Climate news on October 21, 2026

1. 0105:55 UTC

   Trump tells data centers to generate power and pay communities

   4 outlets · first: Reuters Sustainability

   Machine summary Reuters cited an analysis by the Center for Western Priorities, which examined Bureau of Land Management records and tallied at least 35 applications tied to data centers, spanning over 24,000 acres of US federal land in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Wyoming and Utah. CNBC reported objections to the buildout center on water usage, power consumption, electricity prices and land area, with multiple states considering moratoriums.

   1. In the same post Trump said new large data centers "are mandated by me to make their own electricity" and should give or sell surplus power to the local community or grid; he said electricity prices could see "a substantial decrease" (his characterization)
   2. Reuters cited a Center for Western Priorities review of Bureau of Land Management records that found at least 35 applications tied to data centers, spanning over 24,000 acres of US federal land in six Western states.
   3. That same analysis tallied a minimum of 17 proposed data center campuses, plus 13 associated infrastructure efforts, pipelines, transmission lines, access roads and telecommunications facilities, spread through Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon, as well as Utah and Wyoming.

   Reported by Reuters, CNBC, economictimes.indiatimes.com and WSJ.

   • Data Centers
   • Center for Western Priorities

2. 0204:47 UTC

   Rubio to visit Reliance's Jamnagar refinery to discuss Venezuelan crude

   2 outlets · first: CNBC Market trends

   Machine summary Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to visit Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat, which CNBC reports can process 1.4 million barrels of crude per day. According to CNBC and Bloomberg, he plans to discuss refining energy supplies from the Western Hemisphere with the company, which was the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude outside the United States as of end-September.

   1. Jamnagar has crude processing capacity of 1.4 million barrels per day and is described by CNBC as the world's largest single-site refinery
   2. As of end-September, Reliance was the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude outside the United States, according to CNBC
   3. Trump said in March that the U.S. would build its first new oil refinery in 50 years with investment from Reliance; his Truth Social post called it a "$300 billion dollar deal, the biggest in U.S. history"

   Reported by CNBC and Bloomberg.

   • Marco Rubio
   • Reliance Industries
   • Jamnagar refinery

3. 0305:00 UTC

   UN report finds U.S. emissions rose as global output held flat

   2 outlets · first: NPR Regulation

   Machine summary A United Nations report covered by NPR finds U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased last year while global emissions were essentially unchanged from the prior year. The report places the U.S. tied with Russia at the top of the G20 for per capita carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and attributes the American rise to electricity demand and Trump administration fossil fuel policies.

   1. The United Nations report found U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased substantially last year, the only major economy with a sharp rise, according to NPR
   2. The U.S. was tied with Russia for the highest per capita carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions among G20 countries, the report states
   3. Global emissions were essentially unchanged last year versus the year before, according to the report
   4. The report notes that although China's total greenhouse gas emissions are significantly higher than those of the U.S., its population is more than four times larger than America's.
   5. The report attributes U.S. emissions growth to higher electricity demand and Trump administration policies including keeping coal plants open longer, rolling back vehicle fuel-efficiency standards, and ending solar and wind tax credits

   Reported by NPR and wglt.org.

   • China
   • Trump Administration
   • European Union
   • Russia
   • United Nations

4. 0408:57 UTC

   UNEP says the 1.5°C Paris warming goal is no longer achievable

   2 outlets · first: Unric Regulation

   Machine summary UNEP's 2026 Emissions Gap Report states that the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C limit has become unachievable within a decade and that a rise above that level is imminent and inevitable. The report indicates that holding warming under 2°C calls for global greenhouse gas emissions to drop 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035, and then 69% by 2040 versus 2025 levels, while national pledges, if fully implemented, would deliver cuts of only 5-8% by 2030, with reductions reaching 11-15% by 2035.

   1. UNEP's 2026 Emissions Gap Report states that holding warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels has become unachievable within a decade, with overshoot described as imminent and inevitable
   2. Fully implemented nationally determined contributions would cut emissions only 5-8% by 2030 and 11-15% by 2035 versus 2025 levels, according to the report
   3. The UN Secretary-General said the required effort is "close to 6 per cent every single year until 2035" and called the emissions gap "a leadership gap"
   4. The report names ice sheets, permafrost carbon, ocean circulation and coral systems as facing irreversible change risks from warming above 1.5°C
   5. According to UNEP, holding warming under 2°C is the sole remaining course of action, with the goal of bringing it back to 1.5°C before the century closes.

   Reported by Unric.

   • Nationally determined contributions (NDCs)
   • 2026 Emissions Gap Report

Each summary and its key facts are a machine summary of the reports linked under it; the outlets, times and counts come from those reports' own records. How a rundown is built.