi Aramco oil company staffer as one of the authors of a key science report has been denounced as “political capture.”

NEW: Sudanese economist Mustafa Babiker — a long-term employee of the Saudi Aramco oil company — has been proposed as coordinating lead author of a crucial chapter of the next UN climate science report, a leaked document shows.

www.politico.eu/article/saud...

EU climate chief lobbied Germany to back weakened 2040 goal Wopke Hoekstra successfully pushed the incoming coalition to back foreign carbon credits, helping shift the EU-level 2040 talks.

NEW: EU climate chief lobbied Germany to back weakened 2040 goal

www.politico.eu/article/eu-c...

🇪🇺 I'm writing POLITICO's Brussels Playbook today – tell me what's happening in your world ... kmathiesen@politico.eu

Some Republicans want to beat China on clean energy. Trump doesn’t care. Efforts to preserve Biden-era tax breaks for green technology are running into an administration focused on fossil fuels — and unwilling to play on what it sees as Beijing's turf.

NEW: Trump is perfectly
OK with ceding the clean energy economy to China.

Some green tech advocates thought they could convince Trump to compete.

Trump 2.0 sees putting money into it as enriching China and legitimizing clean energy.

w/ @karlmathiesen.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

Some Republicans want to beat China on clean energy. Trump doesn’t care. Efforts to preserve Biden-era tax breaks for green technology are running into an administration focused on fossil fuels — and unwilling to play on what it sees as Beijing's turf.

NEW: One camp wants the United States to compete with Beijing on clean energy.

The other says playing in that game would make the United States the loser.

With @zcolman.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/05...

Can Australia pay off Turkey to host COP31? The Brits did. A previously unreported package of investment pledges and U.N. support got Turkey to back down last time.

NEW: Lessons for Australia?

Unreported details of how UK paid off Turkey for COP26.

Inward investment conference in London
Votes for Turkish UN candidates
Backing for UN positions

+ 😬 according to 1 diplo a broken promise to back Turkey over Australia for COP31

www.politico.eu/article/aust...

EU warns Britain’s war on newts could violate Brexit deal Leaked EU report raises alarm about U.K. planning bill’s bonfire of environmental protections.

NEW: Confidential EU report warns UK plans to strip nature protections in planning reforms could breach of the Brexit trade deal.

Also notes senior UK politicians "ridiculing" of green laws and Rachel Reeves banging on about newts and bats.

www.politico.eu/article/newt...

Trump’s efforts to split Europe and China on clean energy fall flat The U.S. argument against the green transition felt “quiet and out of place,” said one official.

NEW: Trump officials arrived in the UK last week with a simple message: China is a malign actor, benefiting from misguided climate policies, and the world is better off copying America's newfound embrace of fossil fuels.

It was met with a shrug.

www.politico.eu/article/trum...

Trump officials pressure world’s top energy agency to drop climate mission U.S. and European officials are sparring in meetings of the International Energy Agency, which helps guide global investments and policies.

NEW: The IEA's research has shown increasingly optimistic outlooks for clean power and gloomy forecasts for oil.

The Trump administration wants that to change.

w/ @saraschonhardt.bsky.social , @charliecooper8.bsky.social and @nicolascamut.bsky.social

www.politico.eu/article/dona...

Pope Francis, the isolated climate moralist In the weeks before his death, Francis repeated a decade-old plea for a break from both Trumpian greed and the left’s economic rationalism.

“There can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself.”

On the loss of a mighty moral voice on climate change.

www.politico.eu/article/pope...