The week in climate
China’s flying taxis, Trump’s plans for a key climate research center and toxic runoff in Alaska.
Climate Forward
December 21, 2025

You’re reading the Climate Forward newsletter. Every week, we bring you news and insights for a warming world, including the latest coverage of climate policy, the state of our environment and the science behind it all. Enjoy the edition below, and look for future newsletters in your inbox on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Here is some of our best climate reporting from the week.

A complex of brown buildings built into the mountains.

Caine Delacy for The New York Times

Trump Administration Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center →

Article Image

Qilai Shen for The New York Times

Flying Taxis? China Has Them. And Drone Lunch Deliveries, Too. →

An aerial view of a reddish river running through a forest with snow-covered mountains in the background.

Josh Koch/U.S. Geological Survey

Arctic Warming Is Turning Alaska’s Rivers Red With Toxic Runoff →

Ana Vaz, in a blue and white blouse decorated with fish and sea shells, stands near a coastline in Rio de Janeiro.

Dado Galdieri for The New York Times

Lost Science

She Tracked the Health of Fish That Coastal Communities Depend On →

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Pete Marovich for The New York Times

Another Trump Financial Conflict, This Time With Nuclear Power →

Construction equipment lifts a large segment of piping from a stack of similar pipe segments.

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Greenpeace’s Fight With Pipeline Giant Exposes a Legal Loophole →

Electric vehicles at a factory.

Laetitia Vancon for The New York Times

Europe May Roll Back Combustion Engine Ban →

A grey and black tanker ship, guided by tugboats, heads toward a port.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

U.S. Is Seeking Exemption From a European Climate Law, Officials Say →

CLIMATE FORWARD

This week’s newsletter editions featuring news and analysis for a warming world.

A line of cars wait for gas in Europe.

Europe Begins to Tiptoe Away From Key Climate Policies

Europe has some of the world’s most ambitious climate goals, but in recent months it has backtracked on rules governing automobile emissions and deforestation.

By Claire Brown

A large glacier is seen across an expanse of sea.

Commercializing the Arctic

Trump has shifted the U.S. approach to the Arctic, promoting oil and gas even as scientists have issued more dire warnings about the region.

By David Gelles

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