Powerful House Voice Emerges Over New Data Center Construction
Rep. Frank Pallone (NJ-06), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said he would consider supporting an nationwide pause on new data center construction if Congress failed to first establish stronger federal regulations for the rapidly expanding industry.
According to Pallone, guardrails should include federal standards governing pollution, where data centers can be built, and protections to ensure households are not forced to absorb the costs of expanding the electric grid to serve energy-intensive facilities. The representative admitted that a nationwide moratorium would remain an option if meaningful regulations cannot be enacted.
One data center oversight proposal that has gained bipartisan support is the Ratepayer Protection Act (H.R. 9340), approved unanimously by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Led by Chair Brett Guthrie (KY-02) with Democratic support, the bill would encourage states to make data centers pay the full cost of new electric infrastructure built for them. This would help prevent those costs from being passed on to other utility customers. There is clear momentum in the House, but a floor vote has not yet been scheduled.
Notably, recent actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could ease regulatory requirements for data centers. These include proposed rules that would allow certain non-emitting construction to begin before major air permits are issued and enable states to exclude the public from participating in some smaller-scale polluter permitting. They also issued guidance that excludes fully islanded power generators, including some serving data centers, from the Clean Air Act’s (P.L. 88-206) acid rain standards.
Stronger federal oversight is needed to address rising electricity costs, pressure on the power grid, and potential environmental impacts while ensuring local residents have a greater voice in the permitting process.
China Offers Evidence Around Clean-Energy Deployment
A new analysis suggests that China may be reaching an important turning point in its climate efforts. China offers evidence that large-scale clean energy deployment can begin to displace the fossil-fuel generation. In the first half of 2026, fossil fuels supplied less than half of China’s electricity for the first time, as wind and solar generation continued to expand. This clean energy development is putting downward pressure on emissions. Unlike previous emissions declines in China, which were largely caused by economic slowdowns or COVID-19 restrictions, this decrease appears to be driven by the replacement of fossil fuels with cleaner energy.
Outside the power sector, emissions increased as industries such as steel, metals, and chemicals continued to rely heavily on coal. China’s coal-to-chemicals industry also expanded as the country sought to reduce its dependence on imported oil and natural gas.
Bearing this in mind, China is not currently on track to meet its 2030 climate pledge under the Paris Agreement. Future emissions will depend heavily on the country’s next Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), the pace of renewable energy deployment, and whether future economic stimulus favors clean technologies instead of emissions-intensive industries such as heavy manufacturing and construction.
The World Looks Away While Europe Burns
Massive wildfires burning near Bordeaux, France, and Madrid, Spain have become the latest reminder of a warming climate, yet increasingly severe climate disasters are no longer generating the same sense of urgency they once did. Even as more than 35,000 wildfires are burning across the world, governments in many countries are scaling back climate policies.
According to the climate action platform We Don’t Have Time, 45 climate policies were rolled back worldwide during the 12 months ending in July 2026. Europe itself, once considered a global leader in climate action, has seen the introduction of measures aimed at weakening carbon pricing, methane reduction efforts, and plans to phase out gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles. For FCNL, these trends reinforce the importance of sustained U.S. leadership on international climate funding that helps vulnerable communities build resilience in adapting to climate impacts.
What We’re Reading:
- Maryland Faces Criticism Over Scaled-Back Energy Efficiency Program and Proposed Building Code Changes | Inside Climate News
- England on Track for Record Heat-Related Deaths This Summer, Official Data Shows | The Guardian
- Bipartisan Anger Grows at Pentagon’s Delayed ‘Forever Chemicals’ Cleanups | NY Times
- Trump Administration Is Repurposing Federal Land for A.I. Data Centers | NY Times
