Today: Administration repeals landmark Endangerment Finding; a nuclear-power startup says it can rouse the slow-moving industry; the plan to turn a remote area of  Greenland into a hydroelectric AI powerhouse.

Welcome back: The Trump administration repealed a landmark climate finding on Thursday in a move critics say is likely to endanger public health, but which prompted some relief in the automotive industry.

Clara Hudson and Yusuf Khan report that the Environmental Protection Agency rescinded the Obama-era Endangerment Finding, which classifies six greenhouse gases as a threat to public health and welfare. The move ends rules that require companies to report emissions for vehicles, while also cutting credit provisions and reporting obligations for other industries.

The move brought sharp criticism from Democrats. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the decision was a “violation of well-settled law.” New York Attorney General Letitia James said communities already facing climate threats were now “more at risk.”

However, some business groups voiced relief that they won’t be required to meet certain requirements any longer. John Bozzella, chief executive of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said, “Automotive emissions regulations finalized in the previous administration are extremely challenging for automakers to achieve given the current marketplace demand for EVs.”

Patrick Kelly, vice president of energy and environmental affairs at the American Trucking Associations, said the Biden-era emissions rule for heavy-duty engines and vehicles “operated as a de facto electric truck mandate that was unworkable for much of our industry and threatened our ability to deliver goods safely and reliably.” 

• The EPA says greenhouse gases aren’t so bad. Scores of companies have said otherwise. (WSJ)
• Changes at the EPA may be harder to reverse and result in long-lasting impacts on public health and the economy. (Bloomberg)
• Trump says “largest deregulatory action in American history” will help car prices. Why it’s too soon to predict that. (MarketWatch)
• Challenge for auto makers, whether they are selling EVs or gas-guzzlers, is that no environmental regulation seems to last long. (Barron's)
• Trump directed the Department of Defense to buy coal-generated electricity, in an effort to revive the flagging industry. (FT)

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A nuclear-power startup said it has found a workaround for the industry’s twin stumbling blocks: the expense and time it takes to build reactors.

Jennifer Hiller reports that project developer Alva Energy said it could add 10 gigawatts of nuclear energy to the U.S. power grid—the equivalent of nine or 10 large reactors—in the near term by boosting output at dozens of existing nuclear plants.

Squeezing more electricity out of existing plants is called an uprate. A 2024 Energy Department report about commercializing nuclear technologies identified uprates as a low-hanging fruit for the power industry.

The AI boom has turbocharged demand projections for electricity, increased demand for new power plants and created long grid-connection bottlenecks. It also has spurred the tech industry’s fascination with nuclear power and led to a push for companies to build their own power generation.

A former Trump administration official and an actor and entrepreneur from Greenland plan to build a giant AI data center in the Arctic island's far west.

Sune Engel Rasmussen writes that Drew Horn and Svend Hardenberg say Greenland’s economy needs projects like theirs. They aim to hitch the island up to the U.S. by investing in its natural riches to establish one of the world’s largest artificial-intelligence data centers.

As a potential AI hub, Greenland has several strengths. Its Arctic climate acts as a natural coolant for heat-intensive hardware. It has enormous untapped hydropower potential, stemming partly from glacial meltwater, which far exceeds domestic demands and could be channeled toward an energy-intensive data center.

However, managing heat from a data center built on permafrost would require specialized engineering and building an industrial plant in this remote part of Greenland needs a port. The data center would also require the laying of a new undersea cable to supply potential customers.

Note to Readers: Sustainable Business won't be published Monday in observance of Presidents Day in the U.S. We will be back Wednesday.

• Cryptocurrency miners powered down during the Arctic blast, while data centers maintained high, steady electricity use. (WSJ)
   
• Australia's Origin Energy sees an opportunity in locating new AI data centers next to its existing power plants. (WSJ)
   
• The International Energy Agency expects global oil supply to rebound after a fall in January. (WSJ)
   
• ArcelorMittal to invest $1.5 billion in low carbon steelmaking in France, citing improved policy environment. (ESG Today)
   
• Wind turbine startups Airloom Energy and Radia looked at the same set of problems and came up with very different solutions. (Heatmap)
   
• A bill moving through the Ohio legislature threatens to raise more barriers for wind and solar farms. (Canary Media)
   
• The UN is seeking to draw corporate leaders back to global climate talks, arguing that COP will bring more opportunities for investment. (FT)
   
• China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell 0.3% in 2025, the first annual decline since Covid-era restrictions in 2022. (Bloomberg)
   
• A new kind of sustainability credit that prioritizes biodiversity and social equity alongside carbon is picking up buyers. (Trellis)

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 perrycp, clara-hudson and yusuf_khan.