Energy & Environment
The latest updates on energy and environment news, analysis and opinion covering energy policy and its impact on resources and climate.
Trump nominees plan quick U.S. energy revival
A trio of Trump nominees plan to jumpstart the nation’s energy production and reverse a slate of Biden-era policies aimed at eliminating fossil fuels.
A proposed deal on climate cash at U.N. summit highlights split between rich and poor nations
A new draft of a United Nations deal to curb and adapt to climate change pledged $250 billion by 2035 from wealthy countries to poorer ones. The amount, released Friday afternoon at the U.N. climate summit, pleases the countries who will be doling out the money but not those in need.
U.N. climate summit in Baku: Negotiators urged to get down to business as talks enter second week
United Nations climate talks resumed Monday with negotiators pressed to make progress on a deal that could see developing countries get more money to spend on clean energy and adapting to climate-charged weather extremes.
Typhoon Man-yi leaves 7 dead in Philippines and worsens crisis from back-to-back storms
Typhoon Man-yi left at least seven people dead in a landslide, destroyed houses and displaced large numbers of villagers before blowing away from the northern Philippines, worsening the crisis wreaked by multiple back-to-back storms, officials said Monday.
India’s capital chokes as air pollution levels hit 50 times the safe limit
Authorities in India’s capital shut schools, halted construction and banned non-essential trucks from entering the city on Monday after air pollution shot up to its worst level this season.
Tropical Storm Sara hits Honduras’ northern coast with flash flooding and mudslides in forecast
Tropical Storm Sara stalled over Honduras on Saturday, drenching the northern coast of the Central American nation, swelling rivers and trapping some people at home.
MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays to play at Yankees’ spring training field in 2025 after hurricane damage
MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays will be playing at the Tampa spring training field of their American League East rivals the New York Yankees for the entirety of the 2025 season.
Trump Interior nominee Burgum to head new Energy Council
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who was formally announced Friday as President-elect Trump’s choice to lead the Interior Department, will play a key role in pushing the incoming president’s agenda to increase oil, natural gas and coal production on public lands.
The world’s most polluting cities are revealed at COP29 as frustration grows at fossil fuel presence
Cities in Asia and the United States emit the most heat-trapping gas that feeds climate change, with Shanghai the most polluting, according to new data that combines observations and artificial intelligence.
Tropical Storm Sara threatens to bring mudslides and flash floods to Central America
Tropical Storm Sara formed Thursday in the Caribbean Sea and began lashing the sparsely-populated Caribbean coast of Honduras with heavy rain.
House Republicans demand answers from FEMA on why pro-Trump homes were skipped
Dozens of House Republicans demanded on Thursday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency explain why homes with pro-Trump campaign signs were skipped over during hurricane relief operations, and to fire anyone involved.
South African government says it won’t help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine
South Africa’s government says it will not help 4,000 illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.
Japan’s nuclear watchdog disqualifies a reactor for the first time since Fukushima disaster
Japan’s nuclear watchdog on Wednesday formally disqualified a reactor in the country’s north-central region from restarting, the first rejection under safety standards that were reinforced after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The decision is a setback for Japan as it seeks to accelerate reactor restarts to maximize nuclear power.
ExxonMobil chief urges Trump to remain in Paris climate deal
The chief of ExxonMobil is pressing President-elect Donald Trump to stay in the Paris accord on climate, saying another withdrawal would confuse investors.
Dutch appeals court overturns landmark climate ruling against Shell
A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday overturned a landmark ruling that ordered energy company Shell to cut its carbon emissions by net 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, while saying that “protection against dangerous climate change is a human right.”
Earth’s biggest polluters aren’t sending leaders to U.N. climate talks in a year of weather extremes
World leaders are converging Tuesday at the United Nations annual climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan although the big names and powerful countries are noticeably absent, unlike past climate talks which had the star power of a soccer World Cup.
Trump taps former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead EPA
President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he will nominate former Rep. Lee Zeldin, New York Republican, to head the Environmental Protection Agency, putting a key Trump loyalist in line for the helm of a critical regulatory agency.
Climate talks open with calls for a path away from the ‘road to ruin,’ but the real focus is money
Soaring rhetoric, urgent pleas and pledges of cooperation contrasted with a backdrop of seismic political changes, global wars and economic hardships as United Nations annual climate talks began Monday and got right to the hard part: money.
FEMA fires employee who ordered workers to skip homes with Trump signs
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell said Saturday it has fired the employee accused of ordering relief ad workers to skip homes in Florida that had signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump.
Severe droughts threaten the sustainable catch of the Amazon’s giant fish
Two years of record-breaking drought have dealt a heavy blow to what is arguably the Amazon’s most successful sustainable economy: the managed fishery for the giant pirarucu.
Southern California wildfire destroys 132 structures as officials look for fierce winds to subside
Southern California firefighters working to contain a wildfire that has destroyed 132 structures in two days could be assisted by a forecast of fierce wind gusts easing early Friday, officials said.
New Mexico governor declares emergency as western winter storm leaves thousands without power
New Mexico’s governor declared an emergency Thursday after a powerful winter storm left tens of thousands of people without power as heavy snow, fierce winds and freezing temperatures marched across the northern two-thirds of the state and into Colorado.
Crews battling New Jersey wildfires in driest conditions in nearly 120 years
Firefighters were battling blazes in the parched New Jersey Pinelands on Thursday, where they say conditions are the driest they have been in at least 120 years.
Carbon pollution from high-flying rich in private jets soars
Carbon pollution from private jets has soared in the past five years, with most of those small planes spewing more heat-trapping carbon dioxide in about two hours of flying than the average person does in about a year, a new study finds.
Fast-moving mountain wildfire in California forces 10,000 to evacuate near Los Angeles
A fast-moving wildfire fueled by heavy winds was tearing through a community northwest of Los Angeles for a second day Thursday after destroying dozens of homes and forcing thousands of residents to flee when it exploded in size in only a few hours.
