Transmission road map could help unlock renewables

For the first time in a decade, the grid operator for much of the central United States has put forward a long-range transmission road map calling for tens of billions of dollars in new projects to help states and utilities across the region boost renewables and reach their climate goals.

www.eenews.net

Macron says Biden is "100% right" to push for more action on climate change

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the U.S. back into the Paris climate accords on Sunday, saying President Biden was "100% right" to rejoin the agreement and seek further cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.

www.cbsnews.com

Israel looks to reduce gas emissions by 80% by 2050

Israel will look to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 80% by 2050 as part of its long-term plan to reduce pollution, the Energy Ministry says,

www.jpost.com

Science could aid climate cases. Big Oil is fighting it

There's a new weapon in legal cases against large emitters: scientific studies that show the links between a carbon source and climate impacts like rising seas. Here's how energy companies are trying to discredit the researchers.

www.eenews.net

Noxious neighbors: The EPA knows tanks holding heavy fuels emit harmful chemicals. Why are Americans still at risk?

The EPA has been aware for more than a decade that companies are underreporting emissions, using equations developed by the petroleum industry that are often wrong.

insideclimatenews.org

Germany’s surging Greens step up election race to succeed Merkel

Five months before national elections, a Green party that once styled itself as the rebel of German politics is finding itself in an unusually respectable position.

www.theguardian.com

Richard Denniss: How can NSW allow new coalmines while committing to net zero emissions? It’s bizarre

New mines won't boost world demand for Australian coal — but they will cannibalise jobs from existing coalmines.

www.theguardian.com

Amid climate change, controversial $2.5B oil terminal moves forward in Plaquemines Parish

Even as President Joe Biden and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards take on climate change, a Midwest energy company and Plaquemines Parish officials are reviving efforts to build an oil pipeline and Mississippi River export terminal that would emit more than 500,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year.

www.nola.com

Gas is cheap; why aren't WV ratepayers benefiting?

A little-known law has allowed natural gas companies to charge West Virginians for expensive pipeline projects with little oversight.

mountainstatespotlight.org

Debate heats up over role of carbon offsets in Biden's 'net-zero' goal

Environmentalists are debating how carbon offsets should fit into President Biden's goal of putting the country on track to reach “net-zero" emissions by 2050.

thehill.com

Why spy agencies say the future Is bleak

Climate change, technology, disease and financial crises will pose big challenges for the world, an intelligence report concludes.

www.nytimes.com

Pennsylvania DEP looks to address environmental justice concerns in RGGI rule

An update to the proposed regulation to join the cap-and-trade program adds a set of equity principles and a commitment to assess air quality.

stateimpact.npr.org

World whiffs on Biden's pleas for bold climate pledges

After four years of Trump, world leaders are wary of jumping too quickly to follow Washington's lead.

www.politico.com

Washington State plans to phase out new gas cars by 2030

It’s the most aggressive target of any state so far.

www.fastcompany.com

Google Earth's new time-lapse feature reveals decades of planetary damage

Watch glaciers melting, forests disappearing, and lakes shrinking over four decades.

www.fastcompany.com

Oakland Stadium project foes see gentrification behind new development

Critics say the Oakland A’s waterfront development would cost port jobs and increase pollution and traffic.

capitalandmain.com

The coming battle over building better highways

The Biden infrastructure plan pledges a rethink of federal transportation priorities. But the government agencies that build and maintain U.S. highways might not all be along for the ride.

www.bloomberg.com

It's time to knock the toilet off its pedestal

The flush toilet may be the world’s gold standard for sanitation, but the sewer infrastructure it demands is inefficient, costly and outdated.

www.bloomberg.com

As Biden shifts infrastructure focus to climate and racial justice, cities and states alter pitches for federal money

The Department of Transportation has tied $2 billion in coveted grant funds to the administration’s social-justice goals.

www.washingtonpost.com

Japan bets on hydrogen to lift its ambitious carbon-neutral plans

But renewable energy experts have mixed feelings on the “hydrogen society” push to be showcased at the Tokyo Olympics.

www.washingtonpost.com

Antarctica cruises are booming. But can the continent handle it?

For Antarctic expedition cruise operators, conservation is self-preservation.

www.washingtonpost.com

U.S. trade representative uses her first speech to call for action on climate change

Her speech was another example of how the Biden administration is seeking to address climate change across the vast machinery of the federal government.

www.nytimes.com

Groups take aim at New Mexico drilling plan amid US review

Several groups shared their frustrations over development on federal land that's considered sacred surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico.

apnews.com

South Korea faces a public reckoning for financing coal plants in Indonesia

The coastal town of Suralaya in Indonesia's West Java province has eight coal-fired power generating units in its vicinity, which residents blame for respiratory ailments and declining fish catches.

news.mongabay.com

Canada's methane emissions are likely undercounted, and that makes them harder to cut

The government estimates methane emissions in the oil and gas sector by mostly relying on mathematical modelling based on a small number of field measurements. But researchers say the government is underestimating those emissions, and better measurement techniques are possible.

www.cbc.ca

Arctic disaster responders train together in a first-of-its-kind joint exercise

As shipping, tourism and resource extraction increase in the Arctic, so does the risk of maritime incidents.

www.arctictoday.com

Utilities mobilize as clean energy standards get traction

Clean electricity standard proposals are getting attention from high-profile players in energy and advocacy, as lobbying ramps up ahead of a congressional push on climate policy.

www.eenews.net

Regulators rebuke PG&E for neglect in reducing wildfire risk

California regulators are stepping up their oversight of Pacific Gas & Electric after finding that the nation's largest utility has neglected the maintenance of an electrical grid that has ignited a series of deadly wildfires in Northern California and forced periodic blackouts affecting millions of people.

apnews.com

Biden tries to reset the climate on climate change

As President Biden gets set to hold a virtual climate summit next week, he faces a series of hard choices - and a difficult sales job.

www.latimes.com

Shell calls on investors to vote for its new climate strategy

Royal Dutch Shell has urged investors to vote for its strategy to shift the business towards cleaner energy sources, despite warnings that the plan does not go far enough to meet the Paris climate agreement goals.

www.theguardian.com

U.S. seeks to polish tarnished reputation with new climate change pledges

The United States hopes to restore its shattered credibility when it hosts a climate change summit next week by pledging to cut its greenhouse emissions by at least half and securing agreements from allies for faster reductions, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

www.reuters.com

It was an old apple orchard. Now it could be the future of clean hydrogen energy in Washington state

Billions of dollars are being invested globally in clean hydrogen development. But massive amounts of electricity would be required to make the clean-burning fuel, extracted from water, a building block of the 21st century low-carbon economy.

insideclimatenews.org

How Texas’s zombie oil wells are creating an environmental disaster zone

Thousands of abandoned oil wells dot the Permian Basin in west Texas and New Mexico, endangering humans and wildlife. With oil costs plummeting, they’re likely to proliferate. Who is going to cover the cleanup costs?

www.theguardian.com

Seeking cooperation on climate, U.S. faces friction with China

John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy, is pressing China to do more to address global warming. But he faces an emboldened Beijing leadership that thinks the United States has lagged behind.

www.nytimes.com

Women protest Niger Delta oil pollution

After decades of oil pollution, women especially have suffered the consequences of serious pollution, and the health problems associated with it. But they are now leading the movement to change that.