Climate Change

Environmental activists will protest outside SpaceX Starbase launch 'facilities' on Tuesday, ahead of the highly-anticipated IPO 'of Elon Musk’s company. They'll be pressuring public pension funds to reject the deal because they're worried about safety and pollution issues. The South Texas Environmental Justice Network has announced that its members will protest Tuesday outside the main entrance of SpaceX as it begins three days tours and meetings with Wall Street analysts. Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of Network, has urged investors to boycott the IPO. She also lobbied against the purchase of shares by the New York City Comptroller Mark Levine for the...

Kevin Warsh, the U.S. president Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, will say to lawmakers during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he "is committed to ensuring the conduct of monetary policies remains strictly independent", according to prepared remarks that were released on Monday. The 56-year old former Fed governor and financier will say to members of the Senate Banking Committee that he is "committed to working with both the Administration and Congress in non-monetary issues which are within the Fed's mandate". Warsh stated in his prepared remarks that Fed independence "reaches its peak" when it comes to...

A new study shows that shareholders have submitted 184 proposals to promote environmental, social, and governance themes in U.S. firms so far this proxy season. This is about half of what they did last year, as Republicans work 'to shift corporate control from investors to managers. According to Michael Passoff, CEO and co-author of the report, a proxy voting service for sustainable investors, 355 proposals were filed at a similar point last year during spring proxy season. These proposals encourage companies to report more about their carbon emissions and workforce diversity. Although most proposals are not binding, they may lead...

The Trump administration proposes to lift certain restrictions on the?use of ethylene dioxide, a carcinogenic?gas?used for sterilisation. They claim that previous restrictions imposed by former president?Joe Biden could hinder medical 'device manufacturers' ability to clean their facilities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a statement Friday saying that its proposed rule would not only follow the current law, but also make it easier for businesses to adhere to commercial sterilization regulations. It will also save costs and protect the nation's supplies chain for devices such as heart stents. Medical officials, industry representatives and the Food and Drug Administration have all...

In an interview with NBC News on Tuesday, John Catsimatidis said that consumers will be relieved of the steep increases in fuel prices at the pump in the next month or two. Fuel prices have soared due to supply disruptions resulting from the Israel-U.S. conflict with Iran. This poses a serious threat to U.S. president Donald Trump and the Republican Party in advance of November's midterm elections. Catsimatidis said that he believed the worst of the price increases were over. U.S. average gasoline prices have risen by nearly 60 cents in the past month since the joint U.S. and Israeli...

A senior OECD official said that inflation is the biggest?risk to global bond markets. This comes as energy prices have risen following?the U.S. and Israeli air war against Iran. Carmine Di Noia, OECD director of financial affairs and enterprise affairs, said in an interview before the release of Wednesday's annual debt reports by the Paris-based organization that "Now we 'are having another huge stress test." Investors are worried about inflation and higher energy costs, as oil prices have increased by 16% in the last week. Di Noia said that if this happens, the higher bond yields will "put even more...

The U.S. Interior Department officials said that a database which revealed how the Trump administration intended to revise information about key phases in American history on national 'park sites, was deliberate and the employees who released it would be held accountable. The Washington Post first revealed an internal government database, which was posted to two public websites on Monday. It showed the extent of the Trump Administration's efforts to remove or revise information about African-American History, LGBT rights and climate change at hundreds of National Park sites. A spokesperson for the Interior Department said, "The narrative advanced is false?and these...

Activists said that a new federal approach, which gives U.S. firms more control over the proposals that shareholders vote on during their annual meetings, creates regulatory uncertainty and leads to litigation. In November, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission changed its tradition of having staff approve shareholder proposals before a company rejects them. It gave executives greater discretion in deciding which resolutions to include on their proxy statement, the mandatory document distributed before shareholder meetings. At least three lawsuits have been filed by investors against AT&T and Axon Enterprises, and there could be more. Giovanna Eichner, a shareholder advocate with...

These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal has not verified the accuracy of these stories. Paramount Skydance has emerged as the winner of a long-running battle to buy Warner Bros Discovery after Netflix refused to increase its bid on Thursday. - ?Artificial intelligence company Anthropic said it wouldn't back down in ?a dispute with the Department of Defense over artificial-intelligence guardrails, complicating ?efforts to reach a compromise ahead of a Friday deadline. Jack Dorsey’s Block announced on Thursday that it would cut?over 4,500 jobs, or nearly?half of its workforce as part of...

Vanguard Group, a fund manager, announced on Thursday that it had "agreed" to settle a lawsuit filed by the Republican Attorneys General of Texas, Kansas, and other states. They had accused the fund manager, and its rivals, of violating antitrust laws through their climate activism. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach stated in a press statement that Vanguard would pay $29.5 million to the group of states who brought the lawsuit, "to support enforcement and consumer relief effort." Kobach stated that Vanguard also "agreed" to strict passive commitments, which prohibit it from dictating strategy to companies in which it invests and...

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy's bid to quash a lawsuit filed by Boulder, Colorado officials who want to hold oil companies responsible for climate change. The Supreme Court heard an appeal from the companies against a ruling of the lower court that allowed the lawsuit to proceed. The lawsuit alleging violations of state law by the companies seeks unspecified damages for "costs incurred" by Boulder in mitigating climate change. Boulder is just one of the dozens of climate-related cases filed by U.S. states against companies that produce, extract, distribute, or sell fossil fuels....

The legal battle between the Trump Administration and California over 'auto-pollution regulations' is about to come to a head. This will have huge financial implications for EV manufacturers including Tesla, and traditional automakers that rely on fossil fuel vehicles. California is fighting a move by congressional Republicans that would have allowed the state to implement its own emission regulations. California could force U.S. automobile manufacturers to adhere to two regulatory schemes that are diametrically opposite: President Donald Trump’s?anti EV policy, and California's pro EV regime which eleven other states have adopted. California wants automakers to be required to sell 100...

According to documents released by the Chinese government on Thursday, China will reduce its carbon intensity - or carbon emissions per unit gross domestic product - by 17% in its current five year plan. This is an acceleration of the previous period between 2020 and '2025. China's new five-year plan released on Thursday called for the replacement of 30 million metric tonnes per year with renewables, and pushing towards peak coal. However, it did not set further limits on coal use. China's carbon intensity was reduced by 12% during the five-year plan which ended last year. According to a report...

T&E, a campaign group for transport and the environment, said in a report on Monday that scaling up production in Europe would reduce the 'cost gap' between EU-made and Chinese batteries to 30%, down from the current 90%. The group urged the EU, through its "Made in Europe", plans, to support this sector. The EU executive will propose its "Industrial Accelerator Act", which requires that local products be given priority when using public funds. It is intended to cover "key sectors" such as batteries, solar, wind, hydrogen manufacturing, nuclear power, and electric vehicles. Some automakers claim that local content requirements...

Tata Motors' CEO stated that the company is confident its new, low-priced 'Punch EV' will be able to crack the 'dominant budget segment' of the third largest 'car'market in the world for electric vehicles. Approximately 65% of India's 4.6 million passenger cars sold last year had a price below $13,200. Just 1.6% of the affordable cars sold in India last year were EVs. In India, there are currently only a few EVs in the lower-price range. Shailesh C. Chandra, a reporter at the Reuters news agency, said that buyers are held back by concerns about their battery life and range...

The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday released interim rules to enforce provisions in President Donald Trump's tax law which restrict companies from claiming federal clean energy subsidies if they are too reliant on Chinese made?equipment. Since the passage of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July last year, solar and wind developers, as well as factory owners, have been anxiously waiting for this?guidance. It applies to lucrative tax incentives for clean energy manufacturing, and electricity generation. The law has accelerated expiration dates for many clean energy tax credits from the Biden era and introduced complex requirements to reduce U.S....

The Meteorological Department of China announced on Thursday that the average temperature in China for the year was 10.9 degrees Celsius (51,6 degrees Fahrenheit). This is the highest ever recorded high-temperature day. At a press event, the administration announced its climate bulletin for 2025. The World?Meteorological Organisation stated in January that last year was?amongst the three warmest years on record. The administration stated that China's annual average temperature has risen in recent decades. 2025 will be the hottest year since 1961 when the first nationwide records began. The intensity of heavy rainfall and extreme heat has increased, increasing the risk...

Teams of snowmakers are racing against the clock to meet the competition requirements for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, within ever-shorter cold windows. Climate change is reshaping the limits of technology. Organisers at Italy's Alpine venues are increasingly relying on artificially-produced snow to compensate for the declining and less predictable natural snowfall. This means that months of preparation can be squeezed into short periods of subzero temperatures, leaving less room for error. In order to accommodate the Olympic competition in Milano - Cortina, resorts like Livigno, Bormio and Antholz-Anterselva, which are already established, have added reservoirs, pumps and snow...

eBay, the e-commerce giant, unveiled on Wednesday its first climate change plan and said it would increase efforts to decarbonize?its operations?and supply chain?as part of a plan?to reach?net-zero emission levels by 2045. The plan was validated by Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a standard-setting organization. It builds on achieving an earlier goal to power all of its facilities with 100% renewable electricity by 2020, which had been achieved in 2024. Renee Morin, Chief Sustainability Officer at eBay, said the company aims to align with the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius over the pre-industrial level. This...

Data showed that global EV registrations increased by 20% in 2018, but will likely slow down in 2026. This is because a combination of a slowdown in China, and the relaxation of electrification goals worldwide, led to a sales increase in December which was the lowest since February 2024. The number of monthly'registrations' of electric vehicles in North America, including plug-in and battery hybrids, has dropped even further since the United States ended its EV tax credit program in October, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Why it's important According to BMI data manager Charles Lester, radical policy changes, such as...

The Prime Minister of Tuvalu, who visited Taiwan on Tuesday during a period of increasing geopolitical rivalry between China and the United States in the Pacific, said that his tiny country values its "special relationship". Tuvalu is only one of 12 countries, including three in the Pacific region, that maintains formal diplomatic relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan. Beijing has intensified its efforts to win back Taiwan's remaining allies. Feleti Teo said he was always impressed by the warmth with which he is welcomed whenever he visits Taiwan. Teo stated that "Tuvalu treasures its special relation with Taiwan. A relationship built on...

It was not clear what the 190+ countries attending the COP30 would be discussing during the two week U.N. Summit in Brazil's Amazonian city of Belem. It's also unclear how they will handle controversial issues such as the 2023 pledge to stop using polluting sources of energy and their demand for funding to achieve this. The biggest question was whether or not countries would want to reach a final deal, which is difficult to do in an era of global politics that has been fractious and the U.S.'s efforts to block a move away from fossil-fuels. After years of COP...

Brazil hosted world leaders on Thursday for a summit ahead of the COP30 Climate Conference in the rainforest city Belem. Leaders have made some interesting comments. U.N. SECRETAIRE-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES We can either choose to lead or we can be led into ruin. "Too many companies are making record profits by destroying the climate, while spending billions on lobbying and deceiving public opinion and obstructing advancement. And too many leaders continue to be captive to these entrenched interest." BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA We need a road map to plan an equitable way to undo the deforestation and...

HSBC released a new set of climate targets on Thursday that are softer and more flexible for near-term sectors like oil and gas. This is in response to the slow rate of change in real economy. The targets for the end of the decade follow a review that was announced by British bank earlier this year, when it dropped its goal to reach net-zero emissions in all of its operations by 2030. HSBC is still aiming for its operations, funded by the loan book, to produce zero emissions by 2050. It and other banks who have set similar climate goals...