The always-tense issue of Taiwan will feature in a Biden-Xi meeting Thursday. Nancy Pelosi’s plans are likely to come up.When President Joe Biden holds a rare virtual meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping Thursday, the one sure item on the agenda is the ever-controversial matter of Taiwan. The issue is particularly fraught at the moment, given the news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is to the island in August. Pelosi would be the highest-ranking U.S. lawmaker to visit Taiwan since then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich traveled there 25 years ago. And times have certainly changed since...…The always-tense issue of Taiwan will feature in a Biden-Xi meeting Thursday. Nancy Pelosi’s plans are likely to come up.When President Joe Biden holds a rare virtual meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping Thursday, the one sure item on the agenda is the ever-controversial matter of Taiwan. The issue is particularly fraught at the moment, given the news that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is to the island in August. Pelosi would be the highest-ranking U.S. lawmaker to visit Taiwan since then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich traveled there 25 years ago. And times have certainly changed since...WW…

Mae Decena/Shea Lord360°How inflation became America’s greatest economic problem LENSESLLaborPPoliticsWWarCClimateCChinaThe last time inflation was this high, the Fed engineered a severe recession. Unfortunately, the problem is much more complex now. Can the off-ramp to spiking inflation go better this time?ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESInflation has hit its highest level since the early 1980s, with prices rising 8.3 percent in the last year.The last time inflation, defined as the change in consumer prices over time, was this high was...…Mae Decena/Shea Lord360°How inflation became America’s greatest economic problem LENSESLLaborPPoliticsWWarCClimateCChinaThe last time inflation was this high, the Fed engineered a severe recession. Unfortunately, the problem is much more complex now. Can the off-ramp to spiking inflation go better this time?ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESInflation has hit its highest level since the early 1980s, with prices rising 8.3 percent in the last year.The last time inflation, defined as the change in consumer prices over time, was this high was...WW…

Photo illustration: Mae Decena. Sources: Anadolu Agency/Ringo Chiu/Patrick T. Fallon/Eric Thayer/Spencer Platt/Kevin Dietsch360°Gun control after Uvalde: What could work, what won’t work, and what we can learn from the worldLENSESPPoliciesFFirearmsPPublic HealthGGlobalPolling indicates Americans favor gun reforms like “red flag” laws and assault weapons bans, but the reality is much more complicated.ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESOver the course of only 10 days this May, mass shootings claimed the lives of 10 people in Buffalo, New York,...…Photo illustration: Mae Decena. Sources: Anadolu Agency/Ringo Chiu/Patrick T. Fallon/Eric Thayer/Spencer Platt/Kevin Dietsch360°Gun control after Uvalde: What could work, what won’t work, and what we can learn from the worldLENSESPPoliciesFFirearmsPPublic HealthGGlobalPolling indicates Americans favor gun reforms like “red flag” laws and assault weapons bans, but the reality is much more complicated.ContributorsWhat are 360s? Grid’s answer to stories that deserve a fuller view.LENSESOver the course of only 10 days this May, mass shootings claimed the lives of 10 people in Buffalo, New York,...WW…

China, Russia, and India may be reluctant to reengage on US terms at the climate summit.On Thursday, President Joe Biden will try to pull off some diplomatic gymnastics: hosting a to convince countries to take bolder action on climate change, while the US is still very much rebuilding its own climate credibility after the Trump years.During his presidency, Donald Trump tore down of environmental regulations and withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement, undermining global progress to reduce emissions.“[Biden] comes into this summit with the need to repair US credibility after four...…China, Russia, and India may be reluctant to reengage on US terms at the climate summit.On Thursday, President Joe Biden will try to pull off some diplomatic gymnastics: hosting a to convince countries to take bolder action on climate change, while the US is still very much rebuilding its own climate credibility after the Trump years.During his presidency, Donald Trump tore down of environmental regulations and withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement, undermining global progress to reduce emissions.“[Biden] comes into this summit with the need to repair US credibility after four...WW…

The American Jobs Plan proposes taking away major tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry.One of the great ironies of climate politics is that America continues to subsidize — to the tune of billions of dollars a year — the very industries that are most responsible for the warming of the planet. Biden wants to put an end to that.His , released last week, recognizes that if the US wants to hit decarbonization targets, and get climate change under control, cutting off government support for fossil fuels is a logical first step. The proposal takes aim at tax preferences, loopholes, and laws...…The American Jobs Plan proposes taking away major tax breaks for the fossil fuel industry.One of the great ironies of climate politics is that America continues to subsidize — to the tune of billions of dollars a year — the very industries that are most responsible for the warming of the planet. Biden wants to put an end to that.His , released last week, recognizes that if the US wants to hit decarbonization targets, and get climate change under control, cutting off government support for fossil fuels is a logical first step. The proposal takes aim at tax preferences, loopholes, and laws...WW…

Here are 3 big lessons from Germany’s transition off of coal power.Right before the Covid-19 pandemic, Jeremy Richardson took a trip to Germany where he did some unconventional sightseeing: visiting a vast strip mine in Lusatia, a coal region in the country’s east. A West Virginia native who’s a senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Richardson had seen many coal mines in his lifetime. But this mine was different.At home, he had witnessed mountain-top removal mining that left rivers and valleys clogged and contaminated below. In Lusatia, he saw the opposite. As coal was...…Here are 3 big lessons from Germany’s transition off of coal power.Right before the Covid-19 pandemic, Jeremy Richardson took a trip to Germany where he did some unconventional sightseeing: visiting a vast strip mine in Lusatia, a coal region in the country’s east. A West Virginia native who’s a senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, Richardson had seen many coal mines in his lifetime. But this mine was different.At home, he had witnessed mountain-top removal mining that left rivers and valleys clogged and contaminated below. In Lusatia, he saw the opposite. As coal was...WW…

The plan could allow for emissions to keep growing through 2025.0n Friday, China a draft summary of its 14th Five-Year Plan, the all-important document that not only guides the country’s economic development but also has huge consequences for global carbon dioxide emissions and climate change.The new plan’s 2025 emissions goals reflect an ongoing contradiction between China’s short-term and long-term climate goals.In the long run, China has expressed a strong commitment to climate action. President Xi Jinping surprised the world last September when that China would aim to reach carbon...…The plan could allow for emissions to keep growing through 2025.0n Friday, China a draft summary of its 14th Five-Year Plan, the all-important document that not only guides the country’s economic development but also has huge consequences for global carbon dioxide emissions and climate change.The new plan’s 2025 emissions goals reflect an ongoing contradiction between China’s short-term and long-term climate goals.In the long run, China has expressed a strong commitment to climate action. President Xi Jinping surprised the world last September when that China would aim to reach carbon...WW…

Some Republicans want you to think wind turbines caused the Texas blackout. Here’s why they’re wrong.As the energy crisis in Texas deepened this week, leaving millions without power, heat, and even running water, and politicians persistently peddled a myth that wind turbines are to blame.“It seems pretty clear that a reckless reliance on windmills is the cause of this disaster,” Tucker Carlson on Fox News. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also used wind power as a scapegoat for the crisis when he appeared Tuesday night, but he later walked back his comments.Let’s get the facts straight. of power...…Some Republicans want you to think wind turbines caused the Texas blackout. Here’s why they’re wrong.As the energy crisis in Texas deepened this week, leaving millions without power, heat, and even running water, and politicians persistently peddled a myth that wind turbines are to blame.“It seems pretty clear that a reckless reliance on windmills is the cause of this disaster,” Tucker Carlson on Fox News. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also used wind power as a scapegoat for the crisis when he appeared Tuesday night, but he later walked back his comments.Let’s get the facts straight. of power...WW…

Here’s how he can start with three of the worst ones.The Trump presidency is over, but his damaging environmental rollbacks remain — for now.In an avalanche of executive actions over the past two weeks, Biden took aim at Trump’s anti-environmental legacy, kicking off the process of repealing and replacing regulations to pursue his .But Biden can’t just sign his way back to Obama-era environmental regulations, or instantaneously create even stricter ones to limit greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. To overturn Trump’s regulations, he will have to initiate new rulemaking processes — just...…Here’s how he can start with three of the worst ones.The Trump presidency is over, but his damaging environmental rollbacks remain — for now.In an avalanche of executive actions over the past two weeks, Biden took aim at Trump’s anti-environmental legacy, kicking off the process of repealing and replacing regulations to pursue his .But Biden can’t just sign his way back to Obama-era environmental regulations, or instantaneously create even stricter ones to limit greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. To overturn Trump’s regulations, he will have to initiate new rulemaking processes — just...WW…

Biden took the next leap in pursuing his climate agenda Wednesday, signing in a spate of environment-focused executive orders. One of the most ambitious goals buried in the order he put forward is to conserve nearly a third of US land and ocean waters by 2030.Currently, only 12 percent of the country’s land and 26 percent of its oceans are protected, according to a by the Center for American Progress. This was achieved by protected areas over the past few decades — until former President Trump took office. In his first year, his administration dramatically shrank two Utah monuments, Bears...…Biden took the next leap in pursuing his climate agenda Wednesday, signing in a spate of environment-focused executive orders. One of the most ambitious goals buried in the order he put forward is to conserve nearly a third of US land and ocean waters by 2030.Currently, only 12 percent of the country’s land and 26 percent of its oceans are protected, according to a by the Center for American Progress. This was achieved by protected areas over the past few decades — until former President Trump took office. In his first year, his administration dramatically shrank two Utah monuments, Bears...WW…