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Page Updated:
May 23, 2026

• • Trump’s EPA Appointees Received at Least $1.8bn From
  Chemical Industry Ahead of Rollback of Major Safeguards

  Included On the watchlist Are the Sites That Are Currently Being Cleared Up By the EA at Hoads Wood, in Kent, and Kidlington, in Oxfordshire
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  May 22, 2026 -Industry had been lobbying President Trump since he took office in early 2025 to end the federal disaster management system that protects the nation from chemical catastrophes

  16 Trump-appointed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials were paid more than $2.8 million by chemical companies and trade groups seeking an end to the federal disaster management system that protects the nation from chemical catastrophes.

  An analysis of financial disclosures by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington? (CREW), an ethics watchdog, revealed that 23 separate chemical companies paid EPA officials a total of $1,442,913 in salaries, bonuses, compensation for consulting and legal services and other payments before they joined the agency.

• • Paxton Sues Texas Rooftop Solar Company Over ‘Deceptive Acts’

  The Lone Star State’s Attorney General Alleged in a court Filing That CAM Solar Misled Its Customers
  
  {EE NEWS}

  May 22, 2026 -Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that his office sued San Antonio-based CAM Solar for deceptive practices amid a statewide investigation into alleged fraud in the rooftop solar industry.

  The state argued in its lawsuit this week that CAM Solar installed defective solar systems, misrepresented energy bill savings, failed to respond to service requests and didn’t disclose maintenance fees. The suit was filed in the District Court of Bexar County, Texas.

  “Far too many Texans have been misled into purchasing expensive and complex solar systems under the guise of ‘green energy,’” Paxton said in a statement. “That ends now. I will aggressively pursue any bad actor in the solar panel industry that attempts to cheat Texans.”

• • UN General Assembly Backs Historic World Court Climate Ruling

  The International Court of Justice Ruled Last Year That Government Actions Driving Climate Change Are Illegal and...
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  May 21, 2026 -The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a long-sought resolution validating a landmark 2025 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the obligations of states in respect of climate change.

  The resolution, drawn up by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu and several other countries, was adopted with 141 votes in favour, eight against and 28 abstentions. The United States was among the countries voting against it, alongside petrostates Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iran as well as Yemen, Israel, Belarus, and Liberia.

• • UN Backs Historic Climate Crisis Ruling,
  Despite US Attempts to Stop Resolution

  The US, Russia, Iran and Saudi Arabia – Some of the Highest Oil-Producing Nations and Major Greenhouse Gas Emitters – Opposed the Measure

  

  May 20, 2026 -The UN has voted 141-8 to adopt a resolution backing a world court opinion that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change, with the US – which is the world’s biggest historical emitter – among the small group opposing it.

  The UN secretary general, António Guterres, said Wednesday’s general assembly vote, in which 28 countries abstained, underscored that governments are responsible for protecting citizens from the “escalating climate crisis”.

• • A U.S. Reckoning Over Chemical Pollution From Military Bases

  New Mexico is Suing the Federal Government Over PFAS Contamination From Cannon Air Force Base

  

  May 20, 2026 -Two men walked through livestock pens with .22-caliber rifles, killing Art Schaap’s cows. One man would raise his rifle, its barrel inches from a cow’s forehead. A shot would ring out, the cow would fall and the men would move on to the next cow.

  There were 3,665 cows at the Highland Dairy in Clovis, N.M., a city in the flatlands near the Texas border. After six hours of gunfire, there were none.

• • DOE Exceeded Its Authority With Coal
  Retirement Delay, States Tell Appeals Court

  The DOE’s Coal Retirement Freeze Just Got Its Day in Court
  
  {energy central0}

  May 18, 2026 - The agency has faced several legal challenges over its orders to keep aging fossil fuel plants online—now, one has made it to the oral argument stage for the first time.

  What happened: Lawyers representing states and public interest groups told the D.C. Circuit that the DOE overstepped when ordering a Michigan Consumers Energy coal plant to keep running past its planned May ‘25 retirement. The DOE’s response? MISO is facing a grid emergency.

• • DOJ Says It Might Help Musk In Lawsuit Over AI Pollution

  The Trump Administration Told a Federal Court That It's Considering Intervening in a Case By the NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center Against the Billionaire's Company xAI
  
  {CLIMATEWIRE}

  May 18, 2026 - The federal government is considering whether to intervene in a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company.

  The NAACP and Southern Environmental Law Center have accused the company, xAI, of operating 27 natural gas turbines without pollution controls or Clean Air Act permits to power the Southaven, Mississippi, data center known as Colossus 2. The groups sued xAI in April and last week asked for a preliminary injunction to stop pollution from the tractor-trailer-sized generators.

• • Top Climate Research Center At Risk
  of Cuts Sues Trump Administration

  Universities That Run the National Center for Atmospheric Research Want to Keep it From Being Dismantled

  

  May 9, 2026 -In one of the highest-profile battles yet between the US research community and the administration of President Donald Trump, lawyers faced off in a Colorado courthouse yesterday over the future of a research centre that has been called the global ‘mothership’ of climate science.”

  Under Trump, the US government has said that it will take steps to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, alleging that it promotes climate alarmism. The organization that manages NCAR — a coalition of around 130 universities called the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) — sued the government in March to stop NCAR’s break-up.

• • Inside the Indigenous Fight to Save Alaska’s Bristol Bay

  Commercial Fishermen and the Conservation Community Came Together to Stop a Gold and Copper Mine

  

  May 9, 2026 -In 2001, a Canadian mining company proposed a massive gold and copper mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, a pristine water system on the coast of the Alaska Peninsula that’s home to the largest sockeye salmon run in the world. The salmon support a thriving ecosystem and are a cultural and economic lifeblood for native Alaskans, who have stewarded the land and water for thousands of years.

  As the company moved ahead with plans to build the largest open-pit mine in North America, those Indigenous communities joined together to bring it to a halt. In 2023, they secured a rare “EPA veto” of the proposed Pebble Mine, and the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize for North America recognizes an Indigenous leader in this fight.

• • Greenpeace Suffers Another Blow in Court Fight With Pipeline Giant

  In an Unusual Move, a North Dakota Court Said Greenpeace International Shouldn’t Be Allowed to Pursue a Lawsuit in Europe

  

  May 8, 2026 -Greenpeace International, the global coordinating body of the environmental organization, suffered an unusual setback on Thursday when the North Dakota Supreme Court said the organization should not be allowed to pursue a lawsuit in the Netherlands, where it is based.

  It is rare for a court in one country to try to block a lawsuit in another country.

• • The Trump Admin is Trying to Stop State Climate Lawsuits

  It Isn’t working
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  May 7, 2026 -In a world that sometimes feels consumed by bad news, here’s a story that will restore your faith in humanity: Everyday people are quietly protecting an absolutely stunning 85 million acres of private land for conservation across the United States and Australia. This incredible movement is being driven not by governments or corporations, but by generous, forward-thinking citizens who care deeply about preserving nature for future generations.

  Australia has emerged as a shining example, now boasting one of the world’s largest networks of privately-conserved land. The country has amassed an incredible 24 million acres of protected habitat, and the numbers keep growing.

• • Is It Time to Tax the Oil and Gas Industry’s Windfall?

  The War in Iran Has Meant Big Profits For Fossil Fuel Companies, Prompting Some Lawmakers to Call For a Tax, But...

  

  May 5, 2026 -As U.S. gas prices soar to their highest levels in four years, it’s becoming clear that the war in Iran has been very profitable for oil and gas companies. BP boasted about “exceptional” performance in the first quarter of this year, and TotalEnergies, which is based in France, announced $5.4 billion in net profits, Patricia Cohen reported last week.

  Now, the finance ministers of a handful of European countries, including Germany and Italy, along with a few Democrats in the Senate, are calling for windfall taxes on the war-related gains of oil and gas companies. These excess profits are the result of the war in Iran, the argument goes, as opposed to savvy business decisions, and should be taxed more. Governments could then use the proceeds to send money back to consumers saddled with high energy bills or invest in renewable energy sources.

• • California Energy Commission Issues Subpoena to
  Golden State Wind As Federal Protections Stall

  The California Energy Commission Has Issued an Administrative Investigative Subpoena to Golden State Wind Regarding Its Deal With the Trump Administration to Abandon an Offshore Wind Project
  
  {California ENERGY COMMISSION}

  May 4, 2026 -Today, the California Energy Commission announced that it has issued an administrative investigative subpoena to Golden State Wind LLC seeking documents and information related to the company’s recent agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior to accept a payout in exchange for voluntarily abandoning its offshore wind lease.

  “The Trump Administration is recklessly spending billions of taxpayer dollars on backroom deals that would turn back the clock on innovation” said CEC Chair David Hochschild. “Californians deserve immediate answers about the nature of this payout. Taxpayer dollars should be used to build a sustainable energy future, not to pay to make projects disappear.”

• • What the US Could Learn About Mining
  On Indigenous Peoples’ Ancestral Lands

  Tribes Navigating the U.S. Lithium Boom Have Little Power to Influence Decisions On Homelands Seized From Them

  

  May 3, 2026 -In the U.S., many Native American tribes maintain deep cultural and historical ties to ancestral lands outside of reservation boundaries. A 19th-century mining law still governs much of today’s lithium boom—and it doesn’t require the federal government to consult tribes before mining projects advance on these ancestral lands.

  While some federal policies attempt to fill that gap, tribal consultation often remains discretionary and occurs too late—leaving tribes with little power to influence project outcomes.

• • How the Rush to Mine the Metal of the
  Future Echoes America’s Colonial Past

  Tribes Are Among the Most Affected

  
  

  May 3, 2026 -Trina Lone Hill wasn’t surprised that mining companies had found lithium in South Dakota’s Black Hills. Gold and uranium had drawn drillers to the Lakota Sioux tribe’s hallowed ground in these western highlands years ago. Now, with this new mineral powering the global green-energy transition, the tribe’s historic preservation officer had one thought: “Here we go again.”

  About 1,000 miles away in southwest Nevada, Joe Kennedy, of the Timbisha Shoshone tribe, watched a sacred stream fade after a lithium-mining company began drilling in search of the mineral—all while his tribe fought to prevent a second company from boring into the aquifer beneath its reservation.

• • Nations Preserve a Plan to Adopt a Global Fee On Shipping Emissions

  But Keep Their Options Open

  
  

  May 1, 2026 -The world’s maritime nations preserved a plan to adopt the first global carbon fee on shipping, as they agreed to keep working on it in the fall and adjourned their meeting Friday.

  However, they also agreed to continue discussing alternative proposals and entertain new ones, which could change the plan substantially.

  Nations met this week at the International Maritime Organization headquarters in London in preparation for potentially voting in the late fall on new, global regulations to clean up shipping, or the “Net-zero Framework.” Instead of finishing the discussions, the delegates scheduled more meetings for the fall to keep working ahead of a vote, keeping the framework as a foundation for their negotiations.

• • Florida Opens Criminal Probe Into Sloth
  World After Dozens of Animal Deaths

  Most of the Wild Sloths Imported By a Planned Tourist Attraction in Orlando Did Not Survive

  
  

  May 1, 2026 -The Florida Attorney General’s office announced a criminal investigation into the deaths of dozens of sloths at a now-shuttered Orlando business, a development that signals a new level of animal-welfare accountability in the commercial wildlife trade.

  In a letter released Friday, Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed his office is assisting the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida in a probe into Sloth World. The news comes two weeks after an Inside Climate News investigation revealed that more than 31 sloths under the company’s care had died.

• • Western Lawmakers Move To Weaken Clean Air Act

  Shielding Fossil Fuel Companies From Climate Lawsuits

  
  

  April 30, 2026 -Members of Congress from Texas and Wyoming introduced bills recently that would grant fossil fuel companies sweeping legal immunity and shield energy producers from stricter compliance with the Clean Air Act.

  Republican Harriet Hageman, Wyoming’s only member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spearheaded legislation that would protect fossil fuel companies from liability for damages caused by storms, wildfires and other climate-fueled disasters. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, collaborated on another bill called the FENCES Act, which would make it easier for states to claim that foreign emissions are driving local pollution.

• • Trump Admin Asks Supreme Court
  to Scrap Biden Energy Efficiency Regs

  Government Lawyers Sided With Gas Companies Urging the Justices to Revisit a Decision By a Lower Bench That Upheld the Rules
  
  {ENERGYWIRE}

  April 29, 2026 - The Trump administration is throwing its weight behind gas providers and utilities that want the Supreme Court to strike down Biden-era Department of Energy rules that tightened standards for gas-powered commercial water heaters and consumer furnaces.

  In a brief filed Tuesday, the Department of Justice said because of a “legal error,” the justices should overturn a 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit blocking the sale of noncondensing natural gas furnaces and commercial water heaters.

• • Trump’s Environmental Cuts Further
  Marginalize Vulnerable Communities

  In Florida, Majority Black and Brown Communities Face Hotter Temperatures, Rising Seas and More Damaging Storms

  
  

  April 27, 2026 -Since returning to the White House for his second term, President Donald Trump and his administration have drastically cut environmental programs and programs designed to serve disadvantaged communities and communities of color. These are groups with the fewest resources to deal with climate impacts such as hotter temperatures and more damaging storms.

  The cuts have put pressure on nonprofits to fill the funding gaps. Yoca Arditi-Rocha is chief executive officer of the CLEO Institute, a Florida-based nonprofit dedicated to educating and empowering communities to stand up for climate action.

• • Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in
  Landmark Roundup Weedkiller Case

  A Victory For Bayer, Could End Thousands of Lawsuits Against the Company Claiming That the Herbicide Causes Cancer

  
  

  Apr. 26, 2026 -The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Monday in a case that could lead to the dismissal of tens of thousands of lawsuits against Bayer, the pharmaceutical and biotech giant, that claim the weedkiller Roundup caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

  Developed by Monsanto in the 1970s, Roundup is one of the best-selling weedkillers in the world, but it has been dogged by controversy over its effects on human health. The company, which was acquired by the German conglomerate in 2018, has faced thousands of lawsuits, amounting to one of the largest waves of such litigation in U.S. history.

• • How the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Upended Climate Policy

  A Decision That Critics Say Was Rushed and Flawed

  
  

  Apr. 23, 2026 -In 2016, a surprise decision from the Supreme Court “sent both climate policy and the court itself spinning in new directions,” Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak wrote in an investigation published last week.

  The one-paragraph ruling halted the Clean Power Plan, President Barack Obama’s signature environmental policy, which was aimed at reducing emissions from power plants. The decision signaled the birth of the court’s modern “shadow docket,” which the court uses to issue short opinions and bypass the time-tested procedures of hearing oral arguments and publishing detailed explanation of the justices’ thinking.

  The court has since used this emergency docket to grant Trump more than 20 victories on issues like immigration and employee firings.

• • Transco Pipeline Project Faces Legal Challenge

  Transco Received a Federal Permit to Install a Natural Gas Pipeline Using an “Open-Cut” Method That Can Harm Rivers and Streams in Virginia and North Carolina

  
  

  Apr. 21, 2026 -Five environmental groups are petitioning a federal appeals court to invalidate a water quality permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a controversial Transco pipeline.

  The $1.5 billion Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP) would run through five states, including North Carolina, where it would extend for 28 miles in Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth and Davidson counties.

• • Boston Federal Judge Strikes Down Some Trump
  Administration Actions That Have Slowed Clean Energy Projects

  Justice Strikes Trump, Again
  
  {WBUR}

  April 21, 2026 -A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday struck down several Trump administration actions slowing down development of clean energy, including a requirement that all solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

  Chief Judge Denise J. Casper of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled that a coalition of plaintiffs representing wind and solar developers were likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the administration's actions violate federal statute and will cause irreparable harm if the court did not intervene.

• • E.P.A. and Maryland Sue D.C. Utility
  Over Potomac River Sewage Spill

  In Separate Lawsuits, Environmental Regulators Said D.C. Water Failed to Prevent and Contain a Massive Spill of Raw Sewage Upstream of Washington

  
  

  April 21, 2026 -The Environmental Protection Agency and Maryland regulators filed separate lawsuits Monday seeking to hold the Washington, D.C., public water utility responsible for at least 240 million gallons of sewage contamination that flowed into the Potomac River this winter.

  The utility, D.C. Water, was in the process of updating the Potomac Interceptor, a 60-year-old pipeline that carries up to 60 million gallons of sewage daily through Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, when a section of the tunnel collapsed in January near the Cabin John area of Montgomery County, Md., about five miles upstream of Washington.

• • Chevron’s Supreme Court Win Offers Oil
  Industry Easier Path to Friendlier Courts

  The Court Sided With the Oil Industry in a Lawsuit Over Damage to Louisiana’s Eroding Coastline
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  April 17, 2026 -A Supreme Court ruling Friday could make it easier for federal contractors and other private parties to move lawsuits against them to federal court, delaying proceedings and securing venues they see as more favorable to their arguments.

  In an 8-0 decision, the justices found that Chevron U.S.A. met legal requirements to transfer a yearslong dispute over its responsibility for Louisiana’s eroding coastline from state to federal court under the federal officer removal statute. The law allows private entities like Chevron< that are acting under the direction of the federal government to be heard before a federal bench.

• • Suspect Accused of Hacking Climate Activists Appears in Court

  Amit Forlit is Accused of Running a Hacking Operation That Aimed to Thwart Climate Litigation at the Behest of a Lobbying Firm Working For an Oil Giant

  
  

  April 17, 2026 -A private investigator accused of running a global hacking-for-hire operation that targeted environmental activists on Friday made his first appearance before the federal judge who would oversee his eventual trial in Manhattan.

  Amit Forlit, 58, of Israel, was indicted in 2022 on charges of conspiracy to commit computer hacking, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, which could result in up to 45 years in prison. Prosecutors said his crimes generated “tens of millions of dollars” in unlawful proceeds.

• • FERC Orders American Efficient to Pay $1.1B for ‘Brazen Fraud

  One of the 'Most Brazen’ Frauds Seen By FERC
  
  {energy central}

  April 16, 2026 -The scheme: The energy efficiency aggregator 1) bought appliance sales data from retailers like Home Depot and Walmart 2) calculated how much electricity the products would save and 3) bid those savings into PJM and MISO capacity markets. Over a decade, American Efficient cleared 20 GW and collected roughly $515M in capacity payments. The issue? The company never actually handled these resources…it just claimed credit for efficiency that was already happening.

  ‘Money-for-Nothing’: FERC Chair Laura Swett said the fraud “profoundly disrupted the organized capacity markets and ultimately increased costs for ordinary Americans.” AE will pay a $722M fine, plus return “unjust profits” and interest totaling around $400M to PJM and $2M to MISO.

• • Court Rejects Trump Administration Climate Lawsuit Against Hawaii

  A Setback For Federal Efforts to Thwart Climate Litigation

  
  

  April 16, 2026 -A federal judge has dismissed a highly unusual lawsuit, filed last year by the Trump administration, that sought to pre-emptively block Hawaii from filing its own lawsuit against oil companies over their role in climate change.

  Hawaii went ahead with its lawsuit the very next day. And at the time, a range of legal experts described the Justice Department’s strategy, of suing to try to prevent someone else from suing, as weak.

• • Iowa Moves to Shield Farmers, Ethanol
  Plants, From Lawsuits Over Emissions

  Climate Lawsuits Are a Largely Nonexistent Threat to Farmers in the State, But Ethanol Producers Could Benefit From the Law

  
  

  April 15, 2026 -Aaron Lehman has many concerns about the fate of Iowa’s farmers. Climate lawsuits aren’t one.

  But state legislators don’t see eye-to-eye with Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union. Instead, they’ve pushed through a bill that shields agricultural operations from lawsuits over the climate impacts of their greenhouse gas emissions. The bill now awaits Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature.

• • Youths Who Sued Trump Over Orders
  to ‘Unleash’ Energy Try to Revive Case

  Appealing the Dismissal of Their Suit, They Argued That Executive Orders to Promote Fossil Fuels Endangered Their Futures and Violated Their Constitutional Rights

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -A group of 22 young people who sued President Trump over his executive orders on energy told an appeals court on Monday that their case had been wrongfully dismissed.

  The group is trying to revive a case claiming that Mr. Trump violated their constitutional rights by encouraging fossil fuel use, accelerating global warming and endangering their health and safety.

• • Bill Could Lift Decades-Old Funding
  Lockout For Nisqually Fish Hatchery

  The Law Would Make Fuel Companies Help Pay For Damages Caused By Climate Change

  
  

  April 13, 2026 -Once-abundant groundwater has dwindled at the Nisqually Clear Creek Hatchery near Olympia. Now, the hatchery needs drilled wells and water pumps to sustain the facility’s millions of Chinook and coho.

  But the Nisqually Tribe struggled for years to find funds to maintain the site, according to David Troutt, the Nisqually Indian Tribe’s director of natural resources.

• • Berkshire-Owned Pacificorp Utility Wins Ruling
  That Could Reduce Oregon Wildfire Damages

  An Oregon Appeals Court Just Handed Pacificorp a Major Win in Its Wildfire Liability Saga
  
  {energy central}

  April 9, 2026 -Berkshire Hathaway’s utility may be on the hook for tens of billions in damages from 2020 Labor Day wildfires, which burned 2K+ properties across four blazes. By last month, 171 plaintiffs had already received around $1.1B. The stakes? S&P recently warned it may downgrade PacifiCorp to junk if jury awards stay elevated.

  The recent ruling: On Wednesday, the appeals court decided a trial judge blundered—by allowing the litigation against PacifiCorp to proceed as a class action. Now, this shift could lower PacifiCorp's liability. The case is heading back to the trial judge, who can reconsider whether a single class is appropriate

• • Suspect in Hacking of Climate Activists Is Extradited to New York

  Prosecutors Say Amit Forlit Ran a Global Hacking Operation On Behalf of a Washington Lobbying Group That Aimed to Thwart Environmental Lawsuits Against Oil Companies

  
  

  April 6, 2026 -Amit Forlit, who has been charged by U.S. prosecutors with running a so-called hacking-for-hire operation that targeted environmental groups, has been extradited from Britain to stand trial in New York.

  Mr. Forlit, 58, is accused of running a sprawling enterprise that operated around the world, including in Russia, India and Dubai. A 2022 grand jury indictment unsealed on Friday charged Mr. Forlit with conspiracy to commit computer hacking, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, which could result in up to 45 years in prison.

• • Trump’ Budget Attacks Renewables, Boosts ‘Energy Dominance

  The Administration’s Fiscal 2027 Spending Proposal Follows Up On Last Year’s Pitch to Decimate Funding For Clean Energy and “Environmental Justice”
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  April 6, 2026 -The White House released its fiscal 2027 budget request Friday morning, unveiling plans to continue waging its longstanding war against renewable energy and climate initiatives while boosting support for artificial intelligence and fossil fuels.

  The spending blueprint also includes a proposed reorganization for core Interior Department energy offices — the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

  Trump’s budget would take a sledgehammer to Biden-era energy and environment programs that the administration has not already decimated, proposing tens of billions of dollars in cuts to everything from electric vehicle chargers to efforts to prosecute certain environmental crimes.

• • Five EU Countries Call For Windfall Tax On Energy Companies

  Ministers From Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria Say Companies Must Help 'Ease Burden On the General Public'

  
  

  April 4, 2026 - Five European ?Union countries are calling for a windfall tax on energy companies' profits in reaction to rising fuel prices due to the Iran war, according to a letter from finance ministers to the EU Commission seen by Reuters on Saturday.

  The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria made the joint call for an EU-wide tax in a letter dated Friday. Such a measure could help fund relief for consumers in the ?face of high energy prices and be a signal that "we stand united and are able to take action", they said.

• • Judge Rules Alabama Power Can Keep
  Its Solar Fee, Among the Nation’s Highest

  Despite a Sunny Climate, Alabama Ranks 49Th Among U.S. States in Residential Solar Installations—Lower Than Alaska

  
  

  March 31, 2026 -In Alabama, a years-long battle over one of the nation’s highest backup fees for residential solar customers may have finally come to an end.

  A federal judge ruled last week that Alabama Power can continue charging its small solar customers one of the highest standby charges in the nation, dismissing a lawsuit that argued the fee was illegal under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act.

• • Vermont Hits Back at Trump’s Effort
  to Block ‘Climate Superfund’ Law

  The Law Would Make Fuel Companies Help Pay For Damages Caused By Climate Change

  
  

  March 30, 2026 -The Justice Department and the state of Vermont faced off in a federal courtroom on Monday over the state’s landmark 2024 “climate superfund” law, which will require fossil fuel companies to pay for the mounting costs of climate change.

  The Trump administration sued last year to block the law, arguing it was unconstitutional. That position is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute, which have filed their own lawsuit against Vermont.

• • Enviros Decry State Efforts to Block Climate Lawsuits

  Groups Say There Is a Coordinated National Effort to Shield the Fossil Fuel Industry From Litigation
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  Mar. 20, 2026 - Green groups are rebuking efforts by Republican-controlled states to block climate lawsuits, claiming that state legislators across the country are working together to buffer the oil and gas industry from financial responsibility for the effects of a warming planet.

  Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Monday became the first governor to sign into law a bill that provides immunity to corporations and individuals for causing climate-related harm. Under the law, potential legal challengers must show “clear and convincing evidence” that a company violated a specific emissions statute or permit.

• • More than 160 Climate, Health Groups Call
  For Firing of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin

  ‘He Has Betrayed the Agency’
  
  {EARTH.ORG}

  Mar. 26, 2026 -The US Environmental Protection Agency‘s Administrator Lee Zeldin has “betrayed” the agency’s core mission and set a “dangerous” agenda that is hurting public health and the environment, according to an open letter calling for Zeldin’s firing.

  The letter, signed by 163 local and national environmental and health organizations, says Zeldin must be held accountable for his actions.

  Since taking office in January 2025 following Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Zeldin has taken significant and often controversial steps that go against the agency’s stated mission to “protect human health and the environment,” the letter said.

• • Maryland Supreme Court Strikes Down
  Local Climate Suit Against Big Oil

  The Decision Represents a Setback to Other Local Governments Around the Country That Have Sued Oil Companies to Recoup the Mounting Costs of Climate Change

  
  

  Mar. 24, 2026 -The Maryland Supreme Court on Tuesday dealt a major blow to cities and other local governments looking to sue oil companies over climate change.

  The court ruled against reviving climate lawsuits brought by Baltimore, Annapolis and Anne Arundel County that were struck down by lower courts.

• • California Sues Trump Energy Department Over
  Revival of Controversial Oil Pipeline

  California Sues the DOE Over Its Forced Restart of a Controversial Offshore Pipeline System
  
  {energy central}

  Mar. 24, 2026 -The Sable Offshore pipeline system shuttered after a 2015 oil spill that sent over 100K gallons of crude oil into the Pacific. Earlier this month, Energy Sec. Chris Wright invoked the Defense Production Act via a Trump executive order to override state law. Now, the system is already shipping oil and expects to hit 50K barrels a day by April 1.

  California AG Rob Bonta called it "outrageous federal overreach," arguing the restart violates federal law, state law, and a federally approved settlement from the original spill.

• • Federal Removal of Popular Bike Lanes Delayed as Cyclists Sue

  The Federal Highway Administration Was Expected to Begin Construction to Remove the Popular 15Th Street Lanes As Soon As This Week

  
  

  Mar. 24, 2026 -The federal government’s planned removal of popular bike lanes along 15th Street near the National Mall has been delayed after cyclists filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to permanently stop the project, according to the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and D.C. officials.

  The Federal Highway Administration was expected to begin construction to remove the lanes as soon as this week. The agency said in a statement to The Washington Post on Friday that it was seeking to return “common sense into city planning” and that it was “essential to improve traffic flow for the hundreds of thousands of tourists” expected to flock to D.C. for major events such as the National Cherry Blossom Festival and Freedom250 celebrations.

• • Vanguard Retreats from ESG

  What Was Agreed to In the Settlement?
  
  {Living On Earth}

  Mar. 20, 2026 - The investment giant Vanguard is retreating from its climate initiatives as part of a $30 million settlement deal for an anti-trust lawsuit brought by Republican state attorneys general. The lawsuit alleged that Vanguard and fellow asset managers BlackRock and b>State Street, which are still fighting the suit, conspired to kill the coal industry. Vanguard did not admit to wrongdoing but is now barred from participating in climate investment watchdog groups such as Ceres. General Counsel for Ceres, Michael Boudett joined Living on Earth Executive Producer Steve Curwood to explain.

  Vanguard, which manages more than twelve trillion dollars in global assets, did not admit to wrongdoing but agreed to pay Texas, Missouri, Indiana and ten other Republican-led states about thirty million dollars. Vanguard also agreed to withdraw from the Principles for Responsible Investment network and not participate in any organization that advocates for specific emissions targets or requires climate-focused investment commitments.

• • 24 States Sue the E.P.A. for Renouncing
  Its Power to Fight Climate Change

  The Suit Accuses the Agency of Illegally Repealing the Endangerment Finding, the Scientific Assessment That Required It to Regulate Greenhouse Gases

  
  

  Mar. 19, 2026 -A coalition of 24 states, along with a dozen cities and counties, sued the Trump administration on Thursday over its decision to relinquish the government’s legal authority to fight climate change.

  The lawsuit was filed in the ?U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. It is expected to be consolidated with a case that environmental groups filed in February, making for one of the largest legal challenges to date against the Trump administration’s unraveling of federal climate policy.

• • FEMA to Relaunch Climate Resiliency
  Grants, Complying With Court Order

  A Judge Ruled in December That the Agency Could Not Cancel a Program That Had Helped States Invest Billions of Dollars in Disaster Readiness

  
  

  Mar. 18, 2026 -The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday it would relaunch a canceled grant program that had helped states invest billions of dollars in projects that made local communities more resilient to floods, fires and other disasters.

  The announcement came days ahead of a deadline imposed by a federal judge who ruled in December that the Trump administration’s decision to end the program, known as Building Resilient Communities and Infrastructure, or BRIC, last April was illegal. In a March 6 court order, Judge Richard G. Stearns of U.S. District Court for Massachusetts gave FEMA two weeks to comply with his ruling and reinstate the program.

• • Trump Administration Targeted Climate Lab
  in Effort to Free Trump Ally, Lawsuit Claims

  The Complaint Says Efforts to Dismantle an Atmospheric Research Center Are Part of a Broader Political Campaign That Endangers Climate and Weather Studies

  
  

  Mar. 16, 2026 -The Trump administration has targeted a climate and weather research lab as retribution against Colorado officials for imprisoning a county clerk backed by the president who was convicted of helping election deniers meddle with voting equipment in 2020, a lawsuit filed Monday by the lab’s leadership alleged.

  The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, a nonprofit consortium of 129 North American universities, filed a lawsuit against four federal agencies and their directors on Monday claiming that the administration’s efforts to dismantle the Boulder, Colo., lab “pose a direct threat to national security, public safety, and economic prosperity and risk setting back the country’s global leadership in weather and space weather modeling and forecasting.”

• • Administration to Convene ‘God Squad’
  With Power to Override Environmental Law

  The Meeting, Planned For This Month, Will Focus On Oil and Gas Drilling In the Gulf of Mexico

  
  

  Mar. 16, 2026 -The Trump administration plans to convene the so-called God Squad, a high-level federal panel that has the power to override protections under the Endangered Species Act, for a meeting related to oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico.

  The meeting, scheduled for March 31, will be the first time in three decades that the group, officially called the Endangered Species Committee, will gather.

• • Mining Made This US Tribal Area a Toxic Wasteland

  This Indigenous Nation Brought It Back to Life

  
  

  Mar. 15, 2026 -They call this land the Laue. In the late 1800s, part of these 200 acres of grassland inside the Quapaw Nation were allotted to tribal citizen Charley Quapaw Blackhawk. After forcing dozens of tribes into Indian territory before the civil war, the US government then parceled out reservations and property to individual members. It was part of the government’s attempt to “civilize” Native Americans by turning them into private, not communal, landholders and yeoman farmers in the model of Thomas Jefferson’s ideal citizen.

  Yet, for the last century, little grew on the Laue. Half of it was buried beneath towering mounds of toxic rock known as chat piles. The waste rock, laced with chemicals, was left after miners extracted millions of tons of lead and zinc from the Tri-State Mining District, where the valuable ores stretched across Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma between 1891 and the 1970s.

• • Louisiana Nears Deal With ConocoPhillips Over Coastal Erosion

  Gov. Jeff Landry Said the State is Close to a Settlement With the Oil Major That Would Help Restore the Bayou State’s Disappearing Coast
  
  {GREENWIRE}
  
  

  Mar. 10, 2026 - Louisiana has reached a tentative agreement with ConocoPhillips to settle years of litigation over the oil major's contribution to the state's shrinking coastline.

  Gov. Jeff Landry announced at a coastal advisory commission meeting last week that the state and the energy company are “words away from resolving the longstanding coastal litigation claims.”

• • BHP Wins Bid to Throw Out UK
  Contempt Case Linked to Brazil Dam Collapse

  BHP Unsuccessfully Tried to Throw the Case Out Last Year, But the ?Court of Appeal Overturned That Decision On Monday, Bringing the Contempt Proceedings to an End

  
  

  Mar. 16, 2026 -BHP (BHP.AX), opens new tab on Monday won its bid to throw out a contempt of court case in Britain over the funding of litigation to ?try to prevent some Brazilian municipalities suing the mining giant in London over one of Brazil's worst environmental disasters.

  The judgment comes as BHP waits for a decision on whether it can challenge a ruling that it is liable for the 2015 collapse ?of the Mariana dam in southeastern Brazil that was owned and ?operated by BHP and Vale's (VALE3.SA), opens new tab Samarco joint venture.

• • Her Lab Worked to Future-Proof Fruits and Vegetables

  Erin McGuire Ran A Research Network That Studied How to Get Healthy Food to Marginalized Populations Around the World

  
  

  Mar. 12, 2026 -Erin McGuire: I grew up in rural Maine, where my dad was a farmer. I was also on the food stamp program, now known as SNAP, and free and reduced-price school meal programs. And that experience informed my career, where I have focused on: How do you get healthy food to marginalized populations?

  The Horticulture Innovation Lab, which was funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, was an absolute dream job. The lab was one of the only organizations focused on fruit and vegetable research, which is chronically underfunded.

• • One Year After Green Bank’s Demise,
  Court Mulls Future of Grant-Based Climate Policy

  The Trump Administration Faced Skepticism in Court Over Its Claim of an Unfettered Right to Break Contracts

  
  

  Mar. 11, 2026 -One year ago today, Environmental Protection Agency< Administrator Lee Zeldin announced he was terminating the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, one of the biggest climate initiatives of the Biden administration, after weeks of alleging the $20 billion in grants had been awarded in a “criminal” scheme.

  But the Trump administration never was able to show the federal courts evidence of wrongdoing with regards to the fund, which Congress created in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act< to spur private investment in clean energy and climate solutions.

• • The Latest Tactic for Silencing Ecuador’s Environmental Defenders

  Shuttering Their Bank Accounts

  
  

  Mar. 10, 2026 -It was a sweltering January afternoon in the Amazonian town of Puyo when Andrés Tapia realized his daughter’s public school fees were due. Like many Ecuadorians, he reached for his phone to make a mobile transfer.

  Carrying cash is too risky these days. Ecuador is in the grip of an ongoing security crisis, with transnational criminal organizations spilling in from neighboring Colombia and Peru. But when Tapia tried to log into the Banco Pichincha mobile banking app, a message flashed on the screen: There was a problem with his account, and he should visit the nearest branch.

• • The Feds Pulled $1.5B From Tribal Clean Energy

  Tribes Are Finding Another Way

  
  

  Mar. 10, 2026 -Across tribal nations, hosting a convening with dinner and a tour of an ambitious new project is a familiar scene. But for David Harper, a member of the Colorado River Indian Tribes and CEO of the newly created tribal energy financing organization Huurav, a recent gathering felt different. Last week, at the Bluewater Resort and Casino on the Colorado River Indian Tribes reservation in western Arizona, Huurav met with tribal leaders, investors, and farmers to kick off the tribe’s first agrivoltaics project: a practice that allows for growing crops beneath solar panels.

  The project marks a significant breakthrough for the tribe and the broader tribal clean energy landscape, arriving on the heels of a devastating blow to federal support..

• • Is the FBI Investigating Environmental Activists?

  A Recent Visit By an FBI Agent to a Climate Activist Hints at a Broadening Trump Administration Effort to Target Political Opponents

  
  

  Mar. 8, 2026 -The group in the Brooklyn studio seemed harmless. There was a graduate student, a Yiddish teacher, a hairdresser. Fifteen people had gathered on a Wednesday night for a training offered by Extinction Rebellion NYC and Climate Defiance, two climate activist groups that engage in nonviolent civil disobedience and theatrical protest.

  They sat in metal folding chairs eating pizza, surrounded by banners and art supplies, discussing how to gain a crowd’s attention without prompting immediate boos.

• • How Trump’s EPA Rollbacks Give
  US States New Tools in Climate Suits

  Vermont and New York Face High Stakes to Protect Climate Superfund Laws as It Faces Attacks From Trump’s DoJ

  
  

  Mar. 8, 2026 -By rolling back a bedrock climate legal determination, the Trump administration has undercut its attacks on a groundbreaking state climate accountability law, green groups have argued in court.

  Trump’s justice department has asked a judge to kill a first-of-its-kind 2024 Vermont “climate superfund” policy requiring major polluters to pay for damages caused by their past planet-heating pollution, partly on the grounds that that federal law, not state law, governs greenhouse gas emissions. But last month, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) repealed the endangerment finding, the scientific determination giving federal officials the authority to control those very pollutants.

• • Justice Advances in Cancer Alley

  As the Mississippi River Winds Its Way From Baton Rouge, Louisiana Down to New Orleans, It’s Flanked By Hundreds of Industrial Plants That Refine and Transform Oil and Gas Into Chemicals and Plastics
  
  {living on earth}
  
  

  Mar. 6, 2026 -Descendants of enslaved people fighting pollution in Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ have been greenlit for a trial. Their lawsuit alleges the St. James Parish government discriminated against Black residents by repeatedly permitting industrial plants in predominantly Black districts while shielding mostly white districts from industry. Monique Harden, a longtime environmental justice attorney and advocate, joins Host Jenni Doering to explain how the 13th amendment outlawing slavery plays into the case

• • An Island Nation in the South Pacific Leads
  the Latest Push for Climate Justice at the UN

  Vanuatu Urges the U.N. to Support a Landmark International Court Of Justice Climate Opinion That Says Governments Have Legal Duties to Confront Climate Change

  
  

  Mar. 6, 2026 -Led by the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, a coalition of countries are introducing a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly that could reinforce countries’ legal obligations under international climate laws and treaties.

  The resolution would back a July 2025 climate advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice that frames climate commitments as requirements rather than political suggestions and would recommend a U.N. process to document climate-related losses and damage experienced by vulnerable countries and communities.

• • New Lawsuit Aims to Halt Expansion of a Montana
  Coal Mine Blamed for Drying up the Land Above It

  The Proposed Expansion of Signal Peak Energy’s Bull Mountains Mine has Also Revived Scrutiny of a Controversial Land Swap Bill That Would Deprive Musselshell County of Tax Revenue

  
  

  Mar. 3, 2026 -Environmental groups sued Tuesday to halt an expansion of the Bull Mountains Mine, claiming that the “energy emergency” underpinning its revival is nonexistent and that regulators have been aware for decades that underground coal mining would irrevocably damage the area’s water.

  The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, comes eight months after the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement issued an environmental impact statement that cleared the way for the expansion. In 2023, the same court vacated a previous environmental analysis that allowed the mine, which is operated by Signal Peak Energy, to extract coal in federal land. The new document was issued as part of President Donald Trump’s “energy emergency,” and the agency did not make a draft available for public comment.

• • Everyone Hates Interior’s Colorado River Plan

  As the Administration Prepares Water Supply Cuts Across the West, States Are Raising the Alarm and Laying the Groundwork For a Court Fight
  
  {GREENWIRE}
  
  

  Mar. 3, 2026 -Western states that have been brawling over the drought-stricken Colorado River have finally found something they can agree on: a shared hatred of the Trump administration’s plans for managing the waterway.

  Without an agreement for reducing demands along the West’s most important river, the Interior Department is preparing to make the decisions itself. But states, farm districts, cities, tribes and other major players on Monday unabashedly laid into the options the Bureau of Reclamation has laid out for doing so.

• • Can Nations Agree How to Mine the Sea?

  This Is the Year, She Says

  
  

  Feb. 28, 2026 -After a decade of debate, by year’s end the world should finally have a rulebook for mining the deep sea, Leticia Carvalho, the head of the International Seabed Authority, said in an interview.

  It’s her job to help make it happen. And in the past year, the Trump administration has made the task far more urgent. She called it “absolutely existential” that the 170 nations in the authority now reach an agreement.

• • A Tiny Caribbean Island Sued the
  Netherlands Over Climate Change, and Won

  The Victory of Bonaire, a Dutch territory, Could Open the Door For Similar Lawsuits Globally

  
  

  Feb. 28, 2026 -Due to climate disruption, scientists forecast huge rises in temperatures across the tropics. According to the IPCC, tropical regions are projected to experience significant warming—nearly 6 degrees Fahrenheit—by 2100.

  One region already feeling the increasing heat is the Caribbean, where islands are facing sea level rise. One of those islands is Bonaire, a special Dutch municipality just off the coast of Venezuela. In a landmark January decision, the Hague District Court of the Netherlands ruled that its government must better protect residents of Bonaire from climate change, finding current policies are inadequate and discriminatory. The decision requires a specific, binding climate adaptation plan for Bonaire by 2030.

• • Bonaire Residents Fight for Climate Justice

  The Court Ruled That the Netherlands Breached Human Rights By Treating Bonaire Residents as Second Class Citizens Compared to Residents in the Netherlands
  
  {living on earth}
  
  

  Feb. 27, 2026 - The Dutch special municipality of Bonaire in the Caribbean is already experiencing dangerous heat and could see a fifth of its land disappear under rising seas by 2100. But the Netherlands is discriminating against these overseas citizens by failing to adequately reduce global warming emissions and develop adaptation plans to help them cope, according to a January 2026 Dutch court decision. Greenpeace Netherlands campaigner Eefje de Kroon worked with eight Bonaire residents to bring their case.

• • Fossil Fuel Giant Wins $370 Million Tax
  Break For Burning Gas as an ‘Alternative Fuel’

  The IRS Ruling Appears to Allow One of the World’s Largest Exporters of Natural Gas to Claim Its Heavily Polluting Tankers Are Low-Emissions “Motorboats.”

  
  

  Feb. 27, 2026 -The Trump administration has handed a $370 million windfall to one of the world’s largest exporters of natural gas by allowing the company to claim an “alternative fuels” tax incentive for operating some of the planet’s most heavily polluting ships.

  Financial disclosures made Thursday by liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter Cheniere reveal that the IRS green-lit the payment earlier this year, ruling that the company’s tankers powered by liquefied natural gas that ship the fossil fuel worldwide qualified for the incentive.

• • Judge Approves $345 Million Verdict
  Against Greenpeace in Pipeline Suit

  Greenpeace Has Said the Verdict Could Bankrupt It

  
  

  Feb. 27, 2026 -A North Dakota judge finalized a potentially fatal verdict against Greenpeace on Friday, affirming a $345 million jury award against the storied environmental group that Greenpeace has said may force it into bankruptcy in the United States.

  The verdict was reached last year after a bruising trial brought by the pipeline company Energy Transfer over Greenpeace’s role in protests against the >Dakota Access Pipeline, an 1,172-mile pipeline that carries oil from North Dakota to Illinois.

• • Federal Judge Orders Protections For Salmon on Columbia River

  Learn About the Action Taken

  
  

  Feb. 26, 2026 -A federal judge in Portland ordered changes Wednesday to operations of eight dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers intended to reduce harm to salmon.

  The order comes after the Trump administration last June abandoned a landmark agreement intended to provide a road map for salmon recovery and energy supply in the Columbia Basin.

• • Pipeline Clash Escalates as Enbridge Starts Line 5 Work

  The Company Said It Can Reroute an Oil Pipeline in Wisconsin After Receiving a Federal Permit
  
  {ENERGYWIRE}
  
  

  Feb. 25, 2026 -Enbridge has kicked off construction of a contentious reroute of the Line 5 oil pipeline around a reservation in northern Wisconsin, even as environmental groups try to block the activity.

  The em>Army Corps of Engineers< finalized a permit Tuesday that was first issued in late October, Enbridge spokesperson Juli Kellner said in a statement. The move allows the Canadian company to begin constructing the project.

• • Billions in Climate Grants, Frozen for a Year, Are Back in Court

  The Legal Fight Over the Funds Rages On

  
  

  Feb. 24, 2026 -A lawsuit involving billions of dollars in climate grants is headed back to court on Tuesday, more than a year after the Environmental Protection Agency tried to cancel the awards and claw back the money.

  For the nonprofit groups that were blocked from spending the funds while the legal battle played out, it’s been a long wait. Some have had to cut staff and drastically restructure because the money has been frozen. One asked the E.P.A. to end its participation in the program altogether, despite the fact that its work had barely started.

• • Judge Axes Exxon’s Defamation Suit Against Environmentalists

  But the Case Against the California Attorney General, Prompted By His Lawsuit Over Exxon’s Plastic Recycling Program, Can Proceed in Texas Federal Court

  
  

  Feb. 24, 2026 -A federal judge in Texas has dismissed Exxon Mobil’s bombshell defamation lawsuit against environmental groups that it had accused of trying to sabotage its recycling business in collusion with an Australian mining magnate.

  But the judge allowed a parallel case against California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta, to proceed.

• • Paris Court Holds Historic Climate Trial in Case Against TotalEnergies

  The Lawsuit Challenges the Oil Major’s Expansion Plans and Could Set a Significant Precedent On Climate Responsibilities For Fossil Fuel Companies

  
  

  Feb. 19, 2026 - In the city where the Paris climate agreement was created, French oil major TotalEnergies is facing trial in a landmark civil climate case that aims to compel the company to curb its oil and gas production and emissions in line with the global accord’s 1.5 degrees Celsius long-term temperature limit.

  The Paris Judicial Court is holding a hearing on the merits, essentially a trial, Thursday and Friday in the case brought by French nonprofit groups and France’s capital city. Judges are examining, for the first time in the country’s history, whether a multinational oil and gas company can be legally required to reduce its fossil fuel production in line with climate objectives, according to a press release from the plaintiffs.

• • Illegal Gold Mining Surges Into New Parts of Peru’s Amazon

  Threatening Rivers and Lives

  
  

  Feb. 17, 2026 -Illegal gold mining is spreading into new parts of Peru’s Amazon, advancing along remote rivers and into Indigenous territories as experts warn of a widening environmental and public health crises that could cause irreparable damage.

  The surge marks a new phase for one of the Amazon’s most destructive industries, as operations move beyond long-established hot spots into previously untouched regions, environmentalists, researchers and Indigenous leaders told The Associated Press.

• • Supreme Court to Weigh Oil-Industry
  Effort to End a Major Climate Suit

  The Case Could Have Significant Bearing On a Range of Other Lawsuits Brought Against the Fossil Fuel Industry

  
  

  Feb. 23, 2026 -The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it had agreed to hear a major climate lawsuit in which the oil industry is claiming it shouldn’t be sued in state courts over its role in global warming. The outcome could have wide bearing on dozens of other lawsuits around the country.

  The court said it would hear arguments on a petition by Exxon Mobil and Suncor, a Canadian energy giant, in a lawsuit brought by the city and county of Boulder, Colo. The suit, first filed in 2018, sought to hold the companies liable for the effects of climate change, citing state laws.