Dana Drugmand

World must jointly tackle issues of climate change, pollution, UN says The United Nations says the world needs a new way of thinking about environmental crises threatening the health of people and the planet

As I say here, this is not about saving the planet. The planet will be orbiting the sun long after we’re gone.

The question is, will there be a healthy, thriving human society on that planet? The answer to that question is very much up for grabs at this point.

Trump admin loses once again in court

A Massachusetts federal court has struck down Trump's Day 1 executive order halting all leasing & permitting of wind energy projects, finding the order to be arbitrary & capricious, and clearly unlawful

Offshore Wind, Despite Facing Stiff Federal Headwinds, is Working South Fork Wind, the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the US, is exceeding expectations for power generation and co-existing with the marine environment.

Offshore wind is happening in the U.S., despite the Trump administration’s hostility to it.

I saw it up close, & from what I saw, these offshore turbines are co-existing with the marine environment & generating a reliable source of zero-carbon electricity

www.oneearthnow.org/p/offshore-w...

Homeowners Sue Oil Companies as Climate Damage Drives up Insurance Rates - Inside Climate News The class-action lawsuit is the first of its kind to target Big Oil over rising home insurance costs.

"We see a direct correlation between Big Oil’s lies and the alarming increase of homeowners insurance due to the rising threat of natural disasters" said @classactionlaw.bsky.social's Steve Berman

insideclimatenews.org/news/0512202...

New England is on the brink of clean energy victories. Why are Democrats embracing gas? Three of the nation’s largest carbon-free projects are being completed in a region whose progressive political leaders are shifting toward gas as

Great question...

Helpful overview here of the current energy policy landscape in New England, by E&E News' Ben Storrow

www.eenews.net/articles/new...

Connecticut Court Advances State Consumer Protection Case Against ExxonMobil A climate fraud case brought by the state of Connecticut against oil major ExxonMobil is moving forward after a state court judge last week denied the company’s bid to have the case dismissed. In a 6...

CT's climate deception case against ExxonMobil, brought under the state's consumer protection law, is moving forward after a state court judge last week denied the company's bid to have it dismissed

www.climateinthecourts.com/connecticut-...

The Climate Crisis is Fueling a Sharp Rise in Homeowners Insurance Costs. A New Lawsuit Seeks to Make Big Oil Pay. Class action case filed in Washington State brings federal racketeering charges and alleges a “direct correlation between Big Oil’s lies” and skyrocketing insurance costs.

Municipal & state governments are already taking oil companies to court over climate deception & consequent damages

And now, for the first time, #BigOil is facing a class action suit seeking accountability for the skyrocketing costs in homeowners insurance

www.oneearthnow.org/p/the-climat...

The Supreme Court’s Ethics Code Is a Joke. Big Oil Knows That. Oil companies want the Supreme Court to intervene to dismiss lawsuits about climate change. Amy Coney Barrett and Samuel Alito both have big conflicts of interest on that front.

I wrote about Amy Coney Barrett and Samuel Alito's massive conflicts of interest re: the climate deception cases that Big Oil is desperately trying to get the Supreme Court to step in and dismiss. newrepublic.com/article/2036...

There Can Be No Information Integrity Without Scientific and Political Integrity I'm just back from COP30 in Belém and it is making me feel crazy to watch so many climate advocates and reporters declare the final text coming out of it a victory. It's true that the final text inclu...

"The mess of COP highlights once again the importance of both climate litigation & civil disobedience in this moment... If governments are going to continue to dither...the only recourse citizens have left is the courts... & the streets" @amywestervelt.bsky.social 💯

drilled.ghost.io/there-can-be...

“It’s Happening”: Coalition of Countries Announce Plan to Start Advancing Fossil Fuel Phaseout With roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels failing to make it into COP30 outcome, some countries are looking beyond the UNFCCC process.

A roadmap for fossil fuel phaseout failed to make into the #COP30 outcome text, but some countries are taking matters into their own hands

Colombia 🇨🇴 will host the first international conference on the just transition away from fossil fuels in April 2026

www.oneearthnow.org/p/its-happen...

The ICJ's opinion suggests the US "is very likely in breach of its international obligations—including under customary international law & human rights law—to prevent significant climate harm" said @sabincenter.bsky.social's Maria Antonia Tigre

More here on what the AO means for the US

Offshore wind - despite the severe headwinds from the current US administration - is starting to take shape here. Magnificent to see up close #offshorewind #southforkwindfarm #cleanenergy

Belgian Farmer Faces Off In Court Against French Oil Major A first-of-its-kind climate lawsuit in Belgium, featuring a smallholder farmer going up against one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, is coming before a court today in proceedings tha...

TotalEnergies is being put on trial in Belgium over its role in contributing to the climate crisis

"It’s time we debated the responsibility of these multinationals for climate change & time they were held accountable" says farmer & plaintiff Hugues Falys

www.climateinthecourts.com/belgian-farm...

A Landmark Court Ruling Looms Over U.S. Absence at COP30 - Inside Climate News The historic climate change advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice suggests the United States is violating international law on climate, legal experts say.

The US may be absent from #COP30 and exiting the Paris Agreement, but that doesn't mean it's absolved from its legal obligations on climate change - obligations clarified by the ICJ

But accountability for the US breaching its legal duties is another question

insideclimatenews.org/news/1811202...

US TV networks absent at Cop30 “a tragic abdication of civic responsibility”

“Not one of the US TV networks have sent cameras or reporters to Belem to cover COP30,” notes CCNow’s Mark Herstgaard. “It’s a tragic abdication of our civic responsibility to inform the public and hold power to account.” By @jonathan-watts.bsky.social for @theguardian.com

“We Have To Keep Fighting”: Torres Strait Islanders Appeal Judgment In Climate Case Against Australia As Uncles Pabai and Paul continue their landmark case, residents of Bali announce plan to sue their government following deadly floods.

In July a Federal Court judge in Australia ruled that the government doesn't owe a legal duty of care protect Torres Strait Islanders from climate harm

The Uncles who brought the case are now appealing

And in Bali, a new climate case is getting underway

www.oneearthnow.org/p/we-have-to...

Climate change is the world's most pressing issue because it makes everything else worse. It enables dictators, it drives inflation, it makes survival harder for the poorest people in the world.

And the new data are clear: the rate of climate change is accelerating.

Rapid intensification is an increase in a cyclone’s max sustained winds by 35 mph in 24 hrs

With Melissa, its wind speeds of 70 mph doubled in just 18 hrs

"We are now pushing the limits of extreme rapid intensification" said Bernadette Woods Placky in a webinar hosted by @coveringclimatenow.org

Hurricane Melissa Is a Reminder of Our Dangerous New Reality as the Climate Crisis Accelerates Scientists warn that “we are now pushing the limits of extreme rapid intensification”

"When a storm can explosively intensify from 70 to 185 mph in less than 3 days over ocean waters that are ~ 1.5°C warmer than normal, we are witnessing the dangerous new reality of our warming world" said Jayaka Campbell of University of the West Indies in Jamaica

www.sierraclub.org/sierra/hurri...

Victory: Three oil fields in the North Sea declared illegal - Greenpeace International Borgarting Court of Appeal agreed with Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom that three oil fields in the Norwegian North Sea are illegal.

Victory:
Three oil fields in the North Sea declared illegal www.greenpeace.org/internationa...

Dark forces are preventing us fighting the climate crisis – by taking knowledge hostage | George Monbiot The fundamental problem is this: that most of the means of communication are owned or influenced by the very rich, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Climate breakdown is driven by a storm of lies. This lying is systemic, funded and coordinated, and operates across almost all media, old and new.
This week's column argues that we cannot fight the climate crisis without also fighting the epistemic crisis.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Fossil fuel projects around the world threaten the health of 2bn people Exclusive: ‘Deep-rooted injustices’ affect billions of people due to location of wells, pipelines and other infrastructure

"The fossil fuel industry & its state sponsors have argued for decades that human development requires fossil fuels. But we know that under the guise of economic growth, they have instead served greed and profits..." said @amnesty.org's Agnès Callamard

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

‘It will never be forgiven’: UN climate chief warns world to act or face disaster Faltering governments will be blamed for famine and conflict abroad, and face stagnation and inflation at home, says climate chief at start of Cop30

‘It will never be forgiven’: UN climate chief warns world to act or face disaster

- “Not one single nation among you can afford this, as climate disasters rip double digits off GDP" says Simon Stiell

#COP30 #climatecrisis
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Trump and Republicans Join Big Oil’s All-Out Push to Shut Down Climate Liability Efforts - Inside Climate News Republican attorneys general, GOP lawmakers, industry groups and the president himself are all maneuvering to foreclose the ability of cities and states to hold the fossil fuel industry liable for dam...

This petitioning is part of a broader "full-court press" by #BigOil & its allies to shut down #climateliability laws & lawsuits, as I reported here

API is already lobbying Congress on draft legislation re. "state efforts to impose liability" on the industry

insideclimatenews.org/news/2610202...

Exxon lawyer vows to crush climate lawsuits Oil companies are once again pushing the Supreme Court to stop a flood of cases that could force them to pay billions.

Exxon lawyer: "We are not going to lose this fight."

The US Supreme Court, he said, needs to step in to shut the door on this litigation once and for all

#SCOTUS will soon decide whether to take up Exxon's petition in Boulder's climate deception case

www.eenews.net/articles/exx...

‘Existential and urgent’: what impact will ICJ climate ruling have on Cop30? Decision by international court of justice hailed as a gamechanger for climate justice and accountability

By me: ‘Existential and urgent’: what impact will/should the ICJ climate ruling have on Cop30?
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Plug-In Solar Power Could Be Coming to a Balcony Near You The small devices are poised to make energy even more affordable

When most people think of solar energy, they think of rows of photovoltaic (PV) panels on rooftops or vast solar farms out in the desert. But portable plug-in solar devices small enough to generate power right off a balcony could be coming to an area near you.

Net zero is an insidious loophole that distracts from the scientific imperative to eliminate fossil fuels | Joëlle Gergis History tells us that polite incrementalism and political kowtowing will prevail at Cop30 – even as catastrophe unfolds around us

3. Fossil fuels must be phased out, period.

@joellegergis.bsky.social, climate scientist & a lead author of IPCC's AR6, emphasizes the "scientific imperative to eliminate fossil fuels"

The fossil fuel era must end. There is no other way around it

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Missing 1.5C climate target is a moral failure, UN chief tells Cop30 summit UN secretary general António Guterres urges opening session in Brazil to bring about a ‘fundamental paradigm shift’

2. Every fraction of a degree matters

"Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement and loss – especially for those least responsible. This is moral failure – and deadly negligence" - UN SG António Guterres

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

2025 set to be second or third warmest year on record, continuing exceptionally high warming trend

1. There is no negotiating with physics

"We cannot defy the laws of physics. Science does not lie… Concentrations of heat-trapping GHGs are their highest in 800,000 years, thus committing our planet to a warmer and more dangerous future" says @wmo-global.bsky.social's head
wmo.int/news/media-c...