Today: Tim Mohin to take the helm of world’s leading standard for climate accounting; Democrats grill Environmental Protection Agency chief over plans to slash organization’s budget; Meta in out-of-this-world solar pact.

Welcome back: Companies need to do more to fight the climate crisis, even if negotiating conflicting interests both inside and outside their organizations requires a fine balancing act, said the incoming head of the world’s leading standard for climate accounting.

Tim Mohin, the newly appointed chief executive of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, says difficult conversations are central to the job, reports Joshua Kirby for WSJ Pro Sustainable Business.

Last week, tech giants Apple, Amazon and Salesforce were among a group of more than 60 businesses that sent a letter to the GHG Protocol calling for proposed revisions by the organization on the reporting of emissions from corporate energy use, known as Scope 2 emissions, to be optional rather than mandatory.

The GHG Protocol’s proposal would push companies to report their emissions at source, and would be more closely tied to the energy they actually use to fuel their operations.

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Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin defended the Trump administration’s plans to cut the agency’s budget by 52% against Democratic criticism during a combative hearing on Capitol Hill.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D., N.J.) called the proposed cut to the fiscal 2027 budget “an insult to the American people,” while Rep. Troy Carter (D., La.) called it “a road map for gutting enforcement, slashing environmental protections and leaving communities to fend for themselves.”

WSJ Pro's Clara Hudson writes that in response, Zeldin said funds that the EPA was allocated under the Biden administration weren’t being used effectively. “Money was being lit on fire,” he said at the House Energy and Commerce environmental subcommittee hearing Tuesday.

When asked if he believes that greenhouse gases cause climate change, Zeldin said he is “pretty confident the world isn’t about to end.”

• On Friday, a group of state attorneys general sued the Environmental Protection Agency, alleging that the regulator violated the Clean Air Act by failing to identify areas with excessive soot, Clara Hudson reports.

Meta Platforms wants to get some of its solar power from space.

The Journal's Micah Maidenberg reports that the Facebook parent has agreed to purchase up to a gigawatt of solar power from Overview Energy, a startup that aims to deploy satellites capable of providing power to customers on Earth’s surface.

Overview is working toward an in-space demonstration in 2028, said Chief Executive Marc Berte, and targets commercial service two years after that.

The deal is a sign of how technology giants are trying to identify new power-supply options that could support their ambitious goals for artificial intelligence. Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.

Overview plans to deploy satellites to geosynchronous orbit, more than 22,000 miles from the planet. There, they would collect sunlight and beam it back to solar installations on the ground.

• Hailstorms, wildfires and wind damage are hammering places once thought to be shielded from the worst insurance rate hikes. (WSJ)
   
• Efforts to revive a historic climate deal for the global shipping industry are foundering on U.S. and Saudi opposition. (FT)
   
• BTG Pactual TIG said it raised $1.24 billion in commitments from investors to restore depleted forest in Latin America. (WSJ)
   
• Fusion power developer Commonwealth is seeking permission to connect to the biggest U.S. electric grid. (Bloomberg)
   
• China’s solar panel exports doubled in March driven by global shifts to renewables, batteries and EVs. (Barron's)
   
• U.S. battery startup EnerVenue builds factory in China for its NASA-inspired tech after nixing Kentucky plant. (Canary Media)
   
• China plans to tighten rare-earth production controls, causing shares of Chinese producers to jump. (WSJ)
   
• U.S. renewable energy is expected to attract $120 billion in investment this year and could install record new capacity. (Latitude Media)
   
• Trump administration efforts to steer energy-sector investment to fossil fuels and nuclear are unlikely to be successful. (Oxford Analytica)

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business gives you an inside look at how companies are tackling sustainability. Send your comments to editor Perry Cleveland-Peck at perry.cleveland-peck@wsj.com. Follow the WSJ Pro Sustainable Business team on LinkedIn at perrycp, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.