Oil producing countries are bracing for a bumpy ride this year, with a precipitous drop in prices to the lowest levels in four years seen as the initial, alarming sign of looming turmoil. A price drop benefits any country seeking to cut its fuel bill. But in oil producing nations, lower prices can feed economic troubles, and sometimes political unrest, …
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New ‘Climate Superfund’ Laws Face Widening Legal Challenges
Vermont made history last year when it enacted the country’s first climate superfund law. It’s designed to let the state recover money from fossil fuel companies to help pay the rising costs of climate change. If the law can survive intensifying legal challenges, that is. On Thursday, the Justice Department filed federal lawsuits against Vermont and New York, the only …
Read More »Man Accused of Hacking Climate Groups Can Be Sent to U.S., Judge Says
An English court on Wednesday approved the extradition of an Israeli man charged by New York prosecutors with running a “hacking-for-hire” operation that targeted environmental groups. Prosecutors say that companies run by the man, Amit Forlit, 57, earned at least $16 million by hacking more than 100 victims and stealing confidential information on behalf of a lobbying firm working for …
Read More »Climate Change, Once a Big Issue, Fades From Canada’s Election
The melting Arctic icecap. Record-smashing wildfires across several provinces. A country that, on average, is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world. And yet, as Canadians go to the polls Monday, climate change isn’t even among the top 10 issues for voters, according to recent polling. “That’s just not what this election is about,” said Jessica …
Read More »Oil Prices Tumble Further as Trump’s Tariffs Weigh on Economic Outlook
U.S. oil prices fell sharply, briefly dipping below $60 a barrel on Sunday — their lowest level in almost four years — as the economic fallout from President Trump’s latest round of tariffs reverberated around the world. Crude oil now costs around 15 percent less than it did last Wednesday, just before Mr. Trump revealed his plans to impose stiff …
Read More »‘Wait, Baby, Wait’: Slumping Oil Prices Reflect Economic Worries
Many oil and gas executives thought they had hit pay dirt with President Trump’s election. A Trump administration would be staffed by people sympathetic to the industry. More areas would be opened to drilling and costly regulations swept away. In recent days, though, the industry has had ample reason to question that narrative. The tariffs Mr. Trump announced on Wednesday …
Read More »E.P.A. Investigations of Severe Pollution Look Increasingly at Risk
A refinery in New Mexico that the federal government has accused of some of the worst air pollution in the country. A chemical plant in Louisiana being investigated for leaking gas from storage tanks. Idaho ranchers accused of polluting wetlands. Under President Biden, the Environmental Protection Agency took a tough approach on environmental enforcement by investigating companies for pollution, hazardous …
Read More »Jury Finds Greenpeace Liable for Hundreds of Millions in Damages
A North Dakota jury on Wednesday awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to the Texas-based pipeline company Energy Transfer, which had sued Greenpeace over its role in protests nearly a decade ago against its Dakota Access Pipeline. The verdict was a major blow to the storied environmental organization. Greenpeace had maintained that it played only a minor part …
Read More »Wind and Solar Firms Have a Pitch for Trump: ‘You’re Going to Need Us’
As President Trump works to blunt the growth of wind and solar power and expand fossil fuel production in the United States, the renewable energy industry is making a new pitch: You need us. Wind and solar developers are increasingly pointing out that America’s demand for electricity is soaring, driven by a boom in data centers, and it’s proving difficult …
Read More »Supreme Court Rejects an Effort to Block States From Suing Oil Giants
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear an argument that aimed to restrict states from suing oil companies for financial damage related to climate change. The argument was brought to the high court by 19 Republican attorneys general, representing states including Alabama and West Virginia, who were trying to prevent other states, led by Democrats, from pursuing lawsuits against …
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