Climate Policy News You Can Use — July 2025

Published: July 31, 2025 by Daniel Neff

Dear Colleagues,

I hope everyone has enjoyed summer so far and is planning some relaxation during August – this newsletter even takes the month of August off! But before that, there are a lot of climate policy opportunities we want to put on your radar. Please reach out to us if you are interested in getting involved in any of the issues below. These are deep, cross-cutting issues that will have a huge impact on your company and sustainability goals.

And, your sector peers are acknowledging this – the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Business Breakthrough Barometer report has some noteworthy stats:

Companies know extreme weather damages their business: 61% of business leaders predict that increased costs from climate-related disruptions will impact their business.
Businesses will stay the course on climate: 9 out of 10 businesses surveyed will maintain or increase their transition-related investments and emissions targets.
Policy is mission critical: 96% of businesses leaders believe that governments should stay the course on net-zero commitments.

Advancing sustainability goals and reducing the cost on businesses can be achieved through protecting good climate policies. Here are the ways you can get involved to ensure your business is ready.

Comment Period for the Endangerment Finding is Here – Protect Regulatory Stability and U.S. Competitiveness

The EPA has officially begun the rulemaking process to roll back the Endangerment Finding. This bedrock rule underpins the stable regulatory environment companies rely on to reduce emissions and plan long-term investments. If reversed, businesses could face a surge of regulatory chaos, legal risk, and competitive disruption just as global markets demand cleaner, lower-emissions supply chains.

Since 2009, the Endangerment Finding has enabled predictable federal standards that have helped to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment, supported innovation, and kept U.S. companies competitive in fast-shifting global markets. Undermining it would distort the market and create instability across industries. See EDF’s statement for more.

Take Action:

Submit your own public comment to the EPA defending the Endangerment Finding by the expected deadline of September 15 (based on their stated 45-day comment period).
Sign on to this Ceres-led coalition letter before August 29. Please see the sign on form here.
Speak out in support of the Endangerment Finding through a public statement, blog, or media.
Urge your trade associations to oppose any rollback of the Endangerment Finding.

Go Deeper:

Read more about how this potential rollback could negatively impact your business.

One Big Beautiful Bill Aftermath

The One Big Beautiful Bill has been passed and signed into law, officially stripping many key energy tax credits and walking back a lot of important advancements in the clean energy space. See EDF’s statement. While this setback may cast doubt over the momentum of the past few years, it is important to remember the power of company leadership. So many critical investments have been made over the past few years that will help companies and industry decarbonize faster and more efficiently. It is imperative that businesses remain dedicated to this transition and the momentum that was built.

It is clear that businesses are not stepping away from their decarbonization goals, so moving forward in the new operating environment is key, and EDF stands ready to be a partner in those efforts. Below are some helpful resources to provide clarity on the updated details of the bill.

Go Deeper:

The Tax Law Center did a robust deep dive on changes made and other provisions such as the Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC).
The Clean Energy Business Network (CEBN) has helpful information on changes made and a table showing where dates for uptake now stand for the energy tax credits.
Rhodium Group did a deep dive on impacts to the economy based on the updates.
NRF has more on the tax implications for projects, including potential around bonus depreciation provisions.

Breaking Down the EU Omnibus

As you may know, the EU has postponed the application of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) by two years for wave 2 companies and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) by one year. Recently, the European Council agreed to their position, and the European Parliament must now agree on a position (considering 800 amendments). Internal negotiations for that are expected in September and mid-October with the vote on the compromised position scheduled for October 13. Only when the European Parliament has adopted a final position can the trilogues begin.

To help sift through the difference in approaches, please see this helpful breakdown of the scope of the CSDDD and CSRD in addition to other variables between the EC proposal, the EP draft report, and the Council position. Please reach out if you have any questions concerning these developments, what the differences mean, and how they may impact your business.

Next steps for linking WA’s carbon market with California and Québec: Join the Upcoming Workshop

Washington continues to make progress toward linking its cap-and-invest program with California and Québec’s cap-and-trade program, which would build a larger, more efficient market that offers greater stability, liquidity, and cost-effectiveness for covered businesses while achieving greater regional emissions reductions. For businesses, it means a more predictable compliance environment, reduced price volatility, and greater opportunity to plan long term.

The Department of Ecology is holding a public workshop on August 7 to share progress and gather feedback and is accepting comments during the informal comment period through August 23.

Take Action:

Attend the August 7 workshop to stay informed and provide input.
Submit a public comment by August 23 in support of a well-designed linkage agreement.

Go Deeper:

EDF Blog: Cap-and-invest program continues to drive down climate pollution and raise investments in Washington state

California Climate Risk Disclosure Implementation Update

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) published a FAQ document in July to assist companies in preparing for initial 2026 compliance with California’s climate risk disclosure laws. The FAQ document notes that CARB’s rulemaking process “will include additional opportunities for public input over the summer” and that it “is committed to developing a regulation by the end of the year.” Companies can play an important part in developing effective, practical implementation of these requirements by sharing insights from their experience preparing climate-related disclosures. Please reach out to us if you are interested in discussing further!

EPA Power Plant Rulemaking Rollback Reminder

As a reminder, the Biden-era Power Plant rules are under threat. These rules ensure cleaner air and greater well-being for communities across the country. They also work with existing power sector trends and allow for more clean, renewable energy to meet demand, which is already occurring due to its growing economic advantages over fossil fuel-fired energy. In addition, these rules provide regulatory certainty for businesses that are looking to purchase more renewable energy to meet their decarbonization goals.

Take Action:

Submit a public comment by August 7 urging the EPA to maintain this critical rulemaking.

Go Deeper:

Reach out to us if you’re interested in discussing more on how these rules impact your ability to procure clean energy, or how this rule interacts with the Endangerment Finding.

Keeping up with the US Administration

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced that the agency would propose rules to ease the CAA permitting process for companies seeking to construct and power artificial intelligence data centers.
- Administrator Zeldin also indicated agency plans to “redefin[e] preconstruction,” allowing entities to build facilities unrelated to air pollution while waiting on EPA approval.
DOT informed federal grant recipients that the agency will no longer enforce contract provisions related to climate change mitigation or diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

ICYMI – Things We’re Tracking

EDF Report: What’s at Stake from Attacks on Our Pollution Safeguards
EDF Blog: Investors helped build Europe’s methane rules. Now they must defend them.

Thank you for reading, and if this was forwarded to you, email us to subscribe!

Best,
Daniel Neff on behalf of the Climate Policy Leadership Team