Welcome back: President Trump cast himself on the campaign trail as the savior of U.S. oil and gas. But his shock treatment of the American economy has left the industry reeling.

Since Trump took office, oil drillers’ stocks have plummeted, crude prices have tumbled and gasoline prices remain stubbornly high. In the biggest oil field in the U.S., dismayed frackers are starting to reconsider their drilling plans because they anticipate demand for their product to weaken—in part as a result of Trump’s erratic shifts on trade. See below for the full story.

In London, HSBC bank is under pressure to reaffirm its net-zero goals, after pushing them back 20 years two months ago. The financial industry is also facing pressure on diversity as Trump targets DEI programs across Corporate America. Goldman Sachs is the latest to make changes. 

Finally, the deliberate destruction of old trees has often stoked anger around the world. In Britain, where trees have starring roles in history, there were few as loved as a giant sycamore near Hadrian's Wall in Cumbria, under whose canopy people had married, spread ashes or simply got drunk. Now the trial of two men accused of cutting it down has come to court.

Read on for more on these stories and other sustainability news.

America’s crop of oil-and-gas companies lost more than $280 billion in stock-market value between April 2, when Trump unveiled his tariff blitz, and the start of this week. That sum is larger than the market cap of Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company. The industry’s aggregate drop in market value has outpaced that of every other major sector, the WSJ's Benoît Morenne, Collin Eaton and Andrew Mollica write.

Among the biggest U.S. oil companies, Exxon and Chevron shares have declined 11% and 18%, respectively. Oil-field services giant Schlumberger and its top rivals, Halliburton and Baker Hughes, have fallen between 21% and 23%. Those companies are bellwethers for activity in the U.S. oil patch.

U.S. oil prices fell 19% in April to $58.21 a barrel, settling at the lowest level in more than four years. Many economists anticipate Trump’s tariffs will spark a global slowdown that will reduce demand for crude oil. American drillers facing the prospect of a prolonged period of lower oil prices have started shedding rigs.

Activist shareholders are putting pressure on HSBC to reaffirm its commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions, expressing concern at recent changes by the global banking giant that they say cast doubt on its climate priorities, the WSJ's Elena Vardon reports.

At its annual general meeting in London on Friday, investors responsible for $1.6 trillion in assets under management backed a statement urging the lender’s management to restate its dedication to its net-zero transition goals and engage with shareholders in the process.

"HSBC has sent deeply concerning signals around whether managing the rapidly multiplying financial risks of global heating is still one of its priorities," said Jeanne Martin, the banking program head at ShareAction, the nonprofit focused on responsible investing that is coordinating the coalition.

In February, HSBC pushed back its goal to become net zero across its operations and supply chains by two decades to 2050, citing slow progress that the world is making toward adopting cleaner sources of energy.

Carbon-removal credits are one of the few ways firms can decarbonize, but so far demand has remained limited to just a handful of buyers.

Getting a startup on its feet after a cyberattack can cost a fortune. More often than not, investors get stuck with the bill.

Tariff uncertainty and geopolitical turbulence have boosted interest in private-credit investment.

Brands like Mastercard and PepsiCo are shaking up their Pride spending, with some citing political pressure and economic uncertainty.

Goldman Sachs is retooling its biggest diversity program to remove references to race, the WSJ's AnnaMaria Andriotis reports.

The Wall Street giant four years ago launched its “One Million Black Women” program, a multibillion-dollar commitment to invest in Black women. In recent weeks, the bank removed mentions of “Black” from the program’s home page, without changing its name.

An educational program for Black businesswomen was also recently scrubbed of references to race. Goldman’s site now just says its “Black in Business” program helps entrepreneurs “stay in the black,” a reference to being profitable.

Goldman, like much of Corporate America, has been combing through its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to ensure that it doesn’t run into legal troubles, while trying not to entirely abandon its pledges. The bank is treading a fine line. While Goldman has been changing words, the program’s sites still feature photos of Black women and research reports about “Black Womenomics.”

Tell me what you think: Send me your feedback and suggestions at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com or reply to any newsletter. If you were forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up here.

Early one September morning in 2023, two men arrived at an ancient Roman wall in northern England and under the cover of a storm committed one of Britain’s most notorious recent crimes.

They cut down a tree, prosecutors allege in a case that has gripped the U.K., the WSJ's Alistair MacDonald writes.

At a courtroom in Newcastle, Adam Carruthers, 32, and Daniel Graham, 39, are now accused of causing criminal damage to the tree and the ancient wall, a Unesco World Heritage site, it fell onto. They have both pleaded innocent.

• Shell is buying back $3.5 billion of shares after posting higher-than-expected adjusted earnings for the first quarter. (WSJ)
   
• The Trump administration’s decision to stop an offshore wind project under construction was “unlawful,” Equinor said. (Barron's)
   
• Utah bets on a new developer to revive its small modular reactor ambitions. (Latitude Media)
   
• Microsoft signs wind power purchase agreement in West Virginia. (ESG Today)
   
• Alphabet and Dow are building an AI database to sort complex plastics. (Trellis)
   
• Chipmaker TSMC looks to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. (ESG Dive)
   
• How seeding the oceans with minerals could grab carbon from the atmosphere. (Bloomberg)

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business gives you an inside look at how companies are tackling sustainability. Send comments to bureau chief Perry Cleveland-Peck at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com and reporters Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com and Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com. Follow us on LinkedIn at wsjperry, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.