Tim McDonnell

Climate and energy editor, Semafor

Tim McDonnell is the Climate & Energy Editor at Semafor. Tim has covered the business and science of climate change for more than a decade from front lines of the crisis around the world. He is based in Kyiv.

Climate talks are failing

The latest dire UN projection stressed that the ambitions to limit global warming adopted a decade ago in Paris are all but out of reach.

Negotiators attend a plenary session during COP30 in Belem.

Adriano Machado/Reuters

Trump and an oil shock aren’t enough for Texan drillers

“‘Drill, baby, drill’ is basically drill as much as you can to commit economic suicide,” one of the Permian Basin’s top CEOs said.

Kevin Zweerink/Semafor

Big Law talent battle for data center expertise moves South

The top 200 US firms are on pace to hire nearly 300 data center lawyers this year, up 21% from the year before.

Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Fossilflation is a permanent risk to the US

Rising energy costs were a major driver of the hotter-than-expected US inflation figures reported yesterday.

A person pumps gasoline into their car at a gas station.

Alyssa Pointer/Reuters

Trump’s Russian energy strategy could backfire

The contradictory tangle of energy policy actions taken by Trump toward Russia risks repeating mistakes that he often slammed his predecessor for.

US President Donald Trump with US Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso.

Annabelle Gordon/Reuters

Octopus looks to buy software startups to manage data center demand

“We’re very much looking for interesting opportunities in that space,” Octopus US CEO Nick Chaset told Semafor.

Vincent West/Reuters

Rates for oil tankers hit record high, as more crude passes through Hormuz

It now costs up to $77 million to hire a large tanker to move crude from the US to Asia, up from less than $10 million last year.

Iberdrola becomes the world’s largest power provider by market cap

Iberdrola’s growing strength comes from its broader global footprint.

El Niño comes to Ukraine’s aid

As Russia again ramps up its attacks on Ukraine’s electricity grid ahead of the winter heating season, this time Kyiv has a new ally in its corner: El Niño.

‘Enough to go around’: Brookfield’s bullish on AI investing, even if it has to share it with rivals

CEO Connor Teskey sees no end in sight to demand for the energy and materials to feed the AI boom.

UAE pushing for more investment in global water infrastructure

Despite attacks by Iran on desalination plants this year, the UAE hasn’t experienced a single day of water supply cuts.

Texas politics could delay investment decision for huge Chevron data center

Project Kilby is moving forward while grappling with the public AI backlash.

Enough about the data centers already

One thing I took away from New York Climate Week, is that the raging debate around AI infrastructure is just the tip of the iceberg.

Data centers have an insurance problem

Skeptical insurers are the latest headache for data center developers, on top of hardware shortages, angry neighbors and permitting delays.

Climate finance needs an overhaul

For developing countries, more green tech capital doesn’t always translate to a cheaper and cleaner energy system.

EDP can’t ‘take the risk’ of moving forward with US wind projects

“Several hundred megawatts” of planned onshore wind farms in the US remain on indefinite hold EDP’s CEO told Semafor.

No relief for power prices

Clean energy executives are an increasingly nervous bunch, as practical challenges of building low-cost clean energy persist.

Data centers drive a surge in climate tech funding

‘It’s a really weird moment because we’re having a bunch of tourists come in.’