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☆ U.S. Approves $500 Million for Bahrain Oil Project, Despite Opposition
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | More About Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Bahrain deal comes just months after the United States joined nearly 200 other nations in a promise to transition away from fossil fuels, the burning of which is dangerously overheating the planet. It also comes as Mr. Biden is working to shore up support from climate-minded voters as he runs for re-election. In February, plans to finance the Bahrain projects prompted two of the bank’s climate advisers to resign. The Bahrain project is one of several controversial overseas fossil fuel ventures that ExIm Bank is currently considering. Also being considered are a natural gas export project in Papua New Guinea and an offshore pipeline in Guyana, alongside some projects related to renewable energy like a zinc-lead mine in Greenland.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s Organizations: United States, ExIm Locations: Bahrain, Papua New Guinea, Guyana, Greenland

☆ Files Suggest Climate Summit’s Leader Is Using Event to Promote Fossil Fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | More About Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

As hosts of global climate talks that begin this week, the United Arab Emirates are expected to play a central role in forging an agreement to move the world more rapidly away from coal, oil and gas. But behind the scenes, the Emirates has sought to use its position as host to pursue a contradictory goal: to lobby on oil and gas deals around the world, according to an internal document made public by a whistle-blower. In one example, the document offers guidance for Emirati climate officials to use meetings with Brazil’s environment minister to enlist her help with a local petrochemical deal by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, the Emirates’ state-run oil and gas company, known as Adnoc. Emirati officials should also inform their Chinese counterparts that Adnoc was “willing to jointly evaluate international LNG opportunities” in Mozambique, Canada and Australia, the document indicates. LNG stands for liquefied natural gas, which is a fossil fuel and a driver of global warming.

Persons: Adnoc Organizations: United, Emirates, Abu, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Locations: United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Mozambique, Canada, Australia

☆ Nations That Vowed to Halt Warming Are Expanding Fossil Fuels, Report Finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | More About Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And over the past decade, governments and businesses have made progress in weaning themselves from fossil fuels by ramping up wind and solar power, for example, and investing in electric vehicle infrastructure. Yet the report issued on Wednesday, led by researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute, found that nations of the world plan to keep increasing coal production until 2030, and oil and gas production decades beyond that. The world was also set to overshoot, by 69 percent, the amount of fossil fuels consistent with limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius. Beyond those thresholds, the world faces the danger of irreversible and catastrophic damage from climate change, scientists say. The authors partly credited nations’ nascent efforts to rein in their emissions under the 2015 Paris Agreement, and the rapid growth in clean energy.

Organizations: Stockholm Environment Institute Locations: Stockholm, Paris

☆ Leaked Recording of U.A.E. Officials Reveals the Nation’s Concern Over Its Public Image
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | More About Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the United Arab Emirates hosts this year’s United Nations climate summit, it will elevate the Gulf nation’s global profile. But the conference is also inviting scrutiny of the Emirates’ record on human rights as well as its position as a leading oil producer. A leaked recording of a February meeting between representatives from the United Arab Emirates and summit organizers provides a candid look at their efforts to respond to the criticism. It also highlights the authoritarian state’s focus on its image, managed through contracts with public relations companies, lobbyists and social media specialists around the world. The Times verified the recording with the person who made it, who asked to remain anonymous out of concerns about retaliation.

Organizations: United Arab Emirates, Emirates, United Arab, Centre, Climate, The New York Times, Times Locations: United Nations, United Arab Emirates, London

☆ Maui Sued Big Oil in 2020, Citing Fire Risks and More
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | More About Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And while lawsuits like the one filed by Maui have been delayed by procedural issues, the fires could be an important part of the county’s claim for damages should the case go to trial, legal experts said. Maui’s arguments are also likely to resonate with a local jury. And while that attribution can take time, scientists have pointed to Hawaii’s declining average rainfall as well as drought, hurricane winds and other conditions linked to climate change as factors that fueled the Maui fire. The fossil fuel industry has tried to move the Maui and other climate cases to federal court, where it hoped for better outcomes. But the U.S. Supreme Court decided last year that they should remain in state courts.

Persons: “, ”, Richard Wallsgrove, it’s Organizations: Environmental, University of Hawaii, Supreme Locations: Maui, Hawaii, Manoa, U.S

☆ It’s Official: Stores Can No Longer Sell Most Incandescent Lights
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | More About Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And a few specialized kinds of incandescent bulbs — like those that go inside ovens, and bug lights — are exempt. But most if not all other incandescents will struggle to meet the new efficiency standards, and the same goes for a more recent generation of halogen lights. “Going from an incandescent to an LED is like replacing a car that gets 25 miles per gallon with another one that gets 130 m.p.g.,” he said. With the new rules in place, the Department of Energy expects Americans to collectively save nearly $3 billion a year on their utility bills. In the past, a knock on LEDs was that they were more expensive to buy, but prices for LED bulbs have fallen rapidly to near parity with incandescents.

Persons: ”, Lucas Davis, “ Organizations: “ Energy, Haas School of Business, University of California, Department of Energy, Research, Energy Department Locations: Berkeley

☆ 101°F in the Ocean Off Florida: Was It a World Record?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | More About Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The reading from a buoy off Florida this week was stunning: 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit, or just over 38 Celsius, a possible world record for sea surface temperatures and a stark indication of the brutal marine heat wave that’s threatening the region’s sea life. But determining whether that reading was in fact a world record is complicated. The data was consistent with high water temperatures seen in the area, Florida Bay, between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys, in recent weeks, she said. Then, there’s the fact that there is no official keeper of ocean temperature records. The World Meteorological Organization tracks land surface temperature records, but not ones set at sea.

Persons: Allyson Gantt Organizations: National Park Service, Florida, World Meteorological Organization Locations: Florida, Florida Bay

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