Prosecutions encompass a total of 102 alleged offences relating to 26 sites, including Rozelle parklands Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is prosecuting three companies and one individual in response to its investigation into Sydney’s asbestos in mulch scandal. The prosecutions encompass 102 alleged offences relating to 26 sites, including Rozelle parklands. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
EPA Administrator Michael Regan to Step Down at End of This Month
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead EPA lives in an area at high risk for flooding that gets federal support for climate mitigation.
STATEMENT: Biden Administration Announces 2035 Emissions Reduction Target, Setting North Star for Non-Federal Actors alison.cinnamo… Wed, 12/18/2024 - 17:29 WASHINGTON D.C. (December 19, 2024) – Today the U.S. government announced a new climate commitment under the Paris Agreement, known as a nationally determined contribution (NDC). The plan includes a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions 61 to 66% below 2005 levels by 2035. If President Trump follows through with his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the United States would no longer be obligated to strive towards this new target. However, the NDC will serve as an important marker for non-federal actors and future U.S. administrations. The following is a statement from Debbie Weyl, WRI US...
STATEMENT: U.S. EPA Grants California Waiver to Set Strong Tailpipe Pollution Rules for Passenger Cars and Trucks darla.vanhoorn… Wed, 12/18/2024 - 11:19 Washington, D.C. (December 18, 2024) – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted California the authority to enforce strong emissions rules for passenger cars and trucks. California established a rule to phase out new polluting passenger vehicle sales and sell 100% zero-emission vehicles by 2035. Eleven states and Washington D.C. follow California’s light-duty zero-emission vehicles rule. Following is a statement from Dan Lashof, Senior Fellow, WRI United States: “Curbing tailpipe emissions that cause asthma and other harms is not just good policy...
EPA agreed to grant the state’s requests and permit similar proposals from other states, a step Trump has vowed to undo The Biden administration granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions, including a rule aimed at banning sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035 in a move that Donald Trump is expected to roll back immediately. The Environmental Protection Agency said it would grant California’s request for the waivers to allow the state to enforce the proposed rules, the agency announced on Wednesday. Continue reading...
by Sharon Lerner ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. Citing a recent ProPublica investigation, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., urged the Environmental Protection Agency in a letter this week to issue a final report on the health risks of formaldehyde that is “science-based” and “as strong as possible,” adding that “the agency has an obligation to protect the public from the chemical.” Formaldehyde, used for everything from preserving dead bodies to binding wood products...
California policymakers and environmentalists view recent Supreme Court actions as a small victory for clean air, but worry about future legal challenges.
The justices will consider whether challengers can file lawsuits in other federal appeals courts over EPA rules that are not nationwide in scope.
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to grant the state the right to set stronger climate rules for cars, SUVs and pickup trucks as soon as next week.
A new enforcement framework targets states that have failed to enact their own plans for slashing lead, mercury and other pollutants.
Move to ban TCE and perc, commonly used in everyday products, will make it hard for Trump to undo rules The US Environmental Protection Agency has banned perc and TCE, toxic chemicals that are widely used in everyday products but strongly linked to cancer and other serious health problems. The move comes after the first Donald Trump administration killed the process to limit the chemicals’ uses, but the bans make it difficult for the second Trump administration to undo the rules. Continue reading...
Michal Freedhoff, EPA assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said the bans will protect workers, consumers and residents from the chemical’s harms.
A three-judge panel closely questioned EPA on its rule to limit greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.
[IPS] Riyadh & Hyderabad -- While many delegates at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) hope that this could be the convention's own Paris moment--referring to the historic Paris agreement inked by UNFCCC signatories--however, this hedges heavily on the UN parties' seriousness to combat drought, desertification and land degradation.
While many delegates at the 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP16) hope that this could be the convention’s own Paris moment—referring to the historic Paris agreement inked by UNFCCC signatories—however, this hedges heavily on the UN parties’ seriousness to combat drought, desertification and land […]
A three-judge panel will hear arguments about whether carbon capture technology is viable for the electricity sector.
A map by ETC Group and Heinrich Boell Foundation, sheds light on the 'alarming expansion' of geoengineering projects.
The former EPA administrator under then-President Donald Trump said speculation that he would accept a lower office was wrong.
The Finance Ministry is set to propose a carbon tax for cabinet approval on Dec 11.
Legal petition filed by 170 groups pushes environmental agency to tackle pressing health threat of pollution A new legal petition filed by more than 170 top environmental groups demands that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) begin monitoring for microplastics in drinking water, an essential first step to reining in pollution viewed as one of the nation’s most pressing public health threats. The scale of microplastic water pollution, the extent to which the substance is lodged throughout human bodies, and the many health implications have come into sharp focus in recent years, but the EPA still has not taken meaningful action, public health advocates say. Continue reading...
After UCS Report, EPA Limits Emissions of Toxic Gas 2024 Omari Spears Wed, 11/27/2024 - 12:24 Read press release
The options include a cap-and-trade design similar to the European Union’s Emissions Trading System, a ministry official said.
The Climate Justice Alliance’s outspoken advocacy has drawn fire from Republicans critical of the 2022 climate law.
Argentina's abrupt snub of COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan has raised alarm that President Javier Milei -- an ally to US President-elect Donald Trump -- could be looking at pulling out of the Paris accord.
Far-right president may announce country’s departure from agreement after meeting Donald Trump There is growing concern that Argentina’s far-right president, Javier Milei , is set to announce his country’s departure from the Paris climate accord. Earlier this week, negotiators from Milei’s government were ordered to leave the Cop29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, after just three days. Now, the Guardian understands that Milei is considering announcing a formal withdrawal from the agreement, and that a decision could be made after a formal meeting with Donald Trump . Continue reading...
Right-wing President Javier Milei is considering withdrawing Argentina from the Paris climate agreement. Donald Trump has pledged to also remove the United States.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Republican former congressman Lee Zeldin to head the country's Environmental Protection Agency. Zeldin, a Trump loyalist, is expected to undo dozens of environmental regulations.
STATEMENT: UK Releases Ambitious 2035 NDC, Putting Country on Path to Net Zero alison.cinnamo… Tue, 11/12/2024 - 01:06 BAKU (November 12, 2024) — The United Kingdom has announced it will cut its greenhouse gas emissions 81% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels as part of its national climate commitment under the Paris Agreement. This is consistent with the UK’s Climate Change Committee’s advice and the UK’s national Climate Act to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Following is a statement from Stientje van Veldhoven, World Resources Institute’s Vice President and Regional Director for Europe: “The United Kingdom’s new emissions reduction target is a shining example of climate leadership. Let's hope it will inspire other G20 economies to follow suit. The UK’s...
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York to run the Environmental Protection Agency.
Stephen Miller, a longtime Trump policy aide, will serve as deputy chief of staff for policy in the White House.
The state would get $100 million for land it owns with Grand Teton National Park under a plan approved late Thursday.
The “EPA workforce is resilient, fearless, and second to none,” he said, as the agency readies for the second Trump administration.
[FrontPageAfrica] Harbel -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Environmental Research & Radiation Safety (ERRS) division, is investigating Firestone Liberia for allegedly polluting water sources, including creeks and running water supplied to local homes.
[Daily Trust] As the world faces an escalating climate crisis, COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, stands at a pivotal juncture for global cooperation and innovation in climate action. Building on decades of efforts since the first COP in 1995, which led to landmark agreements like the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, this conference holds the potential for substantial breakthroughs in climate finance, equity, and global mitigation efforts. With an urgency to go beyond past promises, the COP29, lasting through 11th-22nd
“It’s been four years that we’ve been marching, and nothing’s changed. They’re spending billions to do their conferences, but they owe us billions in compensation,” one woman said, referring to the countries responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions.
Politicians say use of common yet toxic paraquat can’t be justified due to apparent health and environment risks More than 50 US lawmakers are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to join dozens of other countries in banning a widely used weedkiller linked to Parkinson’s disease and other health dangers. In a 31 October letter to the agency, seven US senators said that paraquat, a weedkiller commonly applied on US farms, was a “highly toxic pesticide whose continued use cannot be justified given its harms to farmworkers and rural communities”. The call for a ban from the senators came after 47 members of the US House of Representatives sent a similar letter to the EPA calling for a ban earlier in October. Continue reading...
They say truck makers may be manipulating the market to “delay or weaken” emission standards.
This alarming trend, driven by fossil fuel emissions, locks in future temperature increases and puts the Paris Agreement goals at risk.
Congress gave the agency a tiny budget to oversee $27 billion in climate funding. EPA is trying to make up for that with bureaucratic safeguards for the grants.
The Environmental Protection Agency Thursday finalized stronger standards for identifying and cleaning up lead paint dust in pre-1978 U.S. homes and child care facilities.
While the Supreme Court usually takes few appeals, the new bid may have greater odds given a recent decision regarding challenges to EPA rules.
The Environmental Protection Agency is about to issue strict limits on lead dust, which poses a threat to millions of children across the United States.
Environmentalist and former Vice President Al Gore visited NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Oct. 16, 2024, to commemorate the upcoming 10th anniversary of the DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) mission. “The image of our Earth from space is the single most compelling iconic image that any of us have ever seen,” […]
Some justices indicated that states and industry groups still have a good shot at defeating EPA's rule curbing power plant emissions.
The U.S. Supreme Court appeared receptive to upholding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's right to place generic limits on ocean sewage discharge as San Francisco took its contentious battle to the high court.
The court’s conservative justices grilled EPA over requirements included in a permit for the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
The Montana Democrat is down in the polls. Could picking a fight with his opponent over public lands help him?
Many Liberal MPs unhappy with their party's performance say change can only happen with a new leader, better communications and a plan to drop unpopular policies.
Chuck Russell has worked in fire management at the National Parks Service and the Bureau of Land Management for over 20 years.
President to announce in Wisconsin EPA rule aimed at ensuring drinking water is safe for all Americans A decade after the Flint, Michigan, water crisis raised alarms about the continuing dangers of lead in tap water, Joe Biden is setting a 10-year deadline for cities across the nation to replace their lead pipes, finalizing an aggressive approach aimed at ensuring that drinking water is safe for all Americans. The president is expected to announce the final Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule Tuesday in the swing state of Wisconsin during the final month of a tight presidential campaign. The announcement highlights an issue – safe drinking water – that Kamala Harris has prioritized as vice-president and during her presidential campaign. The new rule supplants a looser standard set...
Northern Thailand has been hit by severe floods over recent weeks, with Typhoon Yagi worsening the seasonal monsoon rains Two elephants have drowned, while power was cut and hotels were forced to evacuate guests after the Thai tourist hotspot Chiang Mai was hit by its worst flooding in decades over the weekend. Across Thailand, 20 provinces are flooded, including nine in the northern region, where 8,625 households are affected according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Continue reading...
As prime minister Justin Trudeau trails in polls, opposition seek to persuade voters environmental policy is a burden Mass hunger and malnutrition. A looming nuclear winter. An existential threat to the Canadian way of life. For months, the country’s Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has issued dire and increasingly apocalyptic warnings about the future. The culprit? A federal carbon levy meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions. In the House of Commons this month, the Tory leader said there was only one way to avoid the devastating crisis: embattled prime minister Justin Trudeau must “call a ‘carbon tax’ election”. Continue reading...
New vehicle efficiency standards (NVES) will not apply to at least four large vehicles, source says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast New fuel efficiency standards due to come into force from January will not apply to at least four large vehicle models because of a gap within the legislation, the motor industry has been told. The Albanese government said earlier this year its new vehicle efficiency standards (NVES) would save motorists about $1,000 a year while cutting fuel use and carbon emissions. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...
Former EPA chief of staff Mandy Gunasekara also urges the “closing of federal agencies” and firing “bureaucrats with influence on policy” in her new book.
Judge Daniel Calabretta said the court is waiting for EPA to decide whether to approve a state waiver allowing stronger-than-federal rules.
At least 3.5 million people have experienced some kind of water service disruption, according to EPA estimates.
The Excise Department plans to initially implement a carbon tax rate on refined oil equivalent to Singapore's, according to the chief of the Excise Department.
by Sharon Lerner ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning to withdraw and reconsider its approval for Chevron to produce 18 plastic-based fuels, including some that an internal agency assessment found are highly likely to cause cancer. In a recent court filing, the federal agency said it “has substantial concerns” that the approval order “may have been made in error.” The EPA gave a Chevron refinery in Mississippi the...
The Environmental Protection Agency must address concerns about potential health risks posed by the recommended levels of fluoride in the country's drinking water, a federal court in California has ruled.
States would have until 2031 to come up with new pollution-cutting plans geared toward improving visibility at national parks and wilderness areas.
The recommendations for PFAS in rivers, streams and lakes could be used to crack down on polluters, though the Trump administration is not expected to do so.
PHOTO: MfE New Zealand has submitted its first report to the UN on how the country is tracking towards its international climate target to 2030 under the Paris Agreement.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday granted two requests from California to enforce strict standards for vehicle emissions.
EPA Clears Way for California Clean Car Standards
Under the Clean Air Act, California can adopt more stringent vehicle emission requirements than the federal government, but must obtain a waiver from the EPA.
The Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday granted California two waivers allowing the state to implement a ban on gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
The petition calls on EPA to mandate pesticide testing for bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies and moths and to codify pesticide impact tests.
Disproportionate placement of devices leaves communities of color less protected from dangerous pollutants The Environmental Protection Agency ’s air quality monitors are disproportionately positioned in whiter neighborhoods in the US, leaving communities of color less protected from dangerous pollutants like particulate matter, ozone, nitrous dioxide and lead, among others, new research finds. Policy and actions the EPA takes to reduce pollution are developed from the monitors’ readings, and communities of color are broadly more likely to be near major polluters. The findings raise questions about whether the agency has enough monitors installed, is properly placing them, and whether conclusions about the safety of the air in some areas are sound. Continue reading...
The federal D.C. district court said EPA has "fulfilled" its duty to address PFAS created as a byproduct from Inhance Technologies' fluorination of plastic barrels.
The agency's risk management rule for carbon tetrachloride prohibits only the uses that have already been phased out.
Proposals for a new law which could mean major polluters are jailed for up to 20 years have received enough support from MSPs to be introduced at Holyrood.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has banned trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (Perc), two commonly used solvents that have been linked to cancer.
The actions by the president-elect's pick for EPA administrator could raise ethical concerns, one watchdog said.
Yellowknife residents are looking at a potential six-per-cent property tax increase for 2025. That number was whittled down from an initially-proposed hike of eight per cent.
Every year, Americans chop down hundreds of thousands of Christmas trees in national forests. Officials say it helps reduce wildfire risk.
The move comes after the Supreme Court froze implementation of the "good neighbor" pollution rule.
With Biden soon to leave the White House, Republicans start an assault on the Environmental Protection Agency Donald Trump’s allies have fired the opening salvoes of his coming administration’s attack on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the federal agency that enforces and regulates laws on air, soil, and water quality among other crucial environmental and health issues. In a letter from Republican House leadership to EPA the administrator, Michael Regan, Republicans trained their sites on the agency’s scientific integrity policies that are designed to insulate scientists and research from political interference. Continue reading...
Balloon launches from around the world are part of a new kind of global alarm system: One that can detect if another country tries to dim the sun.
The do-over of the “good neighbor” rule follows objections raised in a high court ruling.
A decade after the Paris Agreement, Andreas Malm and Wim Carton trace how we've kept on with business as usual.
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Governments around the world face a conundrum. Virtually none are on track to meet their Paris climate commitments. That includes the United States, which committed to cut its emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 but is only on track for 32-43% cuts by 2030 based on current policies. And many of those policies, like the clean energy incentives passed in the Inflation Reduction Act – the landmark 2022 climate law – could be rolled back by the incoming Republican administration and Congress, leaving the U.S. even further short of its climate targets. President-elect Trump has pledged to once again withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, which would mean...
What to expect from Donald Trump’s EPA pick: deregulation justified as boosts for the economy and platitudes about the importance of clean air and water.
[Liberian Investigator] Baku -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia is advocating for the inclusion of climate change and security considerations in the country's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). This initiative is being presented at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Conference of Parties Twenty-Ninth Session (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
[ENA] Addis Ababa -- President Taye Atske Selassie, at COP29, has reaffirmed Ethiopia's commitment to the Paris Agreement and proactive disaster preparedness.
Exxon Mobil’s CEO said he wants Presidential-elect Donald Trump to keep the U.S. in the Paris Climate Agreement.Read more...
Trump Taps Lee Zeldin for EPA Administrator
President-elect Donald Trump has named former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency as he continues to build out his future administration with loyal supporters.
Workers face being targets in what could be Environmental Protection Agency’s biggest upheaval since its founding After several years of recovery after the tumult of Donald Trump’s last administration, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is now bracing itself for even deeper cuts to staff numbers and to work protecting Americans from pollution and the climate crisis as Trump prepares to return to the White House. When he was last president, Trump gutted more than 100 environmental rules and vowed to only leave a “little bit of the EPA” left “because you can’t destroy business”, prompting hundreds of agency staff to leave amid a firestorm of political interference and retaliation against civil servants. An even greater exodus is expected this time, with staff fearing they are frontline...
The president-elect could act faster this time.
Scientists predict that this year is now 'virtually certain' to be the hottest year on record and the first year to smash past the 1.5 degree targets of the Paris Agreement.
[Liberian Observer] The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing Liberia's new climate law that outlines how the sales of carbon credits and how funds are generated are distributed among those who own the forest.
Almost 20 EPA rules, some of which are consequential, are under White House review. The backlog is the second largest of any federal agency.
The N.W.T government collected $68.7 million in carbon-tax revenue last year, generating $14 million in net revenue according to the territory's 2023-2024 carbon tax report, released this week.
First-of-its-kind research found fire retardants released by planes contain heavy metals concentrations up to 2,880 times greater than EPA limits.
"I thought that actual greenhouses caused greenhouse gases. I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t just outlaw them if they were such a problem."View Entire Post ›
New data released by the UN on Monday indicating that greenhouse gases have hit a record high shows once again that urgent action and not words is needed from the world’s major polluters to protect us all from climate change, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) insisted.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced the finalization of a rule that declares any detectable amount of the toxin in a home or child care center to be hazardous.
[Greenhouse Agency] Pressure for climate intervention may gain momentum as world heats up
The justices could move some EPA litigation out of a court that is seen as more deferential to the agency.
An EPA directive that all drinking water systems in the nation remove their lead pipes may not solve contamination concerns at L.A. public housing complexes.
The justices appeared divided over a lawsuit brought by San Francisco over EPA rules for regulating how much sewage the city can send to the Pacific Ocean.
The rule will remain in effect until a legal fight over EPA’s authority to regulate the power sector’s carbon emissions is resolved.
The United States' largest polluters saw their emissions drop 4% on-year in 2023, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The heated debate reflects the likelihood that the carbon tax will be a central issue in the next election, which could come any time within the next year.
CCS systems could lead to more pollution for communities of color, a White House advisory panel said in newly released recommendations.
The lawsuit focuses on the agency's phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons, a superpollutant found in refrigerants.
The Environmental Protection Agency rule finalized Tuesday could eliminate a toxic threat to U.S. children and is projected to cost tens of billions of dollars.
Michael Regan said the EPA is working with state and federal partners to address elevated lead levels in drinking water in South L.A. communities
The justices could still choose to halt one of the agency’s regulations limiting carbon emissions from power plants.
Archer-Daniels-Midland sent EPA a letter about the conditions it is monitoring deep underground.
Doug Parker, who led EPA’s criminal investigations, is helping companies track their environmental performance.
The EPA said the facilities will treat groundwater in a part of the San Fernando Valley Superfund site, enabling the LADWP to use the water as part of its supplies.
The air quality regulations are now undergoing White House review.
The decision comes after a ProPublica and Guardian investigation revealed that the EPA had found that one of the fuels had a huge cancer risk This article is co-published with ProPublica, a non-profit newsroom that investigates abuses of power The US Environmental Protection Agency is planning to withdraw and reconsider its approval for Chevron to produce 18 plastic-based fuels, including some that an internal agency assessment found are highly likely to cause cancer. In a recent court filing, the federal agency said it “has substantial concerns” that the approval order “may have been made in error”. The EPA gave a Chevron refinery in Mississippi the green light to make the chemicals in 2022 under a “climate-friendly” initiative intended to boost alternatives to petroleum, as...
The government is to introduce a carbon tax, with enforcement slated for this year, says Deputy Finance Minister Paopoom Rojanasakul.
The landmark ruling found the drinking water additive poses “a risk sufficient to require the EPA to engage with a regulatory response.”