International: United States
John Kerry: ‘I feel deeply frustrated’
14 Mar 2024
When former Secretary of State John Kerry stepped into a newly created post as America’s top climate diplomat in 2021, the reputation of the United States abroad was, in his words, “in the crapper.”
US leads global oil production for sixth straight year
13 Mar 2024
US crude oil production led global oil production for a sixth straight year, with a record breaking average production of 12.9 million barrels per day (bpd), the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.
The fires sweeping across Texas offer a terrifying warning
7 Mar 2024
As flames raced eastward across the Texas Panhandle for the fourth straight day at speeds faster than a person can run, a cold front, driving a snow squall, swept over the Great Plains.
Texas battles second-biggest wildfire in US history
4 Mar 2024
A rapidly spreading Texas wildfire has killed one person, forced residents to evacuate, cut off power to homes and businesses, and briefly paused operations at a nuclear facility.
People displaced by climate crisis to testify in first-of-its-kind hearing in US
1 Mar 2024
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will hear how climate is driving forced migration across the Americas.
NYC pensions sued for shedding fossil fuels
1 Mar 2024
Monica Weiss joined college students, financial experts, faith leaders, and then-New York City Public Advocate Letitia James to demand that the NYC's five public pension funds factor the financial risks of climate change into their investment decisions.
Wild weather threatens much of US with snow, tornadoes, heat and fires
29 Feb 2024
Millions of Americans are facing extreme weather whiplash this week — notably in cities including Chicago and Dallas, which were forecast to swing from record highs to wintry lows.
A bureaucratic printer jam holds up a major Biden climate rule
27 Feb 2024
A regulation cracking down on oil and gas pollution is finally being published March 8, ending a three-month delay that gave rule watchers heartburn.
Climate change is throwing the water cycle into chaos across the US
26 Feb 2024
As the planet continues to warm, this cycle is expected to be increasingly stretched, warped and broken.
Record US renewable energy investment not enough to meet climate goals: report
23 Feb 2024
US investment in wind and solar power plants hit record levels last year, but even that dramatic rate of expansion fell short of the level needed to meet the nation's climate change goals, according to an analysis published.
Switching to electric vehicles could prevent millions of illnesses in children by 2050
22 Feb 2024
Hundreds of infants’ lives would be saved across the US if the nation’s power grid depended on clean energy and more drivers made the switch to zero-emission vehicles, according to a new report from the American Lung Association.
Biden vs. Trump: Do young climate voters care?
20 Feb 2024
Biden, who signed the biggest climate law in US history, has angered environmentalists by approving fossil fuel projects.
Ocean system that moves heat gets closer to collapse, which could cause weather chaos, study says
13 Feb 2024
An abrupt shutdown of Atlantic Ocean currents that could put large parts of Europe in a deep freeze is looking a bit more likely and closer than before as a new complex computer simulation finds a “cliff-like” tipping point looming in the future.
New York City is considering a laundry pods crackdown
12 Feb 2024
Laundry and dishwasher detergent pods made with polyvinyl alcohol, or PVA, contribute to plastics pollution in US waterways.
Climate change bringing megafloods to California
9 Feb 2024
Southern California is confronting an overabundance of water, in the form of torrential rain and life-threatening floods.
US carbon capture bill fails in first committee voting
8 Feb 2024
US legislation targeting carbon capture, specifically focused on geological sequestration, faced a significant setback as a proposed Senate bill failed to advance past the initial committee.
US states consider a new way to make oil companies pay for climate impacts
5 Feb 2024
Vermont joins three others in a multi-state effort to hold Big Oil accountable for the expensive damage wrought by climate change.
A veteran adviser is taking over as top US climate diplomat
2 Feb 2024
John Podesta, a Democratic political strategist and energy expert, will succeed John Kerry at a crucial time for President Biden’s climate agenda.
What does Biden’s LNG ‘pause’ mean for global emissions?
1 Feb 2024
In a surprise move, US president Joe Biden has announced a “temporary pause” on liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal expansion.
New York’s first all-electric skyscraper doesn’t use a drop of fossil fuel
31 Jan 2024
The architects behind this 44-story tower explain how they designed it to run on electricity alone.
Chicago could be first major Midwestern city to ban gas in new construction
30 Jan 2024
Buildings are Chicago’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, but efforts to decarbonize them are facing union opposition.
Electric vehicles use half the energy of gas-powered vehicles
30 Jan 2024
US residents are collectively burning about 8.9 million barrels of gasoline a day, or a little over one gallon each for every person in the country.
Biden administration reportedly pauses approval of ‘carbon mega bomb’ gas export hub
26 Jan 2024
The Biden administration will reportedly pause a decision on approving what would be one of the world’s largest gas export hubs, amid concern from climate experts that greenlighting the project would create a “carbon mega bomb”.
Carbon startups pin hopes on future regulation to boost their fortunes
26 Jan 2024
Carbon credits startup, Ceezer, is part of the new wave of tech-driven offsetting and/or removal platforms trying to bring transparency and cohesion to a sector that has been rocked by charges of “green-washing”.
Extreme cold still happens in a warming world – in fact climate instability may be disrupting the polar vortex
23 Jan 2024
Extremely cold Arctic air and severe winter weather swept southward into much of the US in mid-January, breaking daily low temperature records from Montana to Texas.
Americans abandoning neighbourhoods due to rising flood risk
21 Dec 2023
Rising risk of floods is hollowing out counties across the United States — creating abandoned pockets in the hearts of cities.
Plan to stash planet-heating carbon dioxide under U.S. national forests alarms critics
19 Dec 2023
Around 140 groups have called for an extension of public comment period over U.S. Forest Service proposal amid questions about safety and impact.
This start-up hopes to use old tyres to power electric cars
18 Dec 2023
According to a report from the Federal Highway Administration, in the United States alone, around 280 million used tires are tossed away each year, with only 30 million of those getting recycled, retreaded, or reused.
US announces $3 billion pledge to green climate fund
4 Dec 2023
Vice President Kamala Harris announced COP28 that the US is pledging $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund — the world’s largest climate fund — created to help developing countries handle climate change.
How the US, oil industry plans to drastically cut methane emissions at the forefront of COP28
4 Dec 2023
The US government and the oil industry have announced plans to drastically reduce emissions of methane, one of the most dangerous GHGs, due to its heightened ability to raise global temperatures.
US expected to reach new record for fossil fuel production this year
1 Dec 2023
The year 2023 is already expected to be the hottest on record, following a record-hot summer. But despite this, the US is expected to reach record numbers in fossil fuel production for the year.
US moves to protect wolverines as climate change melts their mountain refuges
30 Nov 2023
The North American wolverine will receive long-delayed threatened species protections under a Biden administration proposal released in response to scientists warning that climate change will likely push them toward extinction.
US carbon emissions set to fall again, a key sign of progress
23 Nov 2023
A projected drop in US greenhouse gas emissions—one of the largest of the past decade—is still not enough to meet the country’s commitments under the Paris climate accord.
One solution to fight climate change? Fewer parking spaces.
20 Nov 2023
Less parking could pave the way for denser housing and more accessible public transportation.
New US climate report: land theft and colonisation amplify the climate crisis for Indigenous peoples
16 Nov 2023
The report concludes that Indigenous self-determination is a key climate solution — if the federal government can get behind it.
Defrosting US-China relationship offers tantalising hope for climate action
14 Nov 2023
Even though we now have the Paris agreement, cooperation between the world’s two biggest emitters, US and China, is still crucial.
‘Take it or leave it’: Acrimony flares amid tenuous agreement on climate aid
13 Nov 2023
The U.S. pushed for voluntary payments in a high-stakes negotiation over a global fund for climate disasters.
California startup to 'sponge' CO2 from atmosphere
3 Nov 2023
Scrubbing carbon dioxide from the air is imperative if humanity is to limit global warming, experts say, and a California startup says it can do just that, using limestone as a carbon-sucking sponge.
US pushes to ensure nuclear “is not forgotten” in COP renewables pledge
1 Nov 2023
The United States is working behind the scenes to ensure nuclear power is not excluded from an expected global pledge to boost renewables at the upcoming climate summit in Dubai.
How Hurricane Otis shocked forecasters in a "nightmare scenario"
30 Oct 2023
Hurricane Otis' extremely rapid intensification — so close to the Mexican coast — was one of the biggest, most high-stakes hurricane forecasting failures in years.
The climate crisis has a price — and it’s $391 million a day
25 Oct 2023
Damages from the global climate crisis have racked up costs amounting to $391 million per day over the past two decades, a report showed.
Carbon capture pipeline nixed after widespread opposition
24 Oct 2023
A company has abandoned plans to build a 1,300-mile pipeline across the US Midwest to collect and store carbon emissions from the corn ethanol industry following opposition from landowners.
To shut down the supply side of climate change, start here
20 Oct 2023
September was a scary month — or as one prominent climate scientist termed it, “gobsmackingly bananas.”
Climate change isn’t just about emissions. We’re ignoring a huge part of the fight.
17 Oct 2023
Last month, we heard yet again about the need to stop global warming at about 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre industrial levels.
How broken are corporate carbon pledges?
10 Oct 2023
Fortune 500 companies are responsible for nearly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions—and many of them would like you to think they’re doing their best to shrink that.
Coffee is in danger. Starbucks is working on solutions.
5 Oct 2023
Coffee is a finicky crop — arabica coffee, the most popular variety, in particular. And climate change poses a huge threat to the coffee business and to farmers.
Europe just launched the world’s first carbon tariff. Will the US follow suit?
4 Oct 2023
In the U.S., where climate policy has been highly politicized, the concept of a carbon tariff has recently emerged with rare bipartisan support.
New York floods: Basement rescues spark climate change concerns
4 Oct 2023
As flash floods inundated New York City, Mayor Eric Adams said: "If you're home, stay home." But for those living in below-ground apartments in basements and cellars, that was not an option.
Big European insurers ‘underwrite 30% of US coal despite net zero pledges’
3 Oct 2023
European insurers are underwriting almost a third of US coal production despite their net zero pledges, according to research.
Crucial for a clean energy economy, the aluminum industry’s carbon footprint is enormous
29 Sep 2023
A new report finds aluminum manufacturing worldwide emits more than a billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, as well as chemicals called perfluorocarbons that warm the planet for 50,000 years.
Australia's battery subsidies spark rooftop solar resurgence
Tue 7 Jul 2026
The rooftop solar boom shows how countries stifled by transmission line logjams can continue reducing emissions, analysts say.
China warming faster than global average as extreme weather intensifies, report says
Mon 6 Jul 2026
China is warming faster than the global average, while extreme heat, heavy rainfall and other severe weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as climate change accelerates worldwide.
Europe may face 'more deadly weeks' as new heatwave builds, WHO warns
Today 12:15pm
The World Health Organization warned Europe could face “more deadly weeks” ahead, with another intense heatwave forming over the Atlantic.
Low-cost loans for solar panels could save households hundreds on bills – thinktanks
Today 12:15pm
Millions of UK households could save hundreds of pounds a year on their energy bills if the government were to approve low-cost loans for solar panel installation, research has found.
Canada advances Alberta pipeline to Pacific Coast to expand oil exports beyond the US
Mon 6 Jul 2026
Canada took a step toward opening a new route for its vast oil reserves to Asian markets as Prime Minister Mark Carney advanced a Pacific Coast pipeline from Alberta, seeking to reduce the country’s dependence on the U.S. while easing separatist tensions and preserving environmental protections.
Enhanced flash flood risks in Hindu Kush Himalaya
Today 12:15pm
The communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region could face enhanced risks from flash floods due to bursts of extreme rainfall and cloudbursts during the southwest monsoon season along with high temperatures which could lead to accelerated glacier and snow melting.
‘Those blocking climate science are not our friends': Pacific leaders warn at Bonn talks
23 Jun 2026
Pacific nations and civil society groups have united at UN climate talks, pushing back against efforts to weaken agreed language on global temperature limits as negotiations continue behind closed doors.
Antarctica’s west coast missing an area of sea ice the size of France as temperatures peak 20C above average
16 Jun 2026
A vast area of the Bellingshausen Sea should be covered by sea ice by now, with one expert calling the loss of ice ‘depressing’.
Ugandan farmers launch UK court case against East African oil pipeline
Today 12:15pm
Four Ugandan farmers filed a case with London’s High Court aiming to stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline from starting to operate by asking the court to apply Uganda’s laws against the project’s UK-registered company.
Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle
26 May 2026
Colombia is a global leader in climate activism. Could US influence drag country to a future of mining and fracking?
Strong El Nino will develop rapidly over coming months, says UN weather agency
Tue 7 Jul 2026
The United Nations weather agency on Friday raised its forecast for the rapid emergence of a strong El Nino in the coming months, warning that the phenomenon is likely to drive global temperatures higher.
