ClimateWire News
Offshore wind’s cloudy day had a silver lining
The country’s largest offshore wind farm started generating electricity Monday as another developer accepted nearly $1 billion to ditch two planned projects.
Why Democrats aren’t pulling the plug on permitting talks
The administration on Monday cheered a deal to end two offshore wind projects. Democrats aren't happy but are staying the course on permitting.
EPA watchdog vindicates selection process for Biden EJ grants
The inspector general said the previous administration set appropriate controls when awarding grants for curbing local pollution.
Minnesota aims to fund its home-hardening program — at last
The state has never approved grant money for its program to help residents upgrade their homes and protect against extreme weather.
New York’s governor softens commitment to ‘cap and invest’
Gov. Kathy Hochul once touted a carbon pricing program on a global stage but has been raising concerns about the potential costs.
Record heat moves eastward: ‘Basically the entire US is going to be hot’
From one-quarter to one-third of the Lower 48 states will be flirting with heat records for March, said a National Weather Service official.
US presses EU to ease methane rules on imports, warns of energy supply risk
Even before the Iran war, the EU’s rules to tackle methane, a potent greenhouse gas, had come under heavy criticism from the U.S.
Hedge fund Fermat pushes back against proposed EU catastrophe bond regs
The market for cat bonds has seen rapid growth in recent years as insurance firms look for ways to transfer mounting levels of risk from their books to the capital markets.
Africa’s solar boom faces higher costs as China cuts export subsidies
The changes, expected to take effect April 1 for solar panels and beginning next year for batteries, may complicate efforts to expand renewable energy to close vast electricity gaps across the continent.
It's three times harder for blue states to get disaster funding under Trump
The president has approved just 23 percent of blue state requests for disaster aid, compared to 89 percent for red states.
Microsoft spends billions on nascent carbon dioxide removal
The tech giant is trying to jump-start an industry that can address climate change by storing greenhouse gas emissions underground.
Court rejects NEPA claims against South Fork wind farm
The judge did allow a nonprofit group and historic property owners to continue a Clean Water Act claim against the South Fork project.
Insurance giant urges court to block climate lawsuit
Chubb faces litigation over its decision to bar a proposal for a study on the shareholder benefits of suing entities responsible for climate change.
NY enviros seethe, business groups applaud Hochul’s proposed climate changes
The governor's pitch to weaken New York’s climate law has support from powerful business interests and labor unions.
House panels set eyes on weather spending, flood insurance
A top NOAA official will brief appropriators on National Weather Service operations.
Historic Hawaii floods leave 2,000 people without power
Gov. Josh Green said the cost of the storm could top $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, homes and a Maui hospital in Kula.
Vatican launches campaign to encourage mining industry divestment
The effort takes as its inspiration Pope Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical “Praised Be.”
Australia’s New South Wales state announces ban on future coal mines
The state government will not approve so-called greenfield coal mines, which are developed from scratch, in a move designed to meet its net-zero target.
Carbon removal hubs languish as DOE audits drag on
Two megaprojects that were awarded more than $1 billion in federal subsidies have stalled under President Donald Trump.
Strike on key Iranian gas field is a new phase of the war. Trump blames Israel.
Israel’s targeting of the South Pars gas field is a major escalation in the war that energy watchers feared could turbocharge the economic disruption.
