Climate News

Energy bills and data centres move to the centre of US midterm climate fights

Rising energy costs are turning climate policy into a pocketbook issue ahead of next week's US midterm elections. The Guardian says voters are feeling the pinch of President Donald Trump's anti-climate agenda as energy costs rise. If polls are right and Democrats gain ground, it says, the party could win new power to resist that agenda and push climate policies in the states; if Republicans keep control, Trump's "drill, baby, drill" agenda could be further emboldened.

Inside Climate News reports that the issue is playing out race by race, often through data centres, which use large amounts of electricity. In Alabama, candidates for lieutenant governor sparred over data centres and utility rates in the state's first major-party debate for a statewide office since 2010. Texas, it reports, is no longer seen as "the best place" to build data centres as local pushback grows. In Arizona, Democrats see an opportunity to influence energy policy, while Wyoming has teamed up with the Trump administration to speed up permits for large energy and industrial projects, including data centres.

How each outlet framed it

• The Guardian — the national stakes: Congress and governors' races as a check on, or a boost for, Trump's energy agenda.
• Inside Climate News — the local detail: data centres, power prices and permits in Alabama, Texas, Arizona and Wyoming.

What we don't know yet: whether energy bills will actually move votes, and whether the polls that point to Democratic gains will hold on election day.