DeSmog

Climate Litigation Is Increasing as Government Action Falters

Despite its name, ambition was largely lacking at mid-September’s Climate Ambition Summit at the United Nations in New York. Secretary General António Guterres asked nations to arrive at the session with concrete commitments for phasing out fossil fuels, observing in his opening remarks that “humanity has opened the gates of hell.” But the event was […]

A System of Secret Arbitration Tribunals Is Undercutting Climate Action Worldwide

Colorful photo of United Nations headquarters in New York City, taken in 2022

Investors in foreign development projects have “weaponized” a system of secretive tribunals, delaying progress on climate change and other environmental crises and having “enormous impacts on human rights,” according to a  new report by a United Nations expert. David R. Boyd, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and the environment, concludes in the report […]

This Database Exposes the Client Conflicts of More Than 1,500 Big Oil Lobbyists

As lawsuits mount against the fossil fuel sector for decades of sowing climate disinformation, the  PR and ad agencies, banks, institutional investors, and law firms that work with the industry are also facing increased scrutiny. F Minus, a new group focused on the industry’s army of lobbyists, has released a searchable database revealing that many […]

Connecticut bans utilities from billing customers for lobbying efforts

Photograph of the exterior of the Connecticut State Capitol Building in Hartford, Conn.

This story was originally published by Grist, and is republished here as part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate crisis. On June 29, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed a law to prohibit the state’s investor-owned utilities from charging customers for lobbying expenses and other efforts to sway political […]

The Fight to Define ‘Green Hydrogen’ Could Determine America’s Emissions Future

By Emily Pontecorvo, Grist. This story originally appeared in Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last year, a decades-long effort to get a major climate package through Congress is over. But the work of ensuring […]