Today's Agenda  Corporate America vs. Trump: Environment Edition Climate change may be inevitable, but White House efforts to make it happen faster are not. President Donald Trump took office promising to roll back environmental regulations and bolster the coal industry, in keeping with his dream of American "energy dominance" and general skepticism of man-made global warming. One big problem is that coal demand just keeps sinking, in defiance of the president's wishes. And a slew of new industry reports suggests coal's demise is global and irreversible, note Nathaniel Bullard and David Fickling. Only in India is coal-burning expected to hold up for a while, but that probably won't offset trends in the rest of the world. No wonder big miners such as BHP Group are fleeing the coal business. This week, Trump's Environmental Protection Agency threw oil companies a bone by lifting curbs on leaks of methane gas, a far more destructive climate-change accelerant than carbon dioxide. But some oil companies are throwing the bone back, notes Bloomberg's editorial board. Methane is a fuel, for one thing, so it makes little sense for these companies to just let it bleed away. And Big Oil is sensitive lately to the bad PR and shareholder agita that comes with hastening the environment's destruction. Like the automakers who recently declined Trump's invitation to pollute more, oil companies may choose to go their own way. This growing corporate woke-ness reaches far beyond energy and autos. U.K. grocery chains are coming up with clever ways to reduce plastic waste, writes Andrea Felsted. In financial markets, issuance of green bonds is blossoming, writes Mark Gilbert. It all makes some investors such as Jared Dillian anxious. But maybe keeping customers from being consumed by an environment gone haywire is good for business. Corporate America vs. Trump: Trade War Edition Overall, of course, Corporate America has been OK with what Trump has done for it so far, even if he occasionally tweets mean things at it. He's cut corporate taxes and regulations, and most CEOs agree with him that China should play fairer on trade, notes Mohamed El-Erian. But his methods are starting to worry them, Mohamed writes. Most notably, Trump's unilateral, unpredictable trade warring is hurting global economic growth and raising uncertainty, which is bad for business (and not just "Excuses!"). Working with allies to confront China and having some clear goals could help. Finally doing something about infrastructure and worker training would go a long way, too. Further Trade War Reading: Trade peace would have many losers, including economies lately taking market share from China. – Dan Moss Iran's Blowing Its Big Chance After years of belligerence, Trump has lately sounded almost conciliatory toward Iran. Today he even tweeted "best wishes and good luck" to the country over a rocket-launch failure. That may have been trolling, but it follows a Group of Seven meeting in which he expressed some willingness to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, which was quickly reciprocated. Then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei put the kibosh on talks, which was a mistake, writes Bloomberg's editorial board. Trump has been almost too eager to sit down with Iran. With its economy suffering badly from sanctions, Tehran should take advantage of that willingness. Telltale Charts Africa's Sahel region is deeply poor and getting worse, and it needs international help, warns Noah Smith.  Beijing just told China's local governments they could stop clamping down on car ownership, but David Fickling notes they've got no reason to do so: Many are still far too congested and polluted.  Further Reading "The circular nature of mergers and breakups was on full display this week." – Brooke Sutherland Boris Johnson knows Britain needs immigrants, but he's caved to nativist sentiment to win votes. He must pick a side eventually. – Therese Raphael Italy's the latest example of how what helps far-right parties win elections makes them terrible at governing. – Leonid Bershidsky Mauricio Macri's troubles in Argentina aren't a sign left-wingers are on the rebound in Latin America. – Mac Margolis Republicans need a better protest candidate to primary Trump than the current crop. – Ramesh Ponnuru ICYMI Holders of antique Chinese bonds hope for a trade-war payday. Before politics, Elizabeth Warren gave personal finance advice. Vaping-related lung-disease cases surge. Kickers Advice for Floridians prepping for Dorian: Beware of flying scooters. (h/t Shira Ovide) And do not shoot the hurricane. Brooklyn briefly takes "street meat" to absurd new levels. How to recognize and prevent burnout. Our brains aren't as hard-wired as we think. Note: Please send chicken and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. New to Bloomberg Opinion Today? Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. | 
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