Another South Florida Condo Evacuated: Residents of yet another South Florida condo building were forced to quickly evacuate on Tuesday after an engineering inspection raised "serious concerns" about the building's structural integrity. The 63-year-old Majestic Isle condominium in North Bay Village is just miles from the Port Royale condominiums that were evacuated in a similar manner in October 2022, and Surfside, where the Champlain Towers South collapse killed 98 people in 2021. Florida's coast is exceptionally vulnerable to numerous climate impacts, including coastal erosion and flooding driven by sea level rise, that can undermine buildings' structural integrity and will likely lead to more sudden evacuations in the future, North Bay Village’s mayor, Brent Latham told the New York Times. The building inspection cited rain and termite damage stemming from years of neglect as the cause of the building's dangerous lack of integrity. (New York Times $, AP, WSVN, CBS, Local10; Climate Signals background: Sea level rise, Coastal flooding increase; Hurricanes, Extreme precipitation events)

Venture Capitalists Announce New Net-Zero Group: Major venture capitalists announced an initiative on Tuesday to cut their own climate pollution as well as that of the firms in which they invest. The 23 firms that make up the Venture Capital Alliance — which does not require any action as a condition of membership — pledge to cut their own climate emissions to net-zero by 2030 and that of their portfolios by 2050. The group emphasizes its collaborative approach — “It’s really important for us that we’re not telling venture investors to change their investment thesis,” Alexandra Harbour, principal at Prelude Ventures and founder and chair of the VCA, told Bloomberg — and hopes to help the companies its members fund begin and maintain lower emissions. It also hopes to standardize how VCs, and the companies they fund, assess climate impact. "Right now every investor is asking early stage companies similar but slightly different questions," Stephan Feilhauer, a managing director at VCA founder member S2G Ventures, told Reuters. "And that's a poor outcome for everyone." (Reuters, Bloomberg $, Axios, CNBC)

Snowmelt Fuels Flooding: Wide swaths of the West and Midwest are, or are threatened with, flooding driven by snowmelt. A heatwave set to descend on the West Coast this week is expected to rapidly accelerate snowmelt, potentially overflowing dreams and exacerbating extant valley flooding. “The temperatures really matter up where the snow is — those are also going to be anomalously warm,” Alan Haynes, a hydrologist at the California Nevada River Forecast Center, told the Washington Post. Daytime highs in the 50s and (especially) nighttime lows above freezing as high as 8,000 ft. — exacerbated in places by recent burn scars that heat up faster than forested terrain — are expected to set off substantial melting. "That’s when you can get a lot of flow,” Haynes said. Large portions of Yosemite National Park will close Friday in anticipation of the dangerous melt-driven streams. More than 1,200 miles to the east, the Mississippi River is also overflowing its banks, flooding roads in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. (California: Washington Post $, AP; Yosemite: AP; Midwest: Gizmodo; 

ENVIRONMENTAL (IN)JUSTICE: In ‘Cancer Alley,’ a teacher called to fight (Grist), 'Cleaner is not clean': Truck rule deflates EJ groups (E&E $), Florida youth activism, from ‘Don’t Say Gay’ to Parkland to Dream Defenders (Teen Vogue), Why the NAACP says new laws in Jackson, Mississippi, represent a 'state takeover' (WBUR)

FOSSIL FUELED ENERGY CRISIS: With Russia’s role in the global energy system falling, a select few nations are set to benefit (CNBC)

9:37 🚂 TO THE PETROCHEMICAL DYSTOPIA: East Palestine families living in limbo months after fire (AP)

CLIMATE LITIGATION: Supreme Court unlocks climate cases by rejecting oil industry bid (E&E News, Inside Climate News), ‘Like a dam breaking’: Experts hail decision to let US climate lawsuits advance (The Guardian), Supreme Court revives pipeline eminent domain case (E&E $)

CLIMATE DIPLOMACY: A new tax on greenhouse gases (New York Times $), Despite Taiwan and spy baloon tensions, China invites US for climate talks (Climate Home)

DENIAL & GREENWASHING:How to spot greenwashing: When companies aren’t as green as they claim (Wall Street Journal $)

AGM SZN: Climate protesters call out US banks for funding fossil fuel projects (The Guardian), Top US banks face little investor pressure on fossil-fuel financing (Reuters), What to watch in the climate votes at three big banks (Washington Post $)

MEDIA: Tucker Carlson was doing something different — and darker — than most Fox hosts (Vox), No, seriously, why did Fox News fire Tucker Carlson? (Vox)

SCOTUS: Law firm head bought Gorsuch-owned property (Politico, Washington Post $, New York Times $, Axios, The Hill, New York Magazine, CNN, The Guardian, Salon, Rolling Stone, MSNBC, Vice, Vanity Fair, Business Insider, Quartz, Above the Law), Chief Justice John Roberts declines to testify on ethics, Clarence Thomas revelations (USA Today, Washington Post $, AP, CNN, CBS, NPR, Crain's Chicago Business, The Hill, Politico)

AGENCIES: New Biden executive order takes aim at environmental injustice (Grist), USDA moving ahead on $3.1B in climate grants (E&E $)

EPA: After dangling climate carrots, Biden’s EPA brings the sticks (HuffPost), EPA questions FERC environmental review of Southeast pipeline (Politico Pro $), Watchdog clears EPA in Hawaii fuel spill (E&E $)

• CHILDREN'S HEALTH: EPA: Climate change's toll hits children the hardest (E&E $, The Hill, Williston Herald)

DOE: Granholm’s Mountain Valley pipeline support creates firestorm (E&E News), US carbon capture is $600B 'investment opportunity' — DOE (E&E $)

DOI: US identifies Gulf of Maine area for offshore wind development (Reuters)

DOT: Biden admin delivers blow to fossil fuel project in victory for eco groups (Fox News)

WHITE HOUSE: John Kerry: Relying on technology to remove carbon dioxide is ‘dangerous’ (The Guardian), White House vows to veto GOP debt ceiling bill (E&E $)

THE HILL: Budget hearings focus on offshore energy, forests, science (E&E, $), Clean energy, ethanol concerns dog debt ceiling bill (E&E News), Lawmakers to vote on solar tariffs, EPA truck rule (E&E $)

HOUSE: Comer threatens to subpoena Biden administration over Kerry documents (The Hill, Axios), Republicans race to secure support for debt ceiling package (The Hill), Gaetz threatens to vote against debt limit bill without work requirement changes (The Hill)

SENATE: Manchin threatens to support repeal of Biden’s landmark climate bill (The Hill, E&E $), Markey calls for Clarence Thomas to resign: ‘reputation is unsalvageable’ (The Hill)

POLITICS: Don't fall for the new GOP environmentalism (Gizmodo), GAO: Biden, Congress making progress on climate change (E&E $), Millennial, Gen Z organizations press Biden to run on progressive platform (The Hill)

ELECTIONS: Biden’s unfinished climate business (E&E News), Now vying for second term, can Biden repair his damaged climate and environmental justice image? (Inside Climate News)

CITIES & STATES & DISENFRANCHISED COLONIAL TERRITORIES: An Oregon city banned natural gas. The gas company fought back (Bloomberg $), Lawmakers are being silenced for speaking out against anti-trans bills (The 19th* News), Outage duration, frequency and magnitude: Texas PUC staff backs ERCOT’s reliability framework (Utility Dive), W.Va. extends lifeline to coal plant slated for retirement (E&E $), Who will save Puerto Rico’s beaches from rising seas, storms, and developers? The people. (Yale Climate Connections), Texas agency threatens to fire people who don’t dress ‘consistent with their biological gender’ (Vice), Tennessee’s proclamation for Confederate history month doesn’t mention slavery once (NewsOne)

FERC: FERC clears NextDecade, Glenfarne LNG export projects after revising carbon, environmental justice reviews (Utility Dive)

HEAT: More extreme heat is coming. Study shows world’s least-prepared regions. (Washington Post $, New York Times $), Spain braces for a week of scorching summer temperatures in spring (Reuters), These are the places most at risk for a record-shattering heatwave (The Verge)

WILDFIRES: Spring wildfires in the eastern US got off to a roaring start this year (Grist)

WATER: Feds start 3-day flood experiment of the Grand Canyon to improve Colorado River conditions (Arizona Republic), Experimental water release to continue Lake Mead rise (The Hill), Dam fine work: Record number of barrier removals helps restore rivers across Europe (The Guardian)

(DE)FORESTATION: Amazon defender wants her Goldman prize to spur more battles (Axios), Why are high gold prices bad for the Amazon rainforest? (Context explainer), Professional services abound for Amazon land grabbers seeking legitimacy (Mongabay), For Arbor Day, plant a tree resilient to climate change (AP), Trees are moving north from global warming. Look up how your city could change. (Washington Post $)

RENEWABLES: Largest geothermal energy complex in the US is under construction in Brooklyn (CNBC), Oceans of Energy startup to build solar array at North Sea wind farm (Reuters), The EU's import reliance for critical materials for wind energy is 77% (Energy Monitor)

OIL & GAS: Refining capacity expected to bolster Exxon, Chevron against dropping oil and gas prices (Houston Chronicle), Houston oil services company Halliburton posts strongest Q1 earnings in 10 years (Houston Chronicle), Sliding diesel prices signal warning for US economy (Wall Street Journal $), 1 dead, 1 injured in blast at Chicago area petroleum plant (AP)

HYDROGEN: Energy firms in Germany join up for sea-to-inland hydrogen route (Reuters), Silicon Valley company raises $250M for hydrogen technology (AP)

NUKES: Support for nuclear energy highest in a decade: Gallup (The Hill)

UTILITIES: NextEra Energy Q1 results boosted by clean energy push (Reuters), $1.6B trial starts against utility over fatal 2020 wildfires (AP)

GRID: Clean energy projects welcome tax credits, but finding sites to plug into the grid is a challenge: ICF (Utility Dive), US grid spending $172B short in race to net zero — report (E&E $)

EVs: The death of the Bolt, the cheap little EV we need (Heatmap $), GM, Hyundai tap South Korean EV battery makers to build US plants (Wall Street Journal $, E&E $)

AVIATION: EU agrees to boost green fuels for aviation, cut emissions (AP)

DIVESTMENT: The higher education divestment movement has arrived in Virginia (Energy News Network)

AGRICULTURE: Trouble looms for Indian grain that combats climate change (AP)

BUSINESSES: Climate-disclosure rules are coming. Here's how companies are adapting. (Wall Street Journal $), Google’s latest climate plan? Skip grid backlog, mimic community solar (Canary Media)

CARBON REMOVAL: Carbon dioxide removal: The tech that is polarising climate science (The Guardian)

FUN AND GAMES: Role-playing game helps Colorado students plan for climate change hazards (Yale Climate Connections)

WILDLIFE: Protecting large trees for wildlife also benefits climate, study says (EcoWatch)

• China gears up for peak emissions season with record coal imports (Reuters, Gavin Maguire column)
• Swedish ambassador on American EV fight, renewables, CCS (E&E, Karin Olofsdotter interview $)
• The Pentagon tilts at windmills (Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board $)

EU Confirms Big Tech Must Comply With Digital Services Act, CAAD Coalition Urges Immediate Action

Yesterday, the European Commission announced that 19 major online platforms and search engines, such as TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Apple's App Store, Amazon Store, and Google Search, must comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). These platforms now have four months to comply with the DSA’s rules, including those related to content moderation and transparency.

In response to this announcement, the Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD) coalition released an open letter urging these online platforms to take “ambitious action against climate disinformation” as soon as possible. CAAD explains that climate disinformation not only undermines climate action, including specific plans like the EU’s 2030 targets, but also “feeds polarisation and threatens all democratic processes in the EU.”

Additionally, the letter asserts that climate disinformation is by no means an EU-specific problem. “Since all of these designated platforms operate globally, actions to address climate disinformation should not be limited to the EU,” the report states. “The DSA should be an opportunity to forefront safety-by-design principles and safeguarding of users, not only to the benefit of the EU, but wider online and information ecosystems.”

CAAD’s letter sets out seven concrete steps that major online platforms should take in accordance with the Digital Services Act. First and foremost, these platforms must “Produce and publicise a transparent company plan to stop the spread of climate disinformation, greenwashing, hate speech, and content that jeopardises public health and security on their platforms.” These plans should include steps like releasing publicly available assessments of the anti-disinfo measures the platforms plan to take, adopting a universal definition of climate mis- and disinformation, and preventing the monetization of climate disinformation.

Previous CAAD reports have revealed that thus far, social media platforms have largely failed to implement effective policies on climate disinformation. Furthermore, the oil and gas industry uses “social media as a key avenue for advertising, posting thousands of… ads every year which are designed to delay climate action,” and Big Tech actively profits from fossil fuel greenwashing.

As Twitter and Facebook fail to protect climate scientists from harassment and repeat offenders continue to circumvent Google’s rules, it is more important than ever for Big Tech companies to finally decide to start taking climate disinformation and the climate crisis seriously.

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