Today: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is considering changing how companies report energy emissions, a move that could see it part ways with the Science Based Targets initiative; work starts on two new American nuclear power plants; BP suffers defeat in climate vote.

Welcome back: Two of the biggest players in corporate climate reporting are reconsidering the way they measure company emissions. What they decide could lead to a significant breakup in the voluntary carbon accounting sector, writes WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Yusuf Khan.

The Science Based Targets initiative, the world’s largest climate target-setting group for businesses, with more than 10,000 corporate members, is seeking advice from climate accounting experts on the way it should measure emissions from companies’ electricity use. Among considerations is an option that could see it break from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the leading climate accounting standard.

While SBTi traditionally has followed the protocol, it is considering keeping its current rules, even as the GHG Protocol has indicated that it could adopt the tougher standards. The SBTi could also adopt a hybrid approach, according to people familiar with the discussion.

The differences in approach are fueling debate among companies’ sustainability teams over how actions to negate their impact on the planet should be measured. A split between the SBTi and the GHG Protocol would mean muddying the accounting space, while also creating confusion for companies on how to decarbonize.

• Apple, Amazon among more than 60 companies pushing back against possible tightening of emissions reporting standards. (Bloomberg)
• “Most companies will abandon clean energy goals during this anti-ESG moment rather than subject themselves to expensive tracking.” (Trellis)

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Capitol Hill lawmakers quizzed Nuclear Regulatory Commission leaders this week about their efforts to boost the build-out of nuclear reactors across the country in part to power the AI boom.

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Clara Hudson reports that lawmakers raised concerns about staffing cuts at the agency and the potential danger of sacrificing safety for speed, while others said approvals for new reactors still take too long although the agency is taking steps to expedite the process.

The Wednesday hearing held by a subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce comes as the nuclear industry gains momentum, building or rejuvenating reactors in part to provide low-carbon power for the growing demands of artificial intelligence.

The first commercial nuclear-power projects in a decade are now under construction in the U.S., a potential turning point for a segment of the power industry that has been stuck in neutral for years.

The Wall Street Journal's Jennifer Hiller writes that a project by TerraPower, a company founded by Bill Gates almost 20 years ago, started construction Wednesday in Wyoming, while Kairos Power broke ground last week in Tennessee on a plant that intends to sell power to Google.

TerraPower and Kairos are among the developers trying to prove that smaller streamlined reactor designs can overcome the problems the industry is known for: cost overruns and delays that contributed to a loss of enthusiasm for the technology. 

BP faced a shareholder rebellion at its annual general meeting on Thursday as investors expressed frustration at the company's strategic reset and efforts to pour money back into fossil-fuel exploration and production.

The Journal's Adam Whittaker reports that investors rejected two of the energy major’s resolutions and voiced concerns over the oil major's approach to climate disclosures and corporate governance.

BP put forward a proposal which, if passed, would have removed some climate-related disclosure requirements that investors had voted previously for. Another would have given it the option to host fully virtual AGMs. Both resolutions undershot the 75% support threshold needed for approval.

The buildup to the meeting was marked by criticism from some institutional investors and influential shareholder advisory groups about some of BP’s resolutions. The omission of a resolution from climate activist group Follow This led some to say that they feared shareholder rights were being eroded.

• The CEOs of GM and Ford reaped the highest compensation during their tenures despite multibillion-dollar write-downs related to EVs. (WSJ)
   
• Tesla reported $1.4 billion in positive free cash flow for the first quarter, surprising analysts who expected a negative figure. (WSJ)
   
• The Trump administration is creating a new office to oversee both offshore drilling and seabed mining. (NYT)
   
• A federal judge blocked President Trump’s clean energy blockade. Are projects out of limbo? (Latitude Media)
   
• U.S. airlines are raising fares and baggage fees, and some are cutting capacity, to offset higher fuel costs from the Iran war. (WSJ)
   
• The EU is considering dropping its opposition to new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic as it seeks to shore up energy supplies. (FT)
   
• Why JPMorgan’s global head of sustainability Heather Zichal obsesses over energy policy. (Trellis)
   
• How a group of midlevel employees at Microsoft sent tremors through the global market for carbon removals. (Bloomberg)

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 and reporters Clara Hudson at clara.hudson@wsj.com and Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com. Follow us on LinkedIn at perrycp, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.