The hotel ballroom was packed before breakfast as Jigar Shah took the stage at the oil and gas industry’s annual conference in Houston this spring. The host joked he was confident a huge crowd would come out for Mr. Shah, even at 7:30 a.m. It’s rare for a midlevel federal official to attract so much attention. But […]
Tag: Climate
The World Bank Is Getting a New Chief. Will He Pivot Toward Climate Action?
As World Bank shareholders gather in Washington for their annual spring meeting on Monday, the global institution appears to be on the brink of significant change. World leaders, led by Prime Ministers Emmanuel Macron of France and Mia Mottley of Barbados, along with a constellation of academics and development experts want the bank to do […]
U.S. and Europe Angle for New Deal to Resolve Climate Spat
WASHINGTON — American and European officials meeting in Washington this week are trying to agree on the outlines of a limited trade deal that would allow European companies to qualify for some of the benefits of the Biden administration’s new climate legislation, in a bid to assuage a major source of tension between the allies. […]
How Climate Change Is Making Tampons (and Lots of Other Stuff) More Expensive
When the Agriculture Department finished its calculations last month, the findings were startling: 2022 was a disaster for upland cotton in Texas, the state where the coarse fiber is primarily grown and then sold around the globe in the form of tampons, cloth diapers, gauze pads and other products. In the biggest loss on record, […]
The New Soldiers in Propane’s Fight Against Climate Action: Television Stars
For D.I.Y. enthusiasts, Matt Blashaw is a familiar face, judging bathroom remodels or planning surprise home makeovers on popular cable television shows. Mr. Blashaw also has an unusually strong opinion about how Americans should heat their homes: by burning propane, or liquid petroleum gas. “When I think of winter, I think of being inside. I […]
What Is the Polar Vortex? And Other Cold-Weather Climate Questions
The basic idea, he said, is that the warmer conditions create larger and more energetic atmospheric waves that make the jet stream wavier, with greater peaks and troughs. That affects the polar vortex circulation. To use the spinning top analogy, “it’s like if it started banging into things,” he said. “It loses its nice circular […]
As Climate Protests Get Bolder, British Police Strike Back With New Powers
LONDON — When environmental protesters recently stopped traffic on the M25 freeway that circles London, one journalist, Charlotte Lynch, was standing on a bridge above reporting on the latest of the group’s disruptive demonstrations for her radio station, LBC. But not for long. Ms. Lynch was swiftly handcuffed, searched and arrested after being questioned by […]
Meet the ‘Closer’ Who Finds the Right Words When Climate Talks Hit a Wall
When President Donald J. Trump came into office promising to withdraw from the Paris Agreement (which he ultimately did), Ms. Biniaz left the government. She joined Yale Law School as a lecturer and led an unofficial diaspora of officials from the Obama administration who worked to protect the Paris Agreement through the Trump years, reminding […]
COP27 Climate Talks Spill Over as Nations Debate Loss and Damage Funding
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt — John Kerry, the United States special envoy for climate change, has tested positive for Covid-19, a State Department spokeswoman said, a development that will sideline him at a crucial moment in the waning hours of negotiations at United Nations climate talks. Mr. Kerry, 78, tested positive for the coronavirus on […]
Expectations Run High as an Exuberant Lula Speaks at Climate Summit
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt — Long after other world leaders had departed the United Nations climate talks in Egypt, Brazil’s president-elect arrived — and electrified the gathering. Enthusiasm was palpable here for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known simply as Lula to most. He recently defeated Jair Bolsonaro, a man Brazilian environmentalists describe as a […]