ADVOCATE THE
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA
|
S u n d ay, J a n u a ry 18, 2026
$2.50X
Report: Louisiana greenhouse emissions flat in 2025
‘LOUISIANA IS ALWAYS
MY PRIORITY’ After two years as governor, Landry boasts big wins, flashes of controversy
BY TYLER BRIDGES Staff writer
Favorable political winds provided plenty of lift when Jeff Landry became governor in January 2024. He inherited an overflowing state treasury from his Democratic predecessor, John Bel Edwards, and he took office with a Republican supermajority in the Legislature, the first GOP governor in modern times with that benefit. Landry has moved aggressively to take advantage since then, securing conservative wins that have toughened anti-crime laws, reduced income tax rates and allowed more parents to send their children to private schools with taxpayer dollars. At the same time, Landry has shown a penchant for jumping into controversial issues with inflammatory comments that have won him headlines — not always favorably. He called for the execution of Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolás Maduro and won plaudits on Fox News. He demanded the resignation of LSU’s athletic director, saying he’d “rather let Donald Trump pick the next coach,” and was roasted by
But influx of new industry could outpace improvements BY JOSIE ABUGOV
ä Tracking Landry’s agenda.
Staff writer
PAGE 7A
sports columnists nationally. Now, as he begins his third year, Landry is facing questions of whether his appointment as Trump’s special envoy to Greenland will distract him from serving the needs of Louisiana. Not at all, Landry told The Times-Picayune | The Advocate during a 45-minute interview at the Governor’s Mansion. “Louisiana is always my priority,” he said. Nor, he added, does his new international role mean he’s looking to move on to a high-profile role in Washington. “The voters can kick me out,” he said. “But I’m not leaving Louisiana.” Landry has been raising money for his reelection campaign in 2027. No challenger has surfaced yet. Landry, 55, was elected as Louisiana’s 57th governor in 2023 in the primary, without having to contest a runoff, after leading during the entire campaign. Voters liked his exuberant Cajun personality, his conservative
Governor Jeff Landry STAFF FILE PHOTO By SOPHIA GERMER
ä See LANDRY, page 6A
Louisiana has been among the nation’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters due to its heavy industry, but new data shows the state may be at least temporarily bucking a trend. While climate-warming emissions increased nationwide last year, Louisiana’s share has slightly declined over the past few years and was relatively flat in 2025, the preliminary data from an independent research group shows. Any reduction in greenhouse gases classifies as good news. But industry and environmental analysts caution that Louisiana’s figures should be taken with a heavy dose of caution. The uptick in nationwide emissions reverses a trend of decreases over the past two years, note analysts at the Rhodium Group, which used U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data for its report. Much of the increase was due to utilities burning more coal to help meet the growing power needs of artificial intelligence data centers and residents heating their homes during cold winter weather, the analysts say. But some of the underlying factors are different in Louisiana. At the national level, power generation drives greenhouse gas
ä See EMISSIONS, page 8A
Oystermen grieve Honduran deckhand
A wooden cross memorial on pilings has been placed near where deckhand Walter Francisco Cerrato Cabrera died in late December after he jumped into Bayou La Loutre in Hopedale to avoid being arrested by U.S. Coast Guard agents.
Man drowned fleeing Louisiana immigration sweep
They feared the same fate as other immigrants working at the bottom reaches of St. Bernard Parish who were arrested in BY JOHN SIMERMAN a sweep on the and SOPHIE KASAKOVE Cerrato water in early NoStaff writers vember. The younger of the two deckA week before Christmas, a white minivan pulled up to the hands hid in the Rambler’s cabin, docks in Hopedale, and four U.S. he said. His co-worker, Walter CerCoast Guard agents jumped out in rato, a father of three with a wife black vests. in Houston, ducked into a cooler on Aboard the Rambler, an oyster the deck. boat that had docked to offload its The agents approached the boat haul, two deckhands from Honduä See CERRATO, page 4A ras acted fast.
WEATHER HIGH 49 LOW 30 PAGE 8B
STAFF PHOTO By CHRIS GRANGER
Business ......................1E Deaths .........................3B Opinion ........................6B Classified ..................... 2F Living............................1D Nation-World................2A Commentary ................7B Metro ...........................1B Sports ..........................1C
“ ”
101ST yEAR, NO. 202
THE TIME IS ALWAYS RIGHT TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT. BATONROUGECLINIC.COM
225.769.4044