Business & Finance - Inside Climate News

‘Greenhushing’ Is On the Rise as Companies Go Silent on Climate Pledges

By Kiley Price — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 10:40:38 +0000

Facing backlash from both the left and right, companies are backing away from climate initiatives—at least publicly.

By Kiley Price

For years, eagle-eyed environmentalists have called out banks and consumer businesses—from Barclays to fashion brand ASOS—for making misleading claims that their practices or products are sustainable, otherwise known as greenwashing.

Controversial Maryland Data Center Bill Tests Governor’s Climate Credentials, Environmentalists Say

By Aman Azhar — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 18:45:00 +0000

Governor Moore’s administration is supporting legislation to exempt data centers from environmental scrutiny. Advocates say that amounts to reneging on previous climate promises.

By Aman Azhar

“We endorsed Wes Moore primarily because of his forward-facing climate agenda. We liked what he said and his level of commitment. And that’s why this bill has been so difficult,” said Kim Coble, executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters (LCV), choosing her words with caution.

How Clean Energy Tax Breaks Could Fuel a US Wood Burning Boom

By James Bruggers — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 09:05:00 +0000

While the forest biomass industry maneuvers to try to take advantage of new federal climate policy, environmental advocates are pushing back and trying to protect trees.

By James Bruggers

Businesses that burn wood to produce energy have struggled in the United States to compete economically, even as wood-pellet exports to Europe from states like Alabama and North Carolina have soared with overseas subsidies.

Coal Power Plunged Again in 2023 and Is Fading Away in the U.S. So What Replaces It?

By Dan Gearino — Thu, 14 Mar 2024 13:00:00 +0000

Natural gas has filled most of the void left by the decline of U.S. coal power, but that’s not a long-term solution.

By Dan Gearino

Coal power took a big step toward the exit last year in the United States, as plants continue to close and the ones that remain are being used less than before.

MIT’s Sloan School Launches Ambitious Climate Center to Aid Policymakers

By Phil McKenna — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 09:05:00 +0000

Environmentalists welcome the new initiative, but worry about potential funding and influence from fossil companies.

By Phil McKenna

An ambitious new climate change initiative at MIT’s Sloan School of Management seeks to harness the collective knowledge of the university to help tackle the climate crisis by connecting current and future climate research to policy.

‘Insure Our Future:’ A Global Movement Says the Insurance Industry Could Be the Key to Ending Fossil Fuels

By Keerti Gopal — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 10:10:00 +0000

As insurers cancel policies in regions threatened by sea level rise and wildfires, activists around the world rallied for a week of actions pressuring the companies to drop oil, gas and coal projects driving climate disasters.

By Keerti Gopal

NEW YORK—Roishetta Ozane would have rather been sitting in a rocking chair at home in Louisiana with her seven-month old grandbaby than standing outside of a multinational insurance company’s office in New York City, surrounded by dozens of police officers, speaking to a rally.

New Lake Will Fuel Petrochemical Expansion on Texas Coast

By Dylan Baddour — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

Blocked in Louisiana, Formosa Plastics looks to grow around Lavaca Bay instead. But it and other interested industrial plants are waiting for more water.

By Dylan Baddour

Texas regulators last month approved water rights for a new, 2,500-acre reservoir to meet the growing needs of chemical plants, refineries and other industries on the Gulf Coast.

LNG Exports From Mexico in Limbo While Pipeline Project Plows Ahead

By Martha Pskowski — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 10:10:00 +0000

The Biden administration’s pause impacts LNG development in Mexico, where companies eye shorter routes to Asia.

By Martha Pskowski

Leer en Espanol.

Climate Rules Reach Finish Line, in Weakened Form, as Biden Races Clock

By Marianne Lavelle — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:10:00 +0000

Allies have pressured his administration on corporate climate risk disclosure, power plant and vehicle emissions regulations, while foes wait for their chance to roll back rules.

By Marianne Lavelle

This spring was meant to bring a flowering of climate action by President Joe Biden’s administration. But the heat of the 2024 political season has scorched some of its most ambitious plans.

How Developing Nations Battered by Climate Change Are Crushed by Debt From International Lenders

By Katie Surma — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000

A new UN report describes the interplay between natural disasters made worse by climate change, compounding debt and the resulting inability to fund social welfare programs.

By Katie Surma

A new U.N. report sheds light on how climate change is driving some climate-vulnerable nations deeper into debt, locking them into unsustainable cycles of economic crisis and hampering their governments’ ability to provide basic services to citizens.