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UNEQUAL TIDES — The federal government’s “Equity in Action” flood insurance program is anything but, Thomas Frank reports for POLITICO’s E&E News.

A new Government Accountability Office report finds that Black households will have to spend a larger share of their income to buy federal flood insurance than white, Hispanic or Asian households under the program. It’s the first known analysis of the affordability of these insurance policies on the basis of race and ethnicity.

Flood damage is not covered by standard homeowners’ insurance, and households without flood-specific policies face financial ruin if their homes are damaged. Almost all U.S. flood insurance is sold by the government’s National Flood Insurance Program, which is revising premiums for its 4.7 million policies to make rates reflect more accurately each property’s flood risk and repair cost.

GAO attributes the disparities to those also present in income among households with NFIP policies.

The conclusions weren’t necessarily surprising to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which runs the program, but they could boost efforts to make additional changes.

David Maurstad, the FEMA official in charge of the insurance program, said the GAO findings support his agency’s push to have Congress create a program that helps low- and moderate-income households pay for NFIP coverage, which currently costs about $1,000 a year on average.

“We remain concerned about the affordability barrier,” Maurstad said in a statement.

The GAO report did show that Black, white, Hispanic and Asian policyholders will pay nearly identical insurance premiums when the new rates are fully in effect more than a decade from now.

YOU TELL THEM — The Interior Department is on the prowl for some fresh ideas to help shape an ambitious, first-of-its-kind study that will probe the impacts of a warming planet, reports Michael Doyle for POLITICO’s E&E News.

The study, led by the multi-agency U.S. Global Change Research Program, will “assess the status, observed trends, and future projections of America’s lands, waters, wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems.” A comprehensive report following the assessment is due in 2026.

Interior is soliciting feedback on four key areas: conservation and natural resource management, economic interests, human health, and safety and security. Commenters can provide examples of how a changing climate is affecting health, how climate change might prompt physical relocation of U.S. residents, where infrastructure and economic development can be most beneficial, and how specific species and ecosystems have changed.

EV SPLASH IN CALIFORNIA — A quarter of new car sales in California from April through June were zero-emission vehicles, a first for the state.

Year to date, 24.3 percent of all sales in 2023 have been zero-emission vehicles with the majority of those being Teslas, James Bikales reports. Last year, zero-emission vehicles comprised 18.8 percent of sales in California.

The state has long been ahead of the curve in EV adoption, and set a mandate of 100 percent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035. That’s triggered a backlash: Republican lawmakers in Congress last week advanced a bill, H.R. 1435 (118), that would limit California’s ability to phase out gas-powered car sales.

Nationwide, EVs comprised 7.2 percent of sales in the second quarter, up from 5.7 percent a year earlier, according to Cox Automotive.

NOT YOUR TYPICAL WELCOME HOME PARTY — The British prime minister’s family home got the Greenpeace treatment.

Activists from the climate group draped Rishi Sunak’s family home in black fabric in protest of his administration’s decision to issue hundreds of new North Sea oil and gas licenses.

“Climbers are on the roof of Rishi Sunak’s mansion draping it in 200 metres of oily-black fabric to drive home the dangerous consequences of a new drilling frenzy,” Greenpeace U.K. tweeted Thursday, as the group shared a picture of the stunt.

Downing Street wasn’t amused, Andrew McDonald reports.

“We make no apology for taking the right approach to ensure our energy security, using the resources we have here at home so we are never reliant on aggressors like [Vladimir] Putin for our energy,” a spokesperson said.

Sunak is vacationing in California.

And let it be known: Sunak says his children are climate-conscious, but they aren’t “eco-zealots,” Andrew reports.

GAME ON — Happy Friday! Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability.

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— Global sustainable fund inflows fell sharply in the second quarter amid persisting economic concerns, according to the South China Morning Post.

— The Financial Times editorial board has some thoughts on how governments should deal with backlash against policies focused on the green transition.

— The world’s largest lithium producer is going all in on an Arkansas facility that aims to extract the metal from existing bromine operations, Reuters reports.