greenhouse gas emissions News

Europe Is Being Scorched and Flooded by Growing Climate Extremes

The European Union endured its joint-hottest year on record in 2023, according to new scientific analysis, pointing to a more perilous future for what is already the world’s fastest-warming continent. Europe experienced its largest wildfire on record last year, as …

Europe Stands Firm Against US-Driven ESG Backlash

Steady investor demand in Europe for environmental and socially responsible investments and wide-ranging regulation are helping Europe’s finance industry withstand political pressures that have pushed some U.S. peers to backtrack on their green agendas. In the United States, conservative politicians …

Climate Verdict for Swiss Women a Warning for European States, Oil Industry

Governments and companies that are lax on climate action should be worried since this week’s European human rights court ruling against the Swiss government improves the odds that other such cases could win at the top court, legal experts said. …

US Senate Votes to Reject Rule to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Highways

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed a resolution that would overturn a federal agency’s rule requiring states to measure and set declining targets for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles using the national highway system. The Federal Highway Administration rules were …

Zurich Insurance to Halt Coverage of New Fossil-Fuel Exposures

Zurich Insurance Group AG will no longer underwrite new oil and gas projects, and is cracking down on clients planning to expand in metallurgical coal mining. The restrictions also entail asking the highest-emitting corporate customers to reduce their carbon footprints, …

US SEC Stays Climate Disclosure Rule Amid Legal Challenges

Wall Street’s top regulator has stayed new climate-related disclosure requirements pending judicial review, the agency said in a statement on Thursday, after criticism from across the political spectrum. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) first-of-its-kind regulation on how companies share …

Majority of CO2 Emissions Linked to Just 57 Producers: Report

The vast majority of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions since 2016 can be traced to a group of 57 fossil fuel and cement producers, researchers said on Thursday. From 2016 to 2022, the 57 entities including nation-states, state-owned firms and investor-owned …

Shell Says Landmark Court Ruling Obstructs Fight Against Climate Change

Shell on Tuesday told a Dutch court a 2021 order that it should drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions lacks a legal basis and risks obstructing the fight against climate change. In a landmark ruling that shocked the energy sector, a …

US Finalizes New Tailpipe Emissions Limits for Heavy Duty Vehicles

The U.S. government said on Friday it was finalizing tighter tailpipe emissions standards for heavy duty vehicles like semi-trucks and buses, but the new rules would not be as strict as initially proposed in 2023. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) …

Challenges to SEC’s Climate Rules Sent to Appeals Court

A U.S. judicial panel on Thursday consolidated at least nine lawsuits challenging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rules requiring public companies to report climate-related risks in a venue favored by Republican-led states and a business group. The St. …