Pollution

"A senior official at COP29 climate change conference in Azerbaijan appears to have used his role to arrange a meeting to discuss potential fossil fuel deals, the BBC can report. A secret recording shows the chief executive of Azerbaijan's COP29 team, Elnur Soltanov, discussing "investment opportunities" in the state oil and gas company with a man posing as a potential investor."

"As President-elect Donald J. Trump’s transition team plans his energy and environment agenda, it is relying on two seasoned former cabinet leaders and fossil fuel lobbyists to dramatically reshape the agencies charged with protecting the nation’s air, water, climate and public lands, according to six people familiar with the matter."

"President-elect Donald Trump on Monday tapped former representative Lee Zeldin of New York to serve as Environmental Protection Agency administrator, a crucial role that will oversee the rollbacks of dozens of President Joe Biden’s environmental policies."

"New research shows global warming has become the dominant driver of worsening droughts in the Western U.S. Scientists say the severity of future droughts will be determined largely by how much more planet-heating gases humans release into the atmosphere."

"Impounding polluting vehicles. Tearing down kilns. Banning rickshaws. Closing some barbecue restaurants. These are some of the measures officials in Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, have put in place as record-breaking air pollution chokes the region, hospitalizing hundreds and forcing students and workers to stay home."

"Buyouts and budget cuts are some options the president-elect might consider to reduce the agency’s workforce."

"A California landfill has been illegally dumping toxic waste into the Napa River for years, polluting waters that feed a valley known around the world for the quality of its vineyards, according to a federal lawsuit filed by landfill employees."

"About 160 countries and 140 companies pledged to combat the potent greenhouse gas, yet releases from the fossil fuels sector remain near record highs."

"Utility Con Edison and school-bus operator First Student see bus-charging depots equipped with solar and batteries as a win-win that supports the power grid."

"When voters head to the polls on Tuesday to decide the next US president, residents of Sonoma County, California, will be asked to decide another contentious issue – they will be voting on a measure that would make their county the first in the nation to ban factory farms."