Environmental Politics

"At a May-June meeting in Paris, the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) agreed to create, and submit by November, a first draft of an international plan to end plastic pollution by 2040. The United States declined to join the 58-nation “High Ambition Coalition” to create a legally-binding cradle-to-grave plan to address plastic production and use."

"States facing mounting costs over the cleanup of “forever chemicals” have directed their attention at chemical manufacturers, with a flurry of lawsuits coming as the companies reach large settlements over similar pollution claims."

"If the words “public utilities commission” put you to sleep, you’re not alone. These are the government agencies that regulate utilities — companies that supply us with electricity, gas, water and more. All 50 states have them — and as boring as they sound, their work affects our daily lives."

"A new scientific assessment of government commitments to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions found most lack credibility and would put the world on track to experience catastrophic global warming by the end of this century."

"As wildfires in Canada have sent masses of smoke over the United States this week, engulfing much of the Northeast in a yellow haze of hazardous air pollution, scientists are clear that we are seeing the effects of climate change. But the Republicans campaigning for the presidency have largely downplayed the issue and rejected policies that would slow rising temperatures."

"A Virginia regulatory board on Wednesday voted to withdraw the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, fulfilling a directive from Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin but triggering the threat of legal action from environmental groups who say the board overstepped its authority."

"The United Arab Emirates’ state oil company has been able to read emails to and from the Cop28 climate summit office and was consulted on how to respond to a media inquiry, the Guardian can reveal."

"Like the tobacco industry before it, the chemical industry managed to keep PFAS’s health risks hidden from the public for decades. A new peer-reviewed study dissecting PFAS producers’ public relations strategies provides a smoking gun timeline composed of industry studies and comments from DuPont and 3M officials showing they knew the dangers, but publicly insisted the chemicals were safe."

"One of the world’s wealthiest oil states is engaged in a wide-ranging public relations and lobbying campaign to cast itself as an environmental leader before it hosts the United Nations’ next climate talks in November. But the United Arab Emirates’ efforts are colliding with a barrage of criticism from lawmakers and environmentalists in both the U.S. and Europe, who scoff at the idea that the oil-flush nation is committed to helping shift the world off planet-heating fossil fuels.