Today: Heavy downpours and intense heat—not to mention a fire breaking out at the conference center—have been among the disruptions at COP30; DOE cuts clean-energy offices; lawmakers wrangle over forever chemicals.

Welcome back: Holding a climate summit in a rainforest would seem to be a good idea. What the organizers of this year’s United Nations COP30 conference didn’t account for was, well, the rain.

WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Yusuf Khan reports that downpours are a routine occurrence in Belém, considered the gateway to the Amazon, with some 10 inches of rain falling on average each month. But the first day of talks was marked by a deluge so huge it caught the organizers by surprise.

The delegation from the U.K. fled their pavilion, abandoning coffee and snacks after a hole appeared in the tent roof, lightning crackling in the sky. Elsewhere, attendees struggled to make themselves heard over the din of the tropical downpour, pausing talks between countries trying to figure out the finer details of where billions of dollars of funding should flow.

Other issues have plagued the summit. On Thursday, a fire broke out in a wing of the venue, forcing the evacuation of the entire site. No injuries were reported and it was quickly brought under control, the organizers said.

Much of the talks at the conference have focused on tackling rising temperatures, a theme all too real to participants. In one wing, two people fainted as thermometers showed the temperature hitting 97 degrees.

“It’s a microcosm for climate change,” said Injy Johnstone, a researcher on carbon markets. “Here where it’s hot, there’s resource competition.”

• Fire disrupts COP30 climate talks as UN chief urges deal. (Reuters)
• EU warns of no deal at COP30 after fossil fuel shift omitted. (Bloomberg)
• Over 80 nations back push for ‘road map’ to quit fossil fuels at COP. (FT)

The Energy Department is eliminating two of its biggest offices that channeled billions of dollars into clean-energy projects, another step in President Trump’s efforts to put a chokehold on federal funds for technologies designed to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

The Wall Street Journal's Scott Patterson reports that the DOE is cutting the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, according to an organizational chart the agency unveiled Thursday as the Trump administration moves to further unwind Biden-era climate policies and advance fossil-fuel projects.

The department is “aligning its operations to restore common sense to energy policy, lower costs for American families and businesses and ensure the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.

The Trump administration’s assault on clean energy is raising concerns that the global push to cut greenhouse emissions is slowing. The International Energy Agency last month slashed its forecast for renewable energy capacity growth in the U.S. this decade, citing the early phaseout of federal tax incentives and regulatory shifts under the Trump administration.

• Trump administration cancels energy grants in mostly blue states. (WSJ)
• DOE to slash nearly $24 billion in green project funding. (WSJ)

As disquiet about forever chemicals mounts, Republicans say some companies shouldn’t have to foot the bill to purge them from their sites. 

Politicians hashed out their concerns about the chemicals known as PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, at a hearing on Capitol Hill before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, WSJ Pro Sustainable Business's Clara Hudson reports.

PFAS, which leach into water and soil, can be found in drinking water and a wide range of consumer products, from food packaging to cosmetics. About 45% of tap water contains one or more PFAS, according to a 2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey, the science arm of the Interior Department.

Republicans said some businesses, such as farmers and ranchers, shouldn't have to shoulder the burden of forever chemicals they come across through their work. They also said there needs to be clear guidance so contractors and landfills know where to jettison contaminated soil. 

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency launched a bid to loosen what companies have to report about the chemicals.

• The U.S. has a ‘forever chemicals’ problem. A french company is cleaning it up. (WSJ)

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• Einride is suing Maersk over an aborted deal to deploy 300 zero-emission trucks in the U.S. (WSJ)
   
• Rio Tinto signs 15-year renewable energy agreement to power U.S. mining operations. (ESG Today)
   
• Tyson Foods has agreed to stop touting its “net-zero” by 2050 pledge and its “climate-smart” beef initiatives. (Reuters)
   
• The European Union is set to overhaul the ways asset managers within the region disclose their environmental data. (Dow Jones Risk Journal)
   
• Goal to triple nuclear power needs the U.S. and Europe to match China. (Bloomberg)
   
• Morningstar Sustainalytics appoints Jodie Tapscott as head of climate and nature solutions. (ESG News)
   
• Former American Forests President and CEO Jad Daley has been named president of tree-planting company Terraformation. (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.