Zack Colman

Zack Colman: A Career Shaped by Climate Policy and Investigative Rigor

We’ve followed Zack Colman’s work for over a decade, observing his evolution from a regional reporter to one of POLITICO’s most trusted voices on climate policy. His reporting combines granular policy analysis with a sharp eye for the human and economic stakes of environmental decisions.

Key Career Milestones

• Early Foundations (2010s): Cutting his teeth at E&E News and The Christian Science Monitor, Colman honed his ability to translate complex climate science into accessible narratives.
• Policy Depth at The Hill and Washington Examiner: Here, he developed a reputation for scrutinizing bipartisan energy legislation, particularly the interplay between federal mandates and state-level implementation.
• Fellowships as Catalysts: His 2016 Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT sharpened his technical literacy, while the 2018 Bill Lane Center fellowship at Stanford deepened his understanding of Western U.S. energy politics.
• POLITICO Era (2020–Present): As climate policy became a central geopolitical issue, Colman emerged as a go-to analyst for high-stakes international negotiations and their domestic repercussions.

Signature Works: Three Articles That Define His Approach

Trump moves to hobble major climate study

This April 2025 investigation revealed how the Trump administration attempted to defund the National Climate Assessment by redirecting funds through obscure budgetary mechanisms. Colman obtained internal EPA memos showing political appointees questioning the assessment’s “alarmist tone,” while career scientists pushed back. The piece balanced technical detail (e.g., appropriations process nuances) with stark projections about how delayed climate modeling could impact coastal infrastructure planning.

Climate change to take a bite out of US housing values — study

In this February 2025 analysis, Colman dissected a First Street Foundation report predicting $1.47 trillion in housing value losses due to climate risks. Rather than simply regurgitating findings, he contextualized them through interviews with mortgage lenders in Florida’s flood zones and retirees in Arizona heat islands. The article became a benchmark for discussing climate economics without drowning readers in statistics.

What Trump’s exit from the climate deal really means

Published days after the 2025 inauguration, this POLITICO.eu piece anticipated the geopolitical ripple effects of renewed U.S. climate isolationism. Colman drew parallels with the post-Paris Accord era but noted crucial differences: EU carbon border adjustments, Asian infrastructure banks’ green financing clauses, and Texas oil executives’ surprising support for methane regulations. The analysis stood out for its global perspective while grounding abstractions in corporate boardroom realities.

Beat Analysis and Pitching Strategies

1. Focus on Policy Implementation Over Proposals

Colman prioritizes how climate laws get executed rather than just their passage. A 2024 piece on IRA tax credit allocation errors exemplifies this – he tracked how ambiguous DOE guidelines led to solar projects in low-sunlight regions. Pitches should highlight enforcement challenges, agency rulemaking processes, or unintended consequences of well-intentioned policies.

2. Corporate Climate Strategies With Tangible Metrics

His 2023 exposé on “net-zero” oil companies revealed how many relied on carbon accounting loopholes rather than actual emission cuts. Successful pitches in this vein might explore:

• Supply chain decarbonization efforts with verifiable third-party audits
• Boardroom disputes over short-term profit vs. long-term climate investments

3. International Agreements’ Domestic Fallout

The 2025 COP29 coverage demonstrated his knack for linking global pledges to local impacts – e.g., how Indonesia’s forest conservation deal affected Minnesota-based paper companies. Angles could include:

• State attorneys general challenging/facilitating international climate commitments
• Labor union responses to trade provisions in green agreements

Awards and Recognition

“Colman’s work reminds us that climate reporting isn’t just about disasters – it’s about power, money, and the often-invisible systems shaping our response.” – 2024 SEJ Awards Committee

• Knight Science Journalism Fellowship (2016): Awarded for his series on fracking’s impact on groundwater monitoring, which combined FOIA-obtained EPA reports with sensor data from Pennsylvania farm communities.
• POLITICO Pro Breakthrough Award (2023): Recognized for revealing how wildfire smoke data gaps left low-income communities disproportionately exposed – a story that prompted revised EPA monitoring guidelines.

Pitching Checklist

• ⚡ Lead with novel data sources (e.g., satellite methane leaks, state-level permitting databases)
• ⚡ Highlight bipartisan angles – how climate issues cross red/blue divides
• ⚡ Avoid speculative tech solutions without policy or funding roadmaps
• ⚡ Connect international trends to U.S. regulatory/business implications
• ⚡ Emphasize human stories tied to systemic failures/innovations