Climate Change

"As winter nears, European nations, desperate to replace the natural gas they once bought from Russia, have embraced a short-term fix: A series of roughly 20 floating terminals that would receive liquefied natural gas from other countries and convert it into heating fuel."

"The Biden administration’s efforts to develop a more energy-dense nuclear fuel got a sudden $700 million windfall in the climate-and-tax bill signed into law this month, a boost for the agency’s plans to demonstrate two next-generation reactors before the end of the decade, energy officials and nuclear supporters said."

"Global public subsidies for fossil fuels almost doubled to $700bn in 2021, analysis has shown, representing a “roadblock” to tackling the climate crisis." "Support amid huge industry profits is a ‘roadblock’ to tackling climate crisis, says International Energy Agency".

"Excessive heat warnings are in place for a large swath of the Southwest, and the dangerous heat could lead to an uptick in wildfire activity across areas hit hard by drought."

"John Kerry, the Biden administration’s special presidential envoy for climate, has praised China’s efforts at tackling global warming and urged Beijing to resume suspended talks on the issue, even as tensions flare with Washington over the status of Taiwan."

"Maine’s highest court ruled today that a 2021 ballot initiative seeking to block construction of a 145-mile transmission line was unconstitutional, potentially reviving efforts to build a high-profile project that would carry Canadian hydropower to New England."

"California’s decision to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars beginning in 2035 will also halt the sale of such vehicles in Virginia due to a 2021 law linking the commonwealth to the western state’s vehicle emissions standards, state attorneys have concluded."

"Enforcement could be complex and legal challenges are likely. But ultimately, experts say, success or failure will depend on steady supply and buyers’ appetite."

"The familiar ingredients of a warming world were in place: searing temperatures, hotter air holding more moisture, extreme weather getting wilder, melting glaciers, people living in harm’s way, and poverty. They combined in vulnerable Pakistan to create unrelenting rain and deadly flooding."