climate
11 briefs
CO2 Hits a New Record. The Observatory That Measures It Might Be Shut Down.
NOAA's Mauna Loa Observatory recorded the highest atmospheric CO2 concentration in human history in April 2026. The Trump administration's proposed FY2027 budget would eliminate $1.6 billion from NOAA, potentially closing the 70-year monitoring record.
Amsterdam Just Started Enforcing the World's First Capital-City Ban on Meat and Fossil Fuel Ads.
Billboards for burgers, petrol cars, and budget flights went dark in Amsterdam on May 1. Industry groups are calling it censorship. The city is calling it alignment. Both are right about different things.
57 Countries Declared the Fossil Fuel Era Over. The Same Week, Oil Spiked.
The Santa Marta summit was the most significant formal commitment to phasing out oil, gas, and coal in history. It met while the Strait of Hormuz blockade entered its tenth week and oil prices were rising, not falling.
Trump Pays $2 Billion in Taxpayer Money to Kill Wind Farms
The administration is using federal funds to buy out offshore wind contracts it could not cancel legally, turning a policy reversal into a taxpayer liability.
The EPA Just Deleted the Legal Foundation for Every US Climate Rule. 25 States Are Suing.
The 2009 Endangerment Finding said greenhouse gases endanger public health. Every US climate regulation for 17 years was built on it. The Trump EPA repealed it last week, voiding vehicle standards, power plant rules, methane limits, and aircraft emissions rules in a single action.
A Federal Judge Ordered Trump to Unblock Wind and Solar. The Permits Were Being Delayed While Fossil Fuels Carried On.
Chief Judge Denise Casper in Boston issued a preliminary injunction against five Interior Department and Army Corps policies that put wind and solar permitting in a separate, slower track from other energy sources. The court found likely APA violations.
The EPA Just Erased the Legal Foundation for All Federal Climate Rules. The Courts Are the Only Thing Left.
Repealing the 2009 Endangerment Finding doesn't just end emissions regulations. It ends the EPA's legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases under any future administration without an act of Congress.
Courts Are Making Climate Policy Because Governments Won't
The ICJ's 2025 advisory opinion is now triggering binding rulings from The Hague to the Caribbean. The Dutch government is appealing. Governments worldwide are watching who wins.
The Legal Spine of Climate Policy Just Broke
The EPA repealed its 2009 endangerment finding in February. Environmental groups sued in April. The outcome of that case determines whether the US has any federal climate authority at all.
The EPA Just Declared It Has No Legal Authority Over Climate Change
Revoking the 2009 endangerment finding does not disprove climate science. It just removes the government's legal obligation to act on it.
The EPA Deleted the Legal Foundation for Every Federal Climate Rule. Zeldin Called It 'Vindication.'
The 2009 endangerment finding was not a regulation. it was the scientific warrant that made regulation possible. Repealing it doesn't just kill pending rules; it retroactively questions whether any climate regulation was ever lawful.