Climate Change








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North America

Climate Change

Save LGBTQ+ and climate data as Trump deletes

Government websites scrubbed under Trump orders Experts warn that green policies put vulnerable communities at risk Courts file lawsuits against the government for data removal Adam Smith Following a series of executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, thousands of U.S. Government web pages have been altered or removed. The orders target what the administration refers to as "gender ideologism extremism" (or environmental policies). To make rational and effective public health policies, you must have access to accurate, comprehensive data. Charles Gaba is a healthcare data analysts who works to support information on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's...

Environment

Trump cuts standards for light bulbs, water-using appliances

President Donald Trump On Tuesday, after signing a promotion order, the government reverted to older standards in light bulbs, toilets, showers, and other water-using devices. Plastic straws Rejecting a plan for reducing single-use plastics. Trump said that he would ask the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to return to the water standards of his first White House tenure, which would affect washing machines, dishwashers and sinks. In a private post on his social media platform, Trump said he had directed EPA Secretary Lee Zeldin to "immediately go back to [his] Environmental Orders", calling them commonsense. Trump said, "I am looking forward...

Climate Change

EU advisors propose plan that would reduce corporate green reporting by one third

The European Union has asked a group of experts in sustainable finance to advise them. They have proposed a change to the rules that classify climate-friendly activities. This, they claim, will reduce the reporting burden for companies by one third. The proposal for a simplified green investment rulebook is being made ahead of an extensive review of EU sustainability rules, and at a time when Brussels is preparing plans to reduce red tape in green finance. EU member countries such as France are putting pressure on the EU to simplify the rules for doing business. Meanwhile, the deregulation efforts of...

Environment

FEATURE-As climate costs rise, U.S. communities turn to the courts

Eleven U.S. States, as well as dozens of counties and cities file lawsuits Climate action lawsuits demand payment Supreme Court declines to review a key case By Carey L Biron The U.S. Supreme Court now has given tacit approval to legal efforts that allow local officials to use public nuisance laws or consumer protection laws to ask major oil and gas companies for funds to cover climate change related losses and upgrades. Richard Wiles of the Center for Climate Integrity said that "the Supreme Court's ruling creates a path for communities and state to seek climate justice in state courts."...

Pollution

Communities in the U.S. are turning to the courts as climate costs rise

Eleven U.S. States, as well as dozens of counties and cities file lawsuits Climate action lawsuits demand payment Supreme Court declines to review key case By Carey L Biron The U.S. Supreme Court now has a tacit approval of legal efforts that allow local officials to use public nuisance laws or consumer protection laws to ask major oil and gas companies for funds to cover climate change related losses and upgrades. Richard Wiles of the Center for Climate Integrity said that "the Supreme Court's ruling creates a path for communities and state to seek climate justice in state courts." The...

Oil & Gas Drilling

Wright, Trump's energy nominee, will speak at a conservative event in London on April 16, says a group.

The organization announced on Thursday that Chris Wright, Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Energy Department will be speaking to a conservative think-tank in London, next month. Wright has advocated expanding fracking operations in previous meetings. Wright, who will be confirmed by Senate on Friday, according to a spokesperson for the department, will not attend in person the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship Conference. It wasn't immediately clear if he would be addressing the conference from Feb. 17-19 virtually. Wright, CEO of the oilfield services firm Liberty Energy, spoke last at an ARC in 2023, when he said that fracking...

Mining

Native Filipinos are hoping carbon credits will protect their forests

Indigenous communities are aiming to reduce deforestation Leaders sign a carbon credit deal protect forests Illegal mining and logging are the main threats By Mariejo Ramos Some Indigenous leaders from the Western Archipelagic Province want to change this by getting investors to buy carbon credits to reduce deforestation. Last month, two ancestral domains in Palawan's Mount Mantalingahan protected landscape of 97,000 acres signed an agreement with Conservation International (CI) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to develop a carbon finance project within their region and reduce deforestation. Panglima Silnay is the leader of the Pala'wan Indigenous Group. He hopes...

Environment

Los Angeles has a moonshot opportunity to rebuild after fires

Los Angeles is recovering from the devastating wildfires. Environmental engineers, urban planners, and experts in natural disasters are all casting visions for what might come next. Where parking lots and strip malls once existed, apartment buildings could be built, and locals would walk to shops, offices, and cafes on the ground floor, European-style. It would be better to "infill" the city vertically with affordable housing in safe downtown areas rather than spreading outwards and adding more single-family houses on fire-prone hillside. Some blocks could become buffer zones where building is prohibited. The city's palm trees that burn like Roman Candles...

Climate Change

Powell: Fed is guided by law and economics, not politics.

Responding to a variety of questions on the impact of the Trump Administration on the U.S. Central Bank, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that politics was not the reason for the Fed's departure from a global group focused on climate change, and it would not influence its interest rate decisions. Powell said that while the Fed was working to align their workforce policies with the executive order of President Donald Trump banning diversity and inclusion promotion, any changes would only be minor, and they will be in line with the applicable laws. Powell also stated that he...

Carbon Emissions

New report urges IEA away from energy transformation focus

According to the former director of the International Energy Agency, the International Energy Agency should rewrite its annual energy outlook in order to reflect the real-world, and not just to reinforce its current focus on global energy transformation. Former IEA oil director Neil Atkinson, and Mark Mills of the National Center for Energy Analytics (a think-tank) wrote the report, Energy Delusions. The authors claimed that it was aimed at influencing Donald Trump's new administration. Since more than 50 years, the Paris-based IEA provides research and data on energy supply, security and investment to industrialized countries. Trump's plan to boost the...

Environment

Sustainable funds market inflows cut in half as ESG falls out of favour

Money streaming into global sustainable funds shrank by half in 2024 and in Europe closures of such funds outpaced new launches, as antiESG sentiment and substandard returns dulled the appeal of the investment strategy, Morningstar Sustainalytics said on Monday. The funds' best quarter for inflows came at completion of 2024, the research company stated, with $18.5 billion of inflows mainly entering into passive European funds. However after initial enthusiasm for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG,) investment, the bigger picture is that bad performance, strong EU policy and an extreme anti-ESG project in the U.S. are driving financiers and supervisors away...

Carbon Emissions

Trump time out on tidy funding is 'window of chance' for Europe, Poland says

U.S. President Donald Trump's order to stop briefly spending from the nation's environment and infrastructure laws is a chance for Europe to bring in tidy tech investments, Poland's deputy environment minister informed Reuters. Trump recently purchased a time out on funds from the Inflation Decrease Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - Biden-era plans for spending and tax credits in tidy markets. The White House said the pause targets programs that dissuade nonrenewable fuel source development or support electric lorries. I think this is our moment. This is our window of chance, since lots of companies I...

Europe

Climate Change

Draft shows EU's plans to simplify rules for farm subsidies worth billions of dollars

Draft documents seen by revealed that the European Union has plans to simplify the rules governing their massive farming subsidy program, as Brussels seeks to reduce the regulatory burden for local businesses. This could have a major impact on the amount of money that EU spends. Around a third (or 387 billion euros) of the EU's budget for 2021-2027 is allocated to payments made by the EU Common Agricultural Policy. The draft calendar of upcoming European Commission policies seen by revealed that the Commission would propose a CAP'simplification package' in the second half of this year. In a second draft...

Fossil Fuels

In Cyprus, schools have started a "frying pan movement" to collect cooking oil as fuel

Scientists from Cyprus have recruited children to recycle used cooking oils into biofuel as part of an international-acclaimed initiative. The "Tiganokinisi" initiative, or frying pan, visits schools with a caravan. It performs experiments and encourages the children to bring used cooking oil to school. This is collected, filtered, and then sold to be used for biodiesel. Cyprus wants to play its part in tackling a global problem that sees millions litres used cooking oil being thrown out every year. This often clogs drains, causes fires at landfills or pollutes underground water. The logistics of collecting this half-litre cooking oil (from...

Environment

Novo Nordisk, a maker of Wegovy, says that the rapid growth is driving up emissions.

The company announced on Wednesday that Novo Nordisk's emissions will grow by 23% in 2024 and continue to rise through the end decade, as the company increases production of its blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy. As demand for Wegovy increases, the company spends billions of dollars to increase its production. In an interview, Katrine DiBona (corporate vice president for global public affairs and Sustainability at Novo Nordisk) said that "Emissions are a result of growth." The Danish pharmaceutical company said that its plans for expansion do not alter its commitment to its 2045 goal of net zero emissions, which it...

Western Europe

South America

Environment

Brazil's carbon trading takes off but agribusiness is not scrutinized

Brazil sets basic rules on its carbon market Largest polluters, farmers escape cap to emissions Protecting natural areas will receive more funding By Andre Cabette Fabio The rules don't limit emissions from agriculture, which is the top sector in the country for carbon pollution, accounting for 74% of all emissions. "We missed the chance to bring agribusiness into a regulated sector, which would not only limit emissions but also promote sustainability," said Gabriela Savian. She is the deputy director of policy at IPAM, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute. According to Natalie Unterstell of Instituto Talanoa in Brazil, a climate policy...

Climate Change

Chile orders Lundin copper mine to close after massive sinkhole

The environmental regulator of Chile said that Canadian mining company Lundin will have to permanently close the Alcaparrosa Copper Mine in Chile after a sinkhole opened up near the mine in 2022. Lundin had stopped work on the site when a sinkhole of more than 60 meters in depth opened up in the Tierra Amarilla Village in northern Chile. However, it had pushed for the restarting of mining at Alcaparrosa. The SMA regulator in Chile said that they had determined that Lundin is responsible for the sinkhole and that the company must close the mine. They also fined the company...

Mineral Resources

Chilean miner Codelco plans 25% cut in indirect emissions by 2030

Chilean stateowned miner Codelco stated on Tuesday it is preparing a 25% cut in its indirect emissions by 2030, as part of a bigger decarbonization plan and as market needs grow for more traceable copper. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Codelco is the world's biggest copper manufacturer, and mining is a greatly polluting market. Studies point to mining as accountable for 4% to 7% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. CONTEXT Codelco prepares to cut its so-called Scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions put out by its providers and the most tough to minimize. These contaminating inputs include dynamites, refractories and lubricants,...

Climate Change

Brazil taps COP30 head, warns of Trump's influence on climate talks

Brazil's newly nominated head of the planned 2025 COP30 environment summit in the Amazonian city of Belem alerted on Tuesday that President Donald Trump's. decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Arrangement. would cast a shadow over the talks. We are still examining President Trump's statements,. but there is no doubt they will have a substantial effect on. preparation for COP30, Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago told. press reporters on Tuesday quickly after he was named to the post. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 pact right after. taking workplace for a second non-consecutive term on Monday,....

Environment

Argentina crops threatened by ongoing drought regardless of recent rains

Recent rains in Argentina's farming heartland have not relieved issues that ongoing dry spell might even more injure crop yields, the Rosario grains exchange stated in a report launched on Monday. Argentina, a leading exporter of processed soybeans and other grains, has actually been struck by an almost month-long dry spell playing out in the Southern Hemisphere's summer. A current heat wave has intensified concerns for the crops. While rains fell over the nation's significant farmland last weekend, the grains exchange kept in mind in its weekly crop weather condition report that the precipitation differed widely over the area. It...

Pollution

Ternium sits back after Mexico guard dog halts wastewater release

Steelmaker Ternium stated on Wednesday stated that wastewater from a plant in Mexico was not a contaminant, after the country's ecological watchdog Profepa said it had ordered Ternium to momentarily stop the flow of wastewater out of the site. Profepa said Ternium had actually been spilling its wastewater in a. tributary of the Atoyac river without a license, however Ternium said. this was not the case and that the problem with the regulator. was over continuous bureaucratic processes worrying. inconsistencies in the name of the company on licenses. The Atoyac river in central Mexico is one of the. most-polluted rivers...

Climate Change

Argentine heat wave to harm crops before next rains, specialist states

Argentina's soybean and corn crops will have to endure a heat wave over the next couple of days that will affect their yields, leading meteorologist German Heinzenknecht said on Monday, before rains bring some relief by the start of the weekend. Argentina, a significant world provider of soy, corn and wheat, has actually seen its main agricultural area deal with a prolonged drought because the beginning of the Southern Hemisphere's summertime last month. Heinzenknecht, a meteorologist at the CCA environment consultancy, forecasted that a front of rain would be available in on Friday, introducing the start of a normalization in...

Climate Change

Hot Argentine summer season is beginning to harm crops, exchanges state

A hot, dry austral summertime is beginning to cause damage to Argentina's 2024/25 soybean and corn crops, the country's 2 primary grains exchanges said on Friday, after plentiful spring rains had until just recently provided excellent growing conditions. Argentina is the world's largest exporter of soybean oil and meal and the third biggest exporter of corn, along with a major wheat provider. Until a couple of weeks earlier, the Buenos Aires grains exchange (BdeC) had reported practically no indications of crop damage thanks to wet spring weather. As summertime started in late December, however, it started to see effect on...

Climate Change

Hot Argentine summer is beginning to damage crops, exchange says

A hot, dry austral summer season is starting to cause damages to Argentina's 2024/25 soybean and corn crops, the Buenos Aires grains exchange stated on Friday, after it had actually reported practically perfect growing conditions thanks to abundant spring rains. Argentina is the world's biggest exporter of soybean oil and meal and the 3rd biggest exporter of corn, in addition to a significant wheat provider. Till a couple of weeks ago, the exchange had reported virtually no signs of crop damage thanks to damp spring weather. Nevertheless, as summertime started in late December, it started to see effect on crops...

Environment

Brazil court suspends law cutting tax breaks for firms with logging soy commitment

A justice on Brazil's top court on Thursday suspended a law from the nation's leading soyproducing state that would end tax breaks for firms following an agreement to not buy soy from deforested areas of the Amazon jungle. Justice Flavio Dino suspended the law from the western state of Mato Grosso from going into effect on Jan. 1 till a final choice is made by the court. WHY IT is necessary Brazil is the world's largest soy producer and exporter, and Mato Grosso is the top-producing state. The Amazon soy moratorium arrangement, applauded by scientists and conservationists, was willingly signed...

Climate Change

Peru declares ecological emergency situation after oil spill

Peru's government on Thursday stated an ecological emergency situation in a northern coastal area, where state oil company Petroperu last weekend spilled a crude oil delivery into surrounding waters of the Pacific Ocean. A vessel carrying out pre-shipment maneuvers triggered the spill on Saturday at a terminal of Peru's Talara refinery in northern Peru. Petroperu has actually not stated how much crude was spilled into the sea, however Peru's ecological watchdog OEFA stated in a. preliminary report it has affected some 10,000 square meters of. surface seawater, and the environment ministry said it has. impacted a minimum of seven beaches,...

Oil & Gas Exploration

Chile's Codelco to release lower carbon explosives in copper mine

Chile's staterun copper miner, Codelco, will begin using explosives with a substantially lower carbon footprint at its Radomiro Tomic mine, the business revealed on Thursday. Dynamites are utilized in mines to break up rocks to more quickly process them and extract important metals. WHY IT is essential Codelco is the world's largest copper manufacturer and its choice to use alternative explosives underscores the increasing pressure on mining companies to boost their ecological standards and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. The pressure is especially high for copper mining which has traditionally been more carbon-intensive. BY THE NUMBERS The new dynamites are anticipated...