World
US agency calls for ban on controversial coal mine ‘self-bonds’
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office is urging Congress to make coal mining companies pay for environmental clean-up and reduce the risk to taxpayers
Documents shed light on BP’s failures in the Great Australian Bight
A major oil spill in the region would have covered up to 750km of beaches and disrupted whale migration, reveal government documents BP tried to suppress
Norway oil fund omits meatpacker JBS from deforestation watch list
The $1 trillion investor is raising deforestation concerns with a number of beef companies but not the Amazon’s biggest cattle buyer, despite evidence against it
Costa Rica president-elect promises to lead the country towards an oil-free future
Carlos Alvarado Quesada is promising to replace petrol and diesel in the transport system with clean energy, comparing the task to abolishing the army
10 years of success, but the UK climate change act needs an upgrade
The pioneering piece of legislation has helped bring emissions down, but the challenges of the Paris Agreement require more ambition from the government
Four ways the Trump administration has buried climate science
When Donald Trump became US president, there were fears for public information on climate science. So what happened?
UN Security Council makes ‘historic’ warning on climate threat to Somalia
Drought, desertification, land degradation and food insecurity are driving conflict in the Horn of African country, says security council
Europe’s coming gigafactory boom, mapped
Across Europe a wave of gigafactories are coming online, ready to meet the battery demands of a continent-wide switch to electric cars
UK MPs call on Gove to trigger climate reporting clause
Financial regulators drew parliamentarians’ ire after failing to meet their demands to voluntarily report their climate adaptation plans
Coal tycoon governor Jim Justice uses loophole to leave mines and workers idle
Companies owned by WV governor exploited a supposedly temporary status to defer environmental clean up and leave miners in limbo, in some cases for decades
White House to tap energy official as new climate lead – reports
Wells Griffith, who worked on the Trump campaign, has spent the last year negotiating exports deals for the US energy industry
What happens to the land after coal mines close?
Across the country, mining land has been reclaimed at low cost, leaving communities with few alternatives to rebuild their economies
EU leaders order long-term climate strategy by early 2019
Campaigners welcome move to update low-carbon emissions roadmap, saying it sends an important political signal
Macron: EU ‘mad’ to do trade deal with US after Paris climate withdrawal
‘I’m not in favour of showing any softness to those who decide to break those rules,’ the French president said about the deal struck in his capital in 2015
US, EU biggest importers of illegal Amazon ipe timber: report
Dodgy credits allow exporters to ship the valuable timber overseas, to unsuspecting consumers who are unaware the timber may be illegal
Avocado trade threatened by shipping climate measure, say Chile, Peru
Speed limits at sea could cut shipping’s carbon footprint fast, but fresh fruit exporters are raising concerns about trade impacts ahead of a critical UN meeting
Norway’s electric car demand is outstripping supply – with lessons for the EU
Thousands of Norwegians are on waiting lists for electric cars, showing the success and limitations of policy incentives
Crackdown on coal mine ‘self-bonds’ stalls under Trump
Regulators have almost wiped out risky practice since 2015-16 wave of bankruptcies, but some coal companies still insure themselves
Obama official: Trump cuts will leave coal clean-up agency unable to function
The number of mine site inspections is falling and proposed budget cuts at the federal regulator will further erode oversight, a former top official warns
Why and how we investigated the coal industry’s clean-up funds
The Reclaiming Coal investigation involved six months of crunching data from state and federal agencies, coupled with travel across the country