Smoke rises from an oil refinery in Corpus Christi along the Texas coast.

Texas oil, gas and petrochem facilities emitted 1.6 million pounds of regulated pollutants during last week’s icy weather

Under Texas’ ‘enforcement discretion’ policy, companies were allowed to vent or burn off pollutants, as long as they are reported. Recent weatherization requirements for power plants did not apply to gas processing plants.

by Dylan Baddour and Peter Aldhous, Inside Climate NewsJanuary 31, 2026January 31, 2026

Under Texas’ “enforcement discretion” policy, companies were allowed to vent or burn off pollutants, as long as they are reported. Recent weatherization requirements for power plants did not apply to gas processing plants.

Texas News

The EPA is easing pollution rules under Trump. Here’s how it’s affecting Texas.

As President Trump marks one year back in office, his EPA has proposed rolling back key air and climate protections, which experts say has already begun to strain Texas’s air quality and public health.

by Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune January 21, 2026January 21, 2026

The Texas sun sets behind a group of electrical transition towers.

Texas News

As data centers jostle to get on Texas’ grid, ERCOT promises new rules for ‘Batch Zero’

The group would include large power users who’ve been waiting a long time for interconnection and don’t need further study. It’s ERCOT’s first attempt at a new planning process in which multiple requests will be considered simultaneously.

by Arcelia Martin, Inside Climate News January 18, 2026January 18, 2026

Participants at the Stand Up for Science Protest Rally meet in front of San Francisco City Hall, holding signs promoting science and facts.

News

The Year in Climate: Attacks on science, start of Trump’s second term and surging electricity demand foreshadow a future filled with uncertainty

Global inaction on fossil fuel and plastic treaties, the dismantling of federal agencies and regulations and the rapid rise of data centers were just a few of the consequential stories that Inside Climate News tracked in 2025.

by Dan Gearing, Inside Climate NewsJanuary 5, 2026January 5, 2026

EPA workers and supporters protest job cuts at a rally in Chicago during the first Trump administration.

News Features

Trump’s EPA Focus: Delay, rescind, dismantle environmental and health protections

For the first time in the agency’s 55-year history, Congress has ceded its responsibility to oversee the EPA to a single politician who sanctioned its ‘wholesale demolition,’ former staff charge.

by Liza Gross, Inside Climate NewsJanuary 3, 2026January 3, 2026

Texas News

The world’s last flock of wild whooping cranes gets more living space in Texas

Once on the brink of extinction, these birds are expanding their grounds on an isolated stretch of the Gulf Coast in Texas.

by Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News December 28, 2025December 28, 2025

Flash floods devastated the Texas Hill Country in July.

Texas News

Disaster survivors from Texas, other states denounce proposed FEMA downsizing

A leaked report recommends halving the size of the nation’s disaster response agency, while holding states responsible for a much larger share of response and recovery costs.

by Anika Jane Beamer, Inside Climate NewsDecember 16, 2025December 16, 2025

An oil refinery on the Texas Gulf Coast releases pollution into the air.

Texas News

Petrochemical expansion in Texas will fall heavily on communities of color, study finds

Researchers in Houston analyzed the locations of 114 proposed industrial projects related to oil and gas in Texas, most of them involved in plastics production.

by Dylan Baddour, Inside Climate News December 1, 2025December 1, 2025

Smoke rises from the 2019 ITC fire in suburban Houston.

Bad Takes

Bad Takes: ‘We have the best political system right now that private money can buy’

Sadly, what was once labeled corruption has become the way U.S. politics works.

by Kevin Sanchez November 26, 2025November 26, 2025

A construction worker takes a break in the sweltering heat.

Texas News

Texas workers keep dying in the heat

Despite its blazing temperatures, Texas has no labor protections for heat. That leaves workers, especially immigrants, vulnerable on the job.

By Martha Pskowski and Keerti Gopal, Inside Climate NewsNovember 26, 2025November 26, 2025

A battery storage complex and substation stores energy produced by renewable sources.

Texas News

Trump’s policies risk Texas’ new solar and battery projects

Two-thirds of Texas’ future solar and storage developments are at risk of delay or cancellation due to regulatory uncertainty, a report warns.

by Arcelia Martin, Inside Climate News November 22, 2025November 22, 2025

The sheer volume of energy demand from Texas data centers is creating headaches for the state's grid operator.

Texas News

‘Rapid explosion’ of data centers causes planning struggles for Texas power grid

As companies look to build projects that consume more power than cities, ERCOT is trying to plan transmission.

by Arcelia Martin, Inside Climate News October 29, 2025October 29, 2025

The border wall cuts across a stretch of land. Early research has shown the walls can stop or deter the migration of pivotal pollinators, conservationists caution.

Texas News

The U.S.-Mexico border wall may pose perils to pollinators

Environmentalists worry about pollinating species in the pivotal desert borderland as more tall barriers are planned by the U.S. government to curb migration and trafficking.

By Tina Deines, Inside Climate News October 20, 2025October 20, 2025

Texas voters will have a chance to decide whether the state should invest $20 billion to secure its water supply.

Texas News

Texas voters have final say on $20 billion package to secure state’s water supply

No new taxes would be collected for the package that would give the state’s water department $1 billion to spend on projects like cleaning salty water, flood control and reservoirs.

by Alejandra Martinez October 17, 2025October 17, 2025

An aerial photo shows a QTS Data center under construction.

Texas News

Texas grid operators and regulators iron out new rules for data centers

New state legislation seeks to address grid challenges from hosting large energy users like data centers while remaining an attractive place to do business.

by Arcelia Martin, Inside Climate News October 10, 2025October 10, 2025

Community advocates pushing to end policies of electric and gas disconnections in San Antonio, Texas. Efforts across the climate movement are increasingly leaning into principles of mutual aid and self-reliance, even when they partner with local government and nonprofits.

San Antonio News

As Trump works to crush climate efforts, San Antonio projects persevere at the grassroots

This week, the president froze billions in funding for renewable-energy projects in Democrat-led states amidst a wider government shutdown, demonstrating why grassroots climate initiatives are increasingly building in resilience from heat, storms, and the government itself.

by Greg Harman, Deceleration October 3, 2025October 3, 2025

Flood waters from the Guadalupe River surround homes near Kerrville on July 4, 2025.

News

Trump’s continued FEMA cuts put Texas in crosshairs for worse natural catastrophes, lawmakers warn

A former FEMA official warns the nation may have to ‘painfully relearn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina.’

by Sanford Nowlin September 18, 2025September 18, 2025

A worker installs solar panels on a building.

News

Texas solar program left in limbo after Trump administration pulls the plug on $250 million grant

Texas’ Solar for All program was intended to bring solar panels and batteries to low-income neighborhoods and create jobs by training workers to install the technology.

by Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune September 11, 2025September 11, 2025

A natural gas distribution system emits a flare during maintenance.

Texas News

Texas says it’s strict on oilfield well emissions. The data shows otherwise.

Despite industry claims Texas is success story in controlling emissions, state regulators rubber stamp nearly every request to burn or vent gas into the atmosphere.

By Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News, and Mark Olalde, ProPublica September 3, 2025September 3, 2025

News

Environmental laws waived to build Trump’s border wall in Texas wildlife refuge

The Rio Grande Valley is home to ocelots and other endangered species. Now, the federal government will not have to follow the Endangered Species Act and more than two dozen other federal laws to build the border wall through a national wildlife refuge.

by Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News August 27, 2025August 30, 2025

LAST CALL FOR UNITED WE BRUNCH TICKETS. JOIN US 2/28!

climate change

Texas oil, gas and petrochem facilities emitted 1.6 million pounds of regulated pollutants during last week’s icy weather

The EPA is easing pollution rules under Trump. Here’s how it’s affecting Texas.

As data centers jostle to get on Texas’ grid, ERCOT promises new rules for ‘Batch Zero’

The Year in Climate: Attacks on science, start of Trump’s second term and surging electricity demand foreshadow a future filled with uncertainty

The world’s last flock of wild whooping cranes gets more living space in Texas

Disaster survivors from Texas, other states denounce proposed FEMA downsizing

Petrochemical expansion in Texas will fall heavily on communities of color, study finds

Bad Takes: ‘We have the best political system right now that private money can buy’

Texas workers keep dying in the heat

Trump’s policies risk Texas’ new solar and battery projects

‘Rapid explosion’ of data centers causes planning struggles for Texas power grid

The U.S.-Mexico border wall may pose perils to pollinators

Texas voters have final say on $20 billion package to secure state’s water supply

Texas grid operators and regulators iron out new rules for data centers

As Trump works to crush climate efforts, San Antonio projects persevere at the grassroots

Trump’s continued FEMA cuts put Texas in crosshairs for worse natural catastrophes, lawmakers warn

Texas solar program left in limbo after Trump administration pulls the plug on $250 million grant

Texas says it’s strict on oilfield well emissions. The data shows otherwise.

Environmental laws waived to build Trump’s border wall in Texas wildlife refuge