January 8, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
New Clark City, a $2.5 billion project in the Philippines, is designed to be a climate-resilient urban hub with plans for green infrastructure, renewable energy, and flood-resista
US FERC pulls back from expanded environmental reviews for gas projects
Summary
The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission looks to be withdrawing from a practice of doing environmental impact statements (EISs) for most projects that add capacity and have incremental greenhouse gas emissions, which might shorten natural gas project assessment processes. The commission issued updated notifications on Jan. 27 scheduling environmental assessments (EAs) for three pipeline expansion projects, setting dates several months earlier than originally scheduled EISs. FERC's current practice of often resorting to EISs, even for some smaller projects with potential increased GHG emissions, arose from Chairman Richard Glick's attempts to determine how the commission would assess GHG and climate consequences related with gas infrastructure expansions. Glick said that completing EISs where there were additional GHG emissions would assist make FERC's decisions more legally durable in the face of legal challenges and in response to federal appeals court guidance. According to Christi Tezak, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners, the shift in dates for the three projects might be an early hint that Phillips is moving toward a middle ground on where he wants to take the gas project certificate evaluations and FERC's draft policy statements, and may concentrate on direct emissions and mitigation while disregarding indirect consequences. Still, Moneen Nasmith, senior attorney with Earthjustice, said the change in timeline for the three projects raises major concerns. Because of the disparities in the dates for parties to intervene, it presents a serious challenge for public participation for the three projects with revised timelines. Nasmith was also concerned that returning to an EA would imply a presumption that the projects will have no substantial environmental effect.
January 8, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
President Biden’s new ban on offshore oil and gas drilling excludes the western Gulf of Mexico, the area responsible for 97% of U.S. offshore oil production. The ban protects the
UN Special Rapporteur Elisa Morgera has called for fundamental reforms to the global climate regime, criticizing the current system as ineffective and dominated by misinformation
January 4, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
Rising sea levels caused by climate change threaten to severely damage 13 major oil ports globally, including key facilities in Saudi Arabia, the US, China, and the Netherlands. A
January 3, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
In a landmark decision, the Montana Supreme Court ruled 6-1 in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs in *Held v. Montana*, affirming their constitutional right to a “clean and healthful en
January 3, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
AI-driven weather forecasting models are proving faster, cheaper, and more accurate than traditional numerical methods reliant on expensive supercomputers. These tools leverage ma
January 3, 2025
Energy Justice
Energy Justice
Elon Musk, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, will lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President-elect Donald Trump. Tasked with cutting $2 trillion in federal spend
January 2, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
Texans are increasingly adopting microgrids as a solution to frequent winter power outages, driven by extreme weather events and grid reliability concerns. Unlike generators, micr
January 2, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
Chicago’s municipal buildings, including airports and water treatment plants, now run entirely on renewable energy, powered by the new Double Black Diamond Solar Farm in Illinois.
January 1, 2025
Climate Change
Climate Change
In Mexico, extreme heat disproportionately affects young people, with workers aged 18–34 and children under 5 facing the highest heat-related mortality rates. A study analyzing 73
Thermal energy networks, or neighborhood-wide ground-source heat pump systems, are emerging as a revolutionary approach to decarbonizing heating and cooling. These systems use int
December 30, 2024
Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice
Texas’s rapid population growth and infrastructure demands pose challenges for equitable development. With $104 billion allocated in the 2025 United Transportation Program, the Te
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act, requiring fossil fuel companies to pay $75 billion over 25 years for climate damage repair and resilience p
Battery storage for clean energy surged in 2024, with U.S. capacity increasing by 71% to 24 gigawatt-hours. Batteries help reduce reliance on polluting "peaker" plants by storing
December 26, 2024
Climate Change
Climate Change
Brooklyn homeowners in historically disinvested neighborhoods are benefitting from EnergyFit, a program retrofitting two- and three-family homes with energy-efficient upgrades.