At the beginning of 2025, one5c called out local climate action as one of the biggest stories to watch. Facing a looming tidal wave of deregulation and climate policy rollbacks from the Trump administration, advocates and activists were set to train their attention to cities and states—where one estimate found policy moves could trim nationwide emissions by as much as 62%.
The barrage of hits to clean-energy incentives, renewable energy projects, EVs, greenhouse-gas regulation, climate research, and more came largely as advertised. So did the lawsuits, countersuits, protests, and organized pushback. As we head into a midterm election (all 435 House and 33 Senate seats are in play), the climate policy pinch will be colored even more by what people are talking about on Main Street U.S.A.
Here are five issues we’re tracking in 2026.
Wind farms feel the whiplash
2025 was a year full of carnage for offshore wind in the U.S. It started with a day-one executive order from President Trump freezing permitting and ordering the Department of the Interior to review already-approved wind farms. From there, it escalated into a series of stop-work orders and blows to funding grants and tax incentives for renewable projects—capped off by an abrupt order to halt all five in-progress offshore projects in December.
While the future of offshore wind feels uncertain, onshore turbines stand to be a bright spot in 2026. According to a recent report from Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association, the U.S. added more than 7 gigawatts of wind capacity in 2025, a 36% jump over 2024. The authors also forecast a total of 46 gigawatts coming online through 2029, with terrestrial wind farms in Western states accounting for the majority of new turbines.
- Recommended reading: Answers to 5 common wind-energy questions (one5c)
Dietary guidelines set to ditch beans
At the end of 2024, an advisory committee made their recommendation for how to refresh the U.S. dietary guidelines. Their menu put emphasis on Americans eating more fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, fish, and legumes—the last of which the 20-member committee put on equal footing with lean meat as a protein source. (Newly inked Dutch guidelines do the same.)
At the end of 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had yet to release its final guidelines, but one thing’s clear: They’ve scrapped the initial recommendation. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has indicated that, when the new guidelines drop this year, they’ll lean heavily on a more-carnivorous diet with a lot of red meat.
- Recommended reading: Why experts are concerned about new dietary guidelines (Civil Eats)
Data center backlash builds
In December, President Trump signed an executive order seeking to limit states’ ability to regulate data centers—noting that a wave of state laws for the energy-hungry facilities are “cumbersome” and “excessive.” This comes as proposed data centers have faced a groundswell of organized local opposition; a report from Data Center Watch found that 188 groups blocked or delayed 20 projects between late-March and June alone.
Things aren’t all that much smoother at the federal level. A trio of senators have asked the heads of Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and key data-center operators for details on current and future centers and their energy usage; a group of 200 environmental groups has called for Congress to institute a moratorium on new facilities until regulations can be put in place; and political operatives say the issue is already looming over this year’s midterm elections.
- Recommended reading: A canary in a coalmine for the data-center resistance (Fortune)
Energy affordability holds center stage
Regardless of the sector, the biggest buzzword of 2026 will be affordability. But if one pricetag manages to dominate the conversation, experts are pointing toward electricity. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average residential utility rate rose close to 5% between 2024 and 2025, and the agency is projecting a further 4% jump going into the new year.
Conversations around rates are sure to heat up in the months ahead of November’s midterm elections—particularly after energy costs helped propel a near-sweep for Democratic candidates this past fall. In fact, the electorate is increasingly making the connection between the climate crisis and their bank accounts: New polling from Yale University found that 65% of registered voters say global heating is driving up their cost of living.
- Recommended reading: A secret weapon against rising energy costs? (The Washington Post)
Emissions reporting mandates kick in—maybe
Billion-dollar businesses who operate in California will need to up their climate transparency starting…now. To comply with a pair of laws signed in 2023, companies with annual revenue above $1 billion will need to report emissions associated with their operations and energy consumption (aka Scope 1 and Scope 2) this year. The mandate will expand to include greenhouse gases from their supply chains (aka Scope 3) in 2027.
A second rule requires U.S. firms with revenue above $500 million to disclose their climate-related financial risks—as well as measures they have in place to adapt. According to the California Air Resources Board, the laws apply to 4,160 businesses in total, including the majority of the country’s largest publicly traded companies. Some of the guidance is tangled up in the courts, but the board is pushing ahead.
- Recommended reading: The states picking up the climate disclosure slack (Trellis)
Venezuelan oil faces hurdles
After the U.S. bombed the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and captured President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, President Trump said the U.S, would take control of the South American nation’s oil reserves and revitalize its beleaguered fossil-fuel industry. Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest known supply, but returning the industry to peak production faces major infrastructure and climate hurdles.
Realizing President Trump’s vision of reviving the industry could cost U.S. oil companies $100 billion and take years, reports Bloomberg. At the same time, Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University, told NPR that the world might not have an appetite for Venezuelan oil; he notes that global supplies are already abundant, and the heavy crude in the country’s reserves is less attractive to European nations with climate goals.
- Recommended reading: Five(ish) charts that give some context to Venezuelan oil (By The Numbers)