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Top Environment and Energy Topics To Watch in 2026 [1]

Explore our 10th annual Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy, as we scour the beat to identify 15 top stories to put on your radar for 2026. Our updated format for the special report provides a quick read and a broad scope — with insights on climate change and environmental justice, bird and insect declines, data centers and deep sea mining, deregulation and PFAS and much more. Get started here [1].

SEJ Publication Types: 
SEJ News [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Activism [3]
Agriculture [4]
Air [5]
Biodiversity [6]
Chemicals [7]
Climate Change [8]
Disasters [9]
Economy & Business [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Environmental Studies [15]
Fish & Fisheries [16]
Forests [17]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Infrastructure [20]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Military [23]
Natural Resources [24]
Policy [25]
Pollution [26]
Science [27]
Technology [28]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Wildlife [31]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [32]
Alaska and Hawaii [33]
California [34]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [35]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [36]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [38]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [39]
Northwest (OR WA) [40]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [41]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [42]
International [43]
Visibility: 
Public [44]

Chesapeake Bay Leaders Agree on Longer Timeline and Tribal Role in Cleanup [45]

"The revised watershed agreement extends pollution-reduction targets and bets on voluntary measures to achieve cleanup goals that have remained elusive for decades."

Agriculture [4]
Biodiversity [6]
Chemicals [7]
Climate Change [8]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [14]
Fish & Fisheries [16]
Food [46]
Government [18]
Laws & Regulations [22]
People & Population [47]
Pollution [26]
Water & Oceans [30]
Public [44]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Source: Inside Climate News [48], 12/05/2025
December 12, 2025

IJNR/SEJ Virtual Workshop: The Future of Chesapeake Bay [49]

The Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources (IJNR), in conjunction with the Society of Environmental Journalists, will conduct a virtual training program, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. EST, for professional journalists that explores the complicated past and future of the Chesapeake Bay. Registration deadline: Dec 11.

Workshops and Fellowships [50]
Visibility: 
Public [44]
Topics on the Beat: 
Journalism & Media [21]
Water & Oceans [30]
Region: 
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [39]

Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country [51]

For more than a century, oil and gas companies have been drilling — and abandoning — wells across the country, leaving hundreds of thousands to potentially leak pollutants into the air, water and soil. Climate and environment reporter Martha Pskowski looks at how funding and regulatory issues are impacting efforts to identify and plug these wells, and offers resources for drilling into their story.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Features [52]
Topics on the Beat: 
Agriculture [4]
Air [5]
Climate Change [8]
Economy & Business [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Government [18]
Health [19]
Journalism & Media [21]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Natural Resources [24]
Policy [25]
Pollution [26]
Technology [28]
Water & Oceans [30]
Wildlife [31]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [32]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [35]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [36]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [38]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [42]
Visibility: 
Public [44]

"Beekeepers, Farmers and the Fight to Save a Century-Old Research Hub" [53]

UPDATE: As of Dec. 1, NPR reports funding for USDA's Beltsville, Md., research center has been resored. No link available. 

"Industry groups and scientists have urged the Trump administration to reconsider its plan to close a renowned Agriculture Department center in Maryland and disperse its work around the country."

Agriculture [4]
Biodiversity [6]
Chemicals [7]
Climate Change [8]
Consumer [54]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [14]
Food [46]
Government [18]
Science [27]
Public [44]
National (U.S.) [32]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Source: NYTimes [55], 12/01/2025

"Va. Communities Resist Sewage Sludge On Farm Land As PFAS Concerns Grow [56]

"As worry mounts about health risks from exposure to ‘forever chemicals,’ Virginia communities push for testing and limits for biosolids"

Agriculture [4]
Chemicals [7]
Consumer [54]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [14]
Food [46]
Laws & Regulations [22]
People & Population [47]
Pollution [26]
Waste [29]
Public [44]
National (U.S.) [32]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Source: Virginia Mercury [57], 11/26/2025

"Trump Exempts Coal Used In Steelmaking From Clean Air Act Rule" [58]

"President Trump is exempting coal used in steelmaking from Biden-era Clean Air Act regulations for two years."

Air [5]
Chemicals [7]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Pollution [26]
Public [44]
National (U.S.) [32]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Source: The Hill [59], 11/26/2025

"Trump Administration Issuing $1B Loan To Bolster Three Mile Island Restart" [60]

"The Trump administration is issuing a $1 billion loan to help finance the restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant."

Disasters [9]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Infrastructure [20]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [61]
Technology [28]
Public [44]
National (U.S.) [32]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Source: The Hill [62], 11/20/2025

"Fresh Warnings As A Maryland Community’s PFAS Crisis Continues" [63]

"A PFAS contamination crisis is continuing to plague a Maryland community as a plume of contaminated groundwater moves through the area, residents and their attorneys said this week."

Chemicals [7]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Justice [13]
Environmental Politics [14]
Pollution [26]
Waste [29]
Water & Oceans [30]
Public [44]
National (U.S.) [32]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Source: The New Lede [64], 11/17/2025

"Pennsylvania Abandons Northeast Climate Pact" [65]

"Pennsylvania will no longer seek to be part of a regional climate agreement among states in the Northeast U.S."

Climate Change [8]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Politics [14]
Government [18]
Laws & Regulations [22]
Public [44]
National (U.S.) [32]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [37]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [39]
Source: The Hill [66], 11/14/2025

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[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/sej-news/top-environment-and-energy-topics-watch-2026 [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/sej-news [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/air [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [13] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [14] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmentalists [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/fisheries [17] 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[35] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [36] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains [37] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [38] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mountain-west [39] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northeast [40] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/northwest [41] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southeast [42] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest [43] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [44] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/chesapeake-bay-leaders-agree-longer-timeline-and-tribal-role-cleanup [46] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [47] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [48] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04122025/chesapeake-executive-council-bay-cleanup/ [49] https://www.sej.org/calendar/ijnrsej-virtual-workshop-future-chesapeake-bay [50] https://www.sej.org/category/event-type/workshops/fellowships [51] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/orphans-and-zombies-reporting-abandoned-oil-and-gas-wells-across-country [52] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/features [53] https://www.sej.org/headlines/beekeepers-farmers-and-fight-save-century-old-research-hub [54] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [55] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/us/politics/beekeepers-farmers-research-hub-barc.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5E8.6P8N.1Bht3_TRZJVb&smid=url-share [56] https://www.sej.org/headlines/va-communities-resist-sewage-sludge-farm-land-pfas-concerns-grow [57] https://virginiamercury.com/2025/11/24/virginia-communities-push-back-against-sewage-sludge-on-agricultural-land-as-pfas-concerns-grow/ [58] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-exempts-coal-used-steelmaking-clean-air-act-rule [59] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5620584-donald-trump-clean-air-act-coal-steel/ [60] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-administration-issuing-1b-loan-bolster-three-mile-island-restart [61] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/nuclear-power/radiation [62] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5611742-three-mile-island-restart-trump-loan/ [63] https://www.sej.org/headlines/fresh-warnings-maryland-community-s-pfas-crisis-continues [64] https://www.thenewlede.org/2025/11/fresh-warnings-as-a-maryland-communitys-pfas-crisis-continues/ [65] https://www.sej.org/headlines/pennsylvania-abandons-northeast-climate-pact [66] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5605079-pennsylvania-rggi-northeast-climate-pact-shapiro/ [67] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic?page=2 [68] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic?page=1 [69] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic?page=4 [70] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic?page=5 [71] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic?page=6 [72] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic?page=7 [73] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic?page=8 [74] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic?page=138