Today: Politicians and CEOs are muting their climate alarms but emissions are likely to decline anyway; a push to boost SAF incentives gets support from across the aisle; Bezos and Musk race to bring data centers to space.

Welcome back: Whatever happened to the climate crisis? The Wall Street Journal's Chief Economics Commentator Greg Ip writes that in 2021, Bill Gates was warning that the equator would become unlivable as he promoted his book, “How to Avoid A Climate Disaster.” In October, he effectively said, never mind. “Climate change won’t wipe out civilization,” he wrote. 

Why have climate alarmists suddenly gone quiet? The science and the economics haven’t really changed: Carbon emissions are still rising, and the climate is still getting warmer.

What’s changed is the politics. Climate warriors persuaded the public to take climate change seriously, but not to pay for it, especially after the cost of living shot up in the wake of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The share of respondents calling climate and the environment their most important issue has dropped from 14% in early 2020 to 6% now, according to YouGov. By contrast, 25% describe inflation that way.

In short, the climate crisis clashed with the affordability crisis, and affordability won.

• Europe has succeeded in slashing carbon emissions more than any other region. But along the way, the rush to renewables has helped drive up electricity prices in much of the continent. (WSJ)
• Energy-transition fatigue is setting in. Three-quarters of energy consumers say they have already done as much as they can to be sustainable. (WSJ)

The Big Number

Lawmakers from both parties and businesses spanning the airline and farming industries want sustainable aviation fuel to take off.

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Clara Hudson reports that a bill introduced by Republican and Democratic lawmakers last week would strengthen a credit for SAF producers that was recently pruned, while also aiming to create thousands of jobs in agriculture and other areas.

The sustainable aviation fuel industry relies on a tax credit known as 45Z that was recently limited under the Trump administration’s “one big, beautiful bill” but remains one of the few mostly intact clean energy incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. The proposed SAF legislation would reinstate a bonus credit for SAF and extend 45Z through 2033.

SAF production could generate thousands of jobs in construction, agriculture and logistics, according to the lawmakers. It also could reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially, “delivering major environmental benefits while using existing aviation infrastructure,” the proponents said.

The bill is backed by industry groups including the National Corn Growers Association, Airlines for America and the Kansas Farm Bureau.

• The International Air Transport Association warns poor policy is slowing SAF production growth and increasing the price. (ESG Today)

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have raced for years to build rockets and launch satellites. Now they’re racing to take the trillion-dollar data-center boom into orbit, the Journal's Micah Maidenberg and Becky Peterson write.

Bezos’ Blue Origin has had a team working for more than a year on technology needed for orbital AI data centers, a person familiar with the matter said. Musk’s SpaceX plans to use an upgraded version of its Starlink satellites to host AI computing payloads, pitching the technology as part of a share sale that could value the company at $800 billion, according to people involved in the discussions.

Deploying satellites as data centers, the thinking goes, would allow the AI industry to avoid Earthly headaches, such as securing vast amounts of power needed to train AI models. The satellites could also tap the immense power of the sun to operate and beam data back to Earth.

A European initiative that studied the feasibility of putting data centers in space confirmed that it could offer a more sustainable solution for hosting and processing data. Space data centers also wouldn’t require water to cool them, the study found, because of the extreme low temperatures.

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.

What We're Reading

• President Trump has expressed interest in Japan’s so-called kei cars—small, fuel-efficient vehicles. (WSJ)
   
• Rivian is expanding its hands-free driving feature to 3.5 million miles of North American roads, a significant increase from 135,000 miles. (WSJ)
   
• A law professor is suing Boeing, alleging lasting brain and respiratory injuries from a toxic fume event on a Delta 737 flight. (WSJ)
   
• How the next big thing in carbon removal sank without a trace. (Wired)
   
• Microsoft signs 3.6 million-ton CO2 removal deal with U.S. clean-fuel and carbon-capture project. (ESG Today)
   
• Advice from seven leaders on thriving during sustainability’s ‘reckoning point’. (Trellis)
   
• ISSB eases financed emissions rules under IFRS S2, giving banks and asset managers reporting relief. (ESG News)
   
• Tens of thousands evacuated Washington after a storm dropped over a foot of rain, leading to a state of emergency. (WSJ)
   
• Who’s ready to think about blocking out the Sun? (The Atlantic)

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.