U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placed wolverines on its threatened species list on Wednesday.
Why it matters: The designation was issued as a result of human-driven climate change, which has seen a decline in the amount of mountain snow where wolverines create dens and live.
Each COP summit tends to inch the world forward toward a lower carbon future.
Why it matters: Yet after 27 of these meetings, one thing is abundantly clear: Global emissions, as well as the resulting uptick in worldwide average temperatures, are dramatically outpacing outcomes from the COP process.
At COP26 in Glasgow, countries unveiled side deals that in some ways stole the thunder from the actual agreement that was passed.
Why it matters: Each accord was limited on the enforcement front, and took voluntary environmental commitments to the extreme. The two most prominent ones concern reducing methane emissions and dramatically reducing deforestation.
The COP28 climate summit begins Thursday in Dubai and takes place against a kaleidoscope of competing interests in the worlds of energy, climate change and greenhouse gas emissions management.
Why it matters: The summit is a critical test of whether the global community is willing to slash planet-warming emissions enough to meet Paris Agreement targets.
Environmental groups criticized the Biden administration's $3.4 million auction of oil and gas drilling rights in Wyoming on Tuesday as world leaders prepare to meet in Dubai for the COP28 climate summit.
The big picture: The 37 parcels of land covering some 35,000 acres was the first of 63 drilling parcels the Interior Department's U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) planned to sell across 44,000 acres in six Western states over the next two weeks.
Hawai'i's attorney general has announced subpoenas for three Maui agencies this week as part of an investigation into the catastrophic wildfires that reaped through the island in August.
The big picture: The move comes as the island reels from the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. in over a century, which killed at least 97 people, destroyed thousands of acres and caused more than $5.5 billion in damage.
Pope Francis won't attend the COP28 climate summit in Dubai this week as planned due to ill health, the Vatican announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: Francis would have been the first pontiff to attend a formal UN "conference of the parties" and his planned speech and meetings would have lent weight to the talks, per Axios' Ben Geman.
More than 1 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean were internally displaced in 2021 because of disasters that were worsened by climate change, a new study finds.
The big picture: The World Bank predicts that more than 216 million people could be displaced by climate change by 2050 — with 17 million of those coming from Latin America — putting pressure on migration, food supplies and housing.
Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean a Boeing 787 Dreamliner is mid flight — but this is no ordinary voyage.
Driving the news: The Virgin Atlantic trip on Tuesday will be the first commercial widebodyairliner crossing 100% powered by "sustainable aviation fuels."
Makers of "forever chemicals" won a legal victory Monday when an appeals court overruled an earlier decision that would have allowed millions of Ohio residents to join a class action lawsuit against the companies.
Driving the news: The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instructed a lower court to dismiss the case filed against 3M, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., Chemours, Corteva and other manufacturers of the synthetic compounds, referred to collectively as PFAS.
Fossil fuel lobbying at COP28 is facing scrutiny after a report alleged host country the UAE planned to discuss striking oil and gas deals with other governments at the climate summit, which starts Thursday.
Why it matters: The report — which COP28 organizers categorically deny —includes allegations that a UAE team prepared "talking points" to further the interests of ADNOC, a state oil firm that COP president-designate Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber heads.
President Biden is not expected to attend the opening of COP 28 this week but will send top U.S. officials to the UN climate summit in Dubai, the White House confirmed.
Why it matters: Biden attended the previous two COP summits and has put tackling climate change at the center of his policymaking. Environmental policy forms a key part of his administration's national security strategy.
