Climate Law & Liability Archives - Inside Climate News

Tensions Rise in the Rio Grande Basin as Mexico Lags in Water Deliveries to the U.S.

Sun, 08 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

In 2020, rebellious Mexican farmers occupied a dam in parched Chihuahua state to prevent the federal government from sending its reservoir water to Texas under a 1944 treaty. With the clock ticking toward another treaty deadline, the two sides are struggling for a solution.

By Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News, and photos by Omar Ornelas, El Paso Times

This story, reported with a grant from The Water Desk at the University of Colorado Boulder, is published in partnership with the El Paso Times.

Pope Francis: ‘Irresponsible’ Western Lifestyles Push the World to ‘the Breaking Point’ on Climate

By James Bruggers — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 09:15:00 +0000

The 86-year-old leader of the 1.3 billion-member Catholic Church bluntly urges more aggressive action to curb emissions at the next U.N. climate meeting in eight weeks.

By James Bruggers

Taking aim at the United States and an “irresponsible lifestyle” with some of the world’s highest carbon emissions per capita, Pope Francis on Wednesday doubled down on his earlier call for urgent action to tackle climate change, while also criticizing a failing global response to the crisis.

Crucial for a Clean Energy Economy, the Aluminum Industry’s Carbon Footprint Is Enormous

By Phil McKenna — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:01:00 +0000

A new report finds aluminum manufacturing worldwide emits more than a billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, as well as chemicals called perfluorocarbons that warm the planet for 50,000 years.

By Phil McKenna

Aluminum is crucial for a clean energy economy, but its production is a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions as well as toxic air and water pollution, according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project on the “paradox” of aluminum.

Why Maryland Is Struggling to Meet Its Own Aggressive Climate Goals

By Aman Azhar — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 15:52:38 +0000

Even as federal money pours in for emissions reductions programs, the state still supports contentious waste-to-energy trash incineration and has trouble promptly connecting wind and solar projects to the grid.

By Aman Azhar

Climate and environmental activists are advocating an end to waste-to-energy trash incinerators and an accelerated transition to wind and solar energy as the Maryland Department of the Environment considers proposals for achieving the state’s ambitious climate targets ahead of next year’s legislative session.

Illinois’ Signature Climate Law Has Been Slow to Fulfill Promises for Clean Energy and Jobs

By Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times, and Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 09:15:00 +0000

Under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, renewable energy, such as solar and wind, is supposed to account for one-quarter of all power by 2025. Today, renewable sources make up only 10.5 percent of power.

By Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times, and Dan Gearino, Inside Climate News

This article is published in partnership with the Chicago Sun-Times.

Biden Finds Funds to Launch an ‘American Climate Corps’ With Existing Authority Congress Has Given to Agencies

By Marianne Lavelle — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 20:55:21 +0000

A New Deal-style climate jobs program, enormously popular with young voters, never got needed support directly from Congress.

By Marianne Lavelle

On a week when tens of thousands of people took to the streets ahead of the United Nations General Assembly to renew calls for climate action, President Joe Biden revived one of the most popular platforms of his original plan for tackling the crisis.

Errors In a Federal Carbon Capture Analysis Are a Warning for Clean Energy Spending, Former Official Says

By Nicholas Kusnetz — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 09:27:00 +0000

A coal plant seeking hundreds of millions in public funding submitted an analysis riddled with mistakes, according to a former Energy Department official. But the government published it anyway.

By Nicholas Kusnetz

A former Energy Department official is warning that the government may not be prepared to assess the effectiveness of new clean energy projects, pointing to what she called serious errors in a recent analysis of a major carbon capture and storage proposal in North Dakota.

Q&A: The EPA Dropped a Civil Rights Probe in Louisiana After the State’s AG Countered With a Reverse Discrimination Suit

Interview by Steve Curwood, "Living on Earth" — Sat, 16 Sep 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Who’s responsible for backing off—the EPA, President Joe Biden or Attorney General Merrick Garland?

Interview by Steve Curwood, "Living on Earth"

From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by Host Steve Curwood with Monique Harden, director of law and policy at the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice.

Corporate Nature Restoration Results Murky at Best, Greenwashed at Worst

By Bob Berwyn — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 21:29:34 +0000

A new study shows that many businesses are not transparently reporting the results of their nature restoration efforts.

By Bob Berwyn

Many of the world’s largest companies have voluntarily planted trees and taken other actions to meet climate goals and restore ecosystems, but a “near total” lack of transparency makes it impossible to assess the quality and results of those restoration projects, a team of researchers concluded in a Policy Forum paper published today in Science.

New Research Shows Direct Link Between Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Polar Bear Decline

By Bob Berwyn — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Scientists say their findings could help close a legal loophole that enables the federal government to avoid considering greenhouse gas emissions impacts on threatened and endangered species.

By Bob Berwyn

In 2008, polar bears had the dubious distinction of being the first animal placed on the United States’ endangered species list due to climate threats, specifically the loss of Arctic sea ice.