Houston mayor touts city’s climate action plan following major flooding disasters
Mayor of Houston, Texas, Sylvester Turner speaks during a news conference at the 90th Winter Meeting of United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) on January 19, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong | Getty Images
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner this week described progress the city is making toward curbing planet-warming emissions and building storm resilient infrastructure as part of its climate action plan, which the Texas city launched two years ago after grappling with six major flooding disasters in just five years.
Turner, during an interview with CNBC Correspondent Contessa Brewer, said the country’s fourth-largest city is working to lead the clean energy transition with technologies, including clean hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization, and storage.
Houston is one of the largest industrial bases in the world and is responsible for approximately 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and 3% of global emissions. It’s also home to 40% of all publicly traded oil and gas companies and is the only major U.S. city that doesn’t have land-use zoning laws, which means that anything can be built anywhere.
The city’s climate plan, however, sets a goal to slash emissions by 40% by 2030 and become carbon neutral by mid-century. The mayor said the city is now building higher than the floodplain elevation, promoting green stormwater infrastructure, weatherizing homes, and planting 4.6 million trees by the end of the decade.
“We are building forward, not necessarily building back,” Turner said during the interview released on Thursday.
“It’s critically important that this city leads an energy transition, that we electrify our public and private fleet, that we plant the necessary trees, we do the heat mapping — all of those things that will be essential to put us in the best place going forward,” Turner said.
Due to its proximity to the Gulf Coast, Houston is particularly vulnerable to storms and hurricanes, which are growing more frequent and intense as the climate changes.
Hurricane Harvey, which flooded a swath of coastal Texas from Harris County to the Louisiana border in 2017, came after two other 500-year flood events in Houston. And Harris County, which includes Houston, has experienced seven federally declared disasters during the last decade.
Turner said the destruction from Harvey was a turning point for the city with regard to efforts to mitigate climate change, and since then the city has worked to reduce waste and energy use and promote safer and more resilient development.
Houston has also received buy-in from the local energy sector on some of its climate initiatives, the mayor said, working with companies such as Exxon Mobil. For instance, the city is building 52 megawatts of utility-scale solar on a local 240-acre former landfill site that’s set to become the largest urban solar farm in the country, Turner said.
“We have some of the largest greenhouse gas emitters right here in the city of Houston,” Turner said. “And that’s why I saw it very important to work in collaboration with them.”
Shares of USA Rare Earth jumped in extended trading Thursday, after CEO Barbara Humpton told CNBC that the rare earth miner is “in close communication” with the White House.
Humpton’s comment comes after the Trump administration took a 5% equity stake in Lithium Americas this week. The Defense Department took a 15% stake in rare earth miner MP Materials in July.
“We are in close communication with the administration,” Humpton told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan when asked whether USA Rare Earth was interested in a deal with the Trump administration.
USA Rare Earth stock year to date.
USA Rare Earth shares were last up about 8% after hours. Its stock gained 23% in regular trading Thursday and has nearly doubled this year.
“This is a field where it will not be a zero sum game,” Humpton said of the rare earth supply chain. “It’s going to take a lot of players to build out this marketplace.”
USA Rare Earth is developing a mine in Sierra Blanca, Texas, and a magnet production facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Humpton said she supports the Trump administration’s deals with MP and Lithium Americas.
“What we’re doing is keeping the administration informed of our own plans,” she said.
The adminstration has said it is making the investments to help support the industry and break U.S. dependence on China.
Environment
Tesla applies for patent to make Cybertruck look even more ridiculous but more efficient
Tesla has applied for a new patent that would make the Cybertruck look even more ridiculous than it already does, but it would also make towing more efficient.
The Cybertruck is one of, if not the most, polarizing vehicles of all time, and its design is primarily to blame.
Much of the design is due to the use of stainless steel panels and the attempt to make pickup trucks more aerodynamically efficient.
Tesla has managed to improve on the drag coefficient of the average pickup truck.
However, it doesn’t help much with towing a trailer, which is going to catch a lot of that drag.
Tesla has now applied for a new patent on a device that would help push wind over a trailer towed by the Cybertruck.
The American automaker wrote in the abstract of the patent application:
An inflatable aerodynamic deflector to reduce drag and enhance efficiency. Constructed from drop stitch material, it forms one or more air chambers between parallel skins. The component includes a pressure regulation mechanism and diverse attachment interfaces such as rail systems, magnetic fasteners, and quick disconnect clips, distributed along the vehicle for secure mounting. This component acts as an aerodynamic deflector, optimizing airflow around conveyances, especially combination vehicles like tow vehicles and trailers.
In short, Tesla is working on an inflatable device that could sit on the bed of the Cybertruck and rise to close the air gap between the truck, thereby extending the angle of the windshield over the trailer.
Here are some of the drawings from the patent application
Electrek’s Take
To be fair, companies often apply for patents on products that they don’t have concrete plans to bring to production, and this could easily be the case here.
That’s especially true for the Cybertruck.
The program is so much smaller than Tesla anticipated, and with smaller volumes, it makes less sense to launch accessories.
That said, I’m pro everything that makes driving more efficient, regardless of whether it makes a vehicle silly.
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The 2026 Hyundai Kona Electric lineup will be offered in a single trim, but at least it’s the most affordable one.
Here’s the new 2026 Hyundai Kona Electric lineup
With the IONIQ 5 stealing the spotlight, Hyundai is downsizing the 2026 Kona Electric to just one trim — the base SE model.
Hyundai didn’t provide prices, but the 2025 Hyundai Kona Electric SE was the brand’s most affordable EV, starting at just $32,975. The SEL, Limited, and N Line trims will not be offered for the 2026 model year.
In another blow, Hyundai is also dropping the Long Range battery, meaning the 2026 Kona Electric will only be available with the Standard Range battery.
The Long Range 64.8 kWh battery offers a driving range of up to 261 miles, while the Standard Range 48.6 kWh battery delivers a driving range of just 200 miles. The only other change is that the SE trim will now include a larger console tray.
With new models arriving, like the 2026 Nissan LEAF and the 2027 Chevy Bolt EV, the Kona Electric will no longer be one of the few EVs starting under $35,000.
Nissan claims the 2026 LEAF “has the lowest starting MSRP for any new EV currently on sale in the US” at just $29,990. The new LEAF also offers significantly more range, with over 300 miles, and features a NACS port for recharging at Tesla Superchargers.
While it’s cutting the Kona Electric lineup, Hyundai appears to be focused on its top-selling EV for 2026, the IONIQ 5.
Following the expiration of the federal EV tax credit, Hyundai reduced prices on the 2026 IONIQ 5 by up to nearly $10,000 on certain trims. The 2026 IONIQ 5 now starts at just $35,000. It’s also extending the $7,500 credit for 2025 models.
Is the Kona Electric on its way out with the IONIQ 5 now available for about the same price? Either that, or Hyundai will have to cut prices on the Kona EV to stay competitive.
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