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Key developments
World Bank retires 45% climate lending target
The World Bank said it will retire its target of allocating 45% of annual lending to climate-related projects while extending its Climate Change Action Plan. TheCable’s Deborah Bodunde reports the move follows pressure from the Trump administration, which has pushed multilateral lenders away from climate finance targets and toward core development lending, including fossil fuel support. The bank said it will keep quarterly and annual reporting on climate indicators, and its Independent Evaluation Group will review the plan.
Why it matters
The shift could weaken one of the most visible climate-finance benchmarks at the world’s largest development lender, even if project-level climate reporting continues.
Sources & driving stories
THECABLE · Deborah Bodunde
TheCable coverageAir Products axes Louisiana blue hydrogen complex
Air Products abandoned the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, a multibillion-dollar blue hydrogen and carbon capture project spanning several parishes, and expects up to $2.9 billion in pretax charges. Jordan Arceneaux in 1012 Industry Report reported local officials and economists tied the cancellation to long-running problems around the CCS component, including plans to inject captured CO2 beneath Lake Maurepas. Energy Connects also reported Air Products is discontinuing a zero-carbon liquid hydrogen facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, citing difficult commercial conditions and slower hydrogen mobility demand.
Why it matters
The cancellation is a major setback for U.S. blue hydrogen and CCS investment, reinforcing doubts about project economics, permitting risk and local opposition.
Sources & driving stories
10 · Jordan Arceneaux
10 coverageENERGY CONNECTS
Energy Connects coverageShipping carbon capture report flags infrastructure gap
Paul Morgan in gCaptain reports that a Lloyd’s Register Advisory assessment for the International Chamber of Shipping finds onboard carbon capture and storage feasible and already demonstrated across multiple vessel types, with mature systems able to capture about 70% to 95% of CO2. The report identifies LNG carriers and large tankers as the strongest near-term candidates, while containerships and bulk carriers face tougher footprint and waste-heat constraints. It says fewer than 10 ports globally have existing or firmly announced CO2 reception facilities, mostly in Northern Europe, while IMO work on a full OCCS framework is targeted for completion in 2028.
Why it matters
OCCS may become a near-term decarbonization bridge for shipping, but adoption depends on ports, custody-transfer rules and regulators crediting captured emissions.
Sources & driving stories
GCAPTAIN · Paul Morgan
gCaptain coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
German renewables reach first-half record
EnergyWatch, citing preliminary dpa estimates, reported renewables supplied a record 58% of Germany’s electricity consumption in the first half, with onshore wind generation up 7% and offshore wind up 28.3% year over year.
WORTH NOTING
Watsonville battery project moves stateward
Lookout Santa Cruz’s Tania Ortiz reported Santa Cruz County supervisors shelved a draft battery-storage ordinance after New Leaf Energy moved its $200 million Watsonville-area project to California Energy Commission review under the state opt-in process.
WORTH NOTING
Europe heatwave exposes unequal risk
The Guardian reported a recent western European heatwave affected up to 150 million people, with France recording roughly 1,000 additional deaths from June 24–27 and Spain estimating more than 600 heat-related deaths.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will World Bank climate finance fall without quotas?
The bank says it will focus on development outcomes and keep climate reporting, but dropping the 45% target removes a clear benchmark for shareholders, borrowers and watchdogs.
OPEN QUESTION
Can carbon capture scale before infrastructure catches up?
Air Products’ cancellation shows project-economics risk on land, while shipping OCCS faces a different bottleneck: too few ports able to receive and verify captured CO2.