"United Nations annual climate talks stuttered to a start Monday with more than nine hours of backroom bickering over what should be on the agenda for the next two weeks. It then turned to the main issue: money."
"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."
Again this year, a petrostate hosts the COP climate gathering. Azerbaijan as host not only raises questions of how an oil-rich nation can help foster the fossil fuel cuts needed to stem climate change. But WatchDog Opinion also worries what Azerbaijan’s poor press freedom record will mean for journalists covering the gathering and for the civil society that normally enlivens the meeting.
Following Donald Trump’s election to a second term, SEJournal revisits our prospective coverage of his upcoming administration. Read what a Trump 2.0 would mean for the environment, take a closer look at how the Justice40 program hangs in balance and whether weather data would be withheld from the public. That, and more WatchDog Opinion columns on prospects under Trump. Plus, Trump-environment headlines.
The United Nation’s annual climate change meeting is underway this week and if you’re seeking databases on greenhouse gas emissions, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox suggests they might not be from the U.N. Instead, look for the best data from the European Commission’s EDGAR project. What makes EDGAR’s data particularly strong and how to make the best use of it in your reporting.
"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."
"The second Trump administration’s federal lands agenda is widely expected to promote fossil fuels development and reverse Biden administration conservation efforts, moves environmental groups say they’ll litigate at every opportunity."
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