Climate Policy News You Can Use — May 2025

Published: May 30, 2025 by Daniel Neff

Climate Policy Leadership

Dear Colleagues,

I hope everyone is doing well during this ever-increasingly busy time. It may be difficult to remember the climate opportunities and developments amidst non-stop tariff news, taxes, and other critical issues companies must prioritize. That said, there are still opportunities that require corporate attention and action, and we are highlighting the most pressing ones below. Please reach out with any questions or if you are looking to connect!

House Passes Reconciliation Package, Setting the Stage for the Senate

The House of Representatives recently passed its budget reconciliation package. The bill reportedly changed quite a bit before passing out of the Budget Committee, highlighted in the manger’s amendment. See EDF’s statement for more on the passage of the bill.

As with any reconciliation package, the bill is packed with different changes. In addition to health care and SALT changes, the bill makes drastic changes to the energy tax credits passed under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). While some credits, such as credits towards electric vehicles or clean hydrogen will swiftly be eliminated, credits such as the Tech-neutral Investment (ITC) and Production Tax Credits (PTC), and Advanced Manufacturing credit will now be subject to rapid phaseouts and additional requirements. Very few credits are untouched and will remain unchanged, such as the credit for carbon capture.

We understand these are incredibly complex changes and every company is affected differently. Please reach out to us for specific questions on the credits you were already utilizing or planning to utilize to understand the full impact. Also, please see below a few resources for further reading on changes.

The bill will now move on to the Senate where its future is to be determined. After passage of the bill in the House, Republican Senators spoke about the cuts to the credits going too far, building on the April letter from four Republican Senators in support of the tax credits. Corporate action is needed to make clear to members of the Senate how important the energy credits are to your business, and how removal or swifter phaseout would negatively affect your investments.

Take Action:

  • Engage Senators whose states you are investing in and tell them about the tax credits and grant programs your company has benefitted from.
  • Align your trade associations with your advocacy to maintain these incentives.

Go Deeper:

  • Check out Rhodium’s recap of the rollbacks and its potential impact.
  • Check out the Solar Industry Association’s analysis on the broader energy infrastructure impact of this repeal.
  • Check out EDF and the Sabin Center’s IRA Tracker with functionality to track rollbacks, legal action, and other threats and changes to the tax credits.

Endangerment Finding Comment Period Expected

We are still waiting for the comment period on the Endangerment Finding that EPA Administrator Zeldin signaled back in April. If you have not yet reviewed the details of what is expected, don’t wait any longer; companies should start preparing their comments now. If you would be interested in joining a corporate sign-on letter to signal your support, please reach out to us!

For more details about what could be at stake for your business and why the Endangerment Finding is so important, please read the latest blog from EDF on the issue.

Take Action:

  • Evaluate the impact to your business if the Endangerment Finding is weakened.
  • Prepare your comments in anticipation of the EPA’s upcoming public comment period.
  • Engage with peers, trade associations and policymakers and urge them to oppose efforts to undermine the Endangerment Finding.
  • Reach out to us if you are interested in discussing it further.

Go Deeper:

Key Takeaways from Global Companies on the EU CSRD

As a reminder, the European Parliament and Council formally adopted the “Stop-the-Clock” Directive, which is now in force. This directive postpones 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. Meanwhile, the second part of the Omnibus – substantive changes to the CSRD and CSDDD – remains under discussion. The Council is well advanced in preparing amendments, and the European Parliament is expected to have a draft report by early June.

EDF has been collaborating with global companies and financial institutions to determine the impacts of the EU CSRD. You can read the full report here. Please reach out if you are interested in talking more about these impacts. Key takeaways include:

  • CSRD brings short and long-term benefits across the value chain for companies and the EU competitiveness, but the short-term implementation challenges are currently overshadowing the long-term benefits.
  • There are ways to make the life of companies easier while maintaining the core principles of CSRD by (1) simplifying ESRS focusing on proportionate (with special emphasis for SMEs) and decision-useful datapoints for companies, investors and stakeholders; and (2) more guidance and support to accompany companies and auditors through the transition focusing on core elements and impact.

Keeping up with the US Administration

ICYMI – Things We’re Tracking

  1. EDF Press Release: Dismissal of National Climate Assessment Authors
  2. EDF Press Release: House Takes Unprecedented Step to Undermine California’s Clean Air Act Authority. The Senate passed their CRA as well, leading to a potential court challenge.
  3. EDF Press Release: EDF Files Amicus Brief in Support of Apple’s Climate Strategy
  4. Article: Companies behind dairy industry’s first methane targets show early success

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