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Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat is director of the China-Indonesia Desk at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS). Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara is executive director of CELIOS.

Indonesia bills its plans to mix wood with coal at dozens of power plants as a way to cut electricity generation emissions as the country transitions towards clean energy. But look closer, and the biomass co-firing plan could do far more harm than good. 

Biomass co-firing involves mixing a small amount of wood or other plant matter, usually wood chips or wood pellets, into the coal that a power plant burns.

State electricity company PLN wants to use it at 52 coal-fired plants across the Southeast Asian nation – a target set out in its national electricity supply business plan and tied to Indonesia’s pledge, under its Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement, to raise renewables to 23% of the energy mix. PLN originally aimed to secure 10.2 million tonnes of biomass a year by 2025; that target has already slipped to 2031, as the country struggles to line up enough supply. 

Most plants only mix in a small amount of wood, often between 1% and 5% of the fuel load, meaning they do not even have to change machinery. In truth, it lets coal plants keep doing what they have always done, just with a little wood added to the mix.  

That presents two big problems.  

• Oct 13, 2026 Clean Energy Frontier SE Asia speeds up plan for connected clean power grid after oil shock Countries are redoubling efforts to link their grids to bolster energy security and reduce their dependence on fossil fuels – but many challenges remain Read more
• Aug 20, 2026 Clean Energy Frontier China keeps Indonesia’s battery dream afloat but future less certain Chinese capital and technology turned Indonesia into the world’s top nickel supplier, but its dependence on China and the rise of nickel-free batteries could upset its battery ecosystem plans Read more
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Firstly, creating additional demand for wood would put further deforestation pressure on the country’s thick and biodiverse tropical forests, already at risk from mining and palm oil plantations. 

Secondly, by making old coal plants look a little greener on paper, the plan could hand them a reason to keep operating well beyond when they would otherwise be retired, meaning the fleet keeps emitting for longer than a genuine phase-out would allow. 

This is not a real climate solution. It is coal wearing a green mask. 

A threat to forests

To meet its co-firing mandate, Indonesia would need more than 10 million tonnes of wood pellets every year, an area of forest equivalent to 3.27 million football fields, according to a 2024 assessment by a group of NGOs.

The same report warned this could push deforestation as high as 2.1 million hectares a year, and found that a 10% cut in coal use through co-firing could threaten 10 million hectares of untouched forest in the areas where wood is collected. At Indonesia’s biggest power plants alone, switching just 10% of coal to wood could clear an area of forest roughly 35 times the size of Jakarta. 

PLN and the forestry companies that supply it insist the wood comes from dedicated “energy plantation forests” – land set aside to grow fast-growing trees for fuel, not from clearing natural forest. But the same assessment found that of the 1.2 million hectares already designated for these plantations, more than 400,000 hectares still contain undisturbed tropical forest, which will come under growing pressure as demand rises. The claim that this wood comes from already-degraded land does not hold up to scrutiny. 

Advocates of co-firing say wood is a clean fuel because trees can grow back. But when old natural forests are cleared to make way for fast-growing forestry plantations to grow trees for fuel, they release carbon that took decades or centuries to build up. 

One study, by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), estimated that co-firing with just 10% wood across 52 power plants could create up to 26.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions each year, once the clearing of land and the production of wood pellets are counted. 

Wood pellets for export 

Government rules have made this easier, not harder. Companies that already hold industrial timber plantation permits can convert them into energy plantations, giving them a ready-made legal route into the wood pellet business without applying for new forest land.

Indroyono Soesilo, chairman of the Indonesian Forestry Entrepreneurs Association (APHI), has publicly called on the government for tax breaks and relief from state forestry levies in exchange for making that switch. 

Research by Trend Asia found that the push into energy plantations for biomass is dominated not by small or informal loggers but by large companies already notorious for deforestation, including APP Group, Korindo Group, Barito Pacific and Wilmar International. In short, some of the same companies long associated with clearing forests are being given an easier path and a green label to keep doing it. 

• May 13, 2026 Nature COP30 roadmap to end deforestation will invite countries to draft domestic plans After promising at COP30 to produce a voluntary global roadmap to stop forest loss by 2030, Brazil provided an update on the consultations this week Read more
• Nov 4, 2025 Energy Big banks’ lending to coal backers undermines Indonesia’s green plans  Foreign banks involved in Indonesia’s $20-billion Just Energy Transition Partnership have also funded companies working on coal power expansion, a TBIJ and Climate Home News investigation reveals Read more
• Dec 17, 2025 Energy Indonesia and Vietnam set for surge in coal use this decade despite transition deals Rising demand in Southeast Asia and India is expected to prevent coal use from falling significantly this decade, the International Energy Agency predicts Read more

Much of this wood does not even stay in Indonesia. Japan and South Korea have bought more than 99% of Indonesia’s wood pellet exports since 2021, using them to meet their own clean energy targets. 

Perhaps the biggest risk in Indonesia’s co-firing plan is what it could do to the coal fleet itself. Mixing in a small amount of wood does not require a plant to shut down or upgrade. It simply gives the plant a reason to keep running, dressed up as progress. Every year a coal plant stays open because of a paper-thin green label is a year that real clean energy, such as solar and wind, is pushed further down the road. 

None of this means biomass is always bad. Using leftover farm waste or city waste to make power can make sense. 

But the scale of Indonesia’s co-firing plan cannot be met by leftovers alone, which is exactly why forests are being pulled into the supply chain. The countries and banks funding Indonesia’s energy transition, along with Japan and South Korea, should stop counting co-firing as a climate win. 

Real progress means closing coal plants, not feeding them wood. 

The post Coal in a green mask: Indonesia’s co-firing plan will harm, not help, the climate  appeared first on Climate Home News.

Climate scientists have already established that Europe’s sweltering summer was the hottest on record. Now they are saying it was likely the deadliest as well, with their models showing that the extreme heat led to more than 50,000 excess deaths in cities alone.

The continent has endured five scorching heat waves since May, with record-shattering temperatures in several countries. On the whole, it was about 5.2 degrees Fahrenheit (2.9 degrees Celsius) above the 1991 to 2020 average. Some days exceeded the norm by nearly 22 degrees F, or 12 degrees C. Researchers modeled the impact of those extremes across 854 urban areas, representing roughly 40 percent of the population, and the 2026 data, released today, showed that this summer was by far the deadliest on record. 

“We’re seeing significantly higher modeled deaths,” said Clair Barnes, an extreme weather and climate change researcher at Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy. The next closest years were 2022 and 2003, with 29,000 and 28,000 excess deaths, respectively. 

Climate change is making extreme heat more likely, frequent, and persistent. As the mercury climbs, conditions become increasingly dangerous, Barnes said, with even fractions of a degree dramatically raising health risks. She and her colleagues attributed some two-thirds of the 50,000 deaths in their study, which the journal Nature Health will publish next week, to human-caused warming. 

“Any one of those heat waves would have been deadly, but we’ve had five,” Barnes said, compared to maybe one or two most years. “It’s not just summer. It’s been turbocharged by climate change and now it’s dangerous.” 

The teams’ method of attributing extreme heat deaths to climate change is pretty standard, said Kai Chen, faculty director of the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health, who was not involved in the study. Researchers, he explained, essentially modeled the temperatures and associated death levels Europe would have experienced with and without climate change, then reported the difference. 

“This tells people that climate change is not a distant threat anymore,” said Chen, who was also struck by how quickly the analysis was released. “That is critical information to communicate in near-real time.” 

Read Next Yes, this summer really was as hot as you think it was Matt Simon

Europe saw an especially searing stretch from June 17 to July 1, when daily average temperatures across the entire region were more than 9 degrees F, or 5 degrees C, above the 30-year average. Schools closed, public transit networks shuttered, wildfires erupted, and preparedness plans were put to the test. The heat even disrupted the Tour de France.

Overall, southern and western Europe bore the brunt of this summer’s heat impacts, with Italy seeing the greatest number of modeled excess deaths at 13,303, followed by France at 7,268. One reason Europeans are so vulnerable to heat deaths, said Chen, is that air conditioning is less prevalent than in the United States, where his research shows that the amenity can cut fatalities by more than half. 

The elderly are at a particularly elevated risk, as heat can exacerbate underlying conditions. The latest modeling reflected that, with all but about 6,000 of the excess deaths occurring in those over 65 years old. “People don’t realize how dangerous extreme heat can be,” said Barnes. “It’s really important to bring home those risks.”

The World Health Organization called 2026 a “dress rehearsal”  for what’s to come, and Barnes thinks research like this can help raise public awareness about the importance of preparing for extreme heat and the need to mitigate climate change. The research, Barnes noted, can also be used to project dangers ahead of coming heat to help authorities plan. “There’s no reason,” she said, “that the model couldn’t be run on forecast temperatures.”

Barnes hopes to expand her work to include other parts of the world too, especially historically marginalized regions such as Africa, where people often feel the effects of heat but may not attribute them to climate change. Limited data availability could impede those efforts in some places, she said. Those numbers do, however, mostly exist for the United States, where Chen is among those trying to implement this type of analysis. 

“That will be very important for the U.S. conversation too,” he said. “It can raise awareness and motivate policy action.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Europe’s hottest summer ever was also its deadliest — by far on Oct 22, 2026.

By Denise Robbins, CCAN Communications Team

Across Maryland, communities are hitting the brakes on the rapid buildout of massive data centers.

After Anne Arundel County joined the growing list of jurisdictions adopting a temporary moratorium, roughly 90% of Marylanders now live in a county or city with some form of data center ban or pause, according to CCAN Action Fund’s latest tally. The movement now stretches from Western Maryland to the Eastern Shore and across the state’s largest population centers.

Largo, Prince George’s County Data Center Rally on July 1, 2026

And Maryland is not alone. Across the country, opposition to rapid data center expansion is growing as communities confront concerns about electricity demand, utility bills, water use, noise, land use, and environmental impacts. Recent national polling has found a full seven of ten Americans oppose data centers being built in their area. 

Why communities are pressing pause

The scale of the AI boom is difficult to overstate. AI data centers require enormous amounts of electricity, and many also require significant amounts of water for cooling. In the PJM region, which includes Maryland, rapidly rising data center demand is already threatening grid reliability and infrastructure costs, with many fear these costs being passed onto ratepayers. 

Meanwhile, the rules designed to protect ratepayers, water supplies, local communities, and the climate are still catching up.

That is why so many local governments have chosen temporary pauses. Communities need time to understand the consequences and put enforceable safeguards in place.

Governor Moore acted — but Maryland still hasn’t paused

In mid-September, Maryland Governor Wes Moore said he would “absolutely sign” a statewide data center moratorium if it came to his desk. And yet he issued an executive order one week later that included no mention of a moratorium. 

Instead it created a new statewide framework for reviewing large data center projects. The order created a Maryland Data Center Task Force, required greater transparency and stronger criteria around proposed projects, barred state employees from entering certain nondisclosure agreements with developers, and established principles around ratepayer protection, economic benefits, community input, environmental impacts, and accountability.

Baltimore City Data Center Moratorium Rally June 29, 2026.

Those are meaningful reforms, but it’s not enough. On top of ignoring a statewide moratorium, Governor Moore’s order also did not establish a requirement that new data centers operate on 100% clean energy.

How can Maryland continue approving massive new projects while the state is still developing the rules meant to govern them?

The risks don’t stop at electricity and water

Concerns about AI extend far beyond electricity and water. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 62% of respondents viewed AI as capable of endangering humanity’s future, while leading AI researchers and technology executives have publicly warned that advanced AI could pose catastrophic risks.

Those long-term risks are still being debated. But one thing is already clear: the physical infrastructure powering the AI boom is arriving now, in real communities, with real consequences, and not enough has been done to protect us from those consequences. 

How to Fight Back: Join Marylanders from across the state on November 7 Frederick Amazon Data Center Rally in Adamstown on May 28, 2026

On Saturday, November 7, CCAN and Nature Forward will bring Marylanders together at the Baltimore Convention Center for People Over Data Centers: Maryland Action Summit.

The one-day conference will feature Congressman Jamie Raskin, climate activist and author Bill McKibben, state and local elected officials, environmental-justice leaders, community organizers, and advocates from across Maryland. Panels will cover data center impacts on electricity bills and the grid, water resources, farmland and open space, environmental justice, AI risks, and what stronger statewide safeguards could look like in 2027.

The summit runs from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and a $25 general-admission ticket (or $15 for students) includes morning coffee and lunch. 

The fight against Maryland’s data center boom is already statewide. November 7 is a chance to bring those local fights together, learn from one another, and decide what comes next. Learn more and sign up for the People Over Data Centers: Maryland Action Summit!

Sign up for the People Over Data Centers Summit here

The post Maryland’s Data Center Backlash Is Growing. Here’s What Comes Next appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

CONTRACT-FUNDED ASSESSMENTS

The North Coast Water Board has been allocated $5 million in contract funds in part to evaluate the current status of sediment issues in the Gualala River Watershed and to conduct on-the-ground assessments of road-related sources of sediment.

Landowners interested in receiving contract-funded assessments are strongly encouraged to contact North Coast Water Board staff at RB1-Gualala@waterboards.ca.gov to be considered for inclusion in the early rounds of assessments.

PROJECT STATUS

North Coast Water Board staff continue to review and consider public comments received on the draft Gualala Roads Assessment Order. A summary of comment themes and staff responses will be made available in January 2027, in advance of the February 2027 adoption hearing.

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Staff Office Hours

North Coast Water Board staff continue to hold recurring staff office hours that serve as unstructured meetings during which members of the community are invited to share any questions or comments they may have about the Gualala Roads Assessment Order project.

The next staff office hour is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, 2026, from 11:00 am – 12:00 pm. This will be a virtual meeting and Zoom details will be provided in the coming weeks through this email subscription service and on the program webpage at https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/ northcoast/water_issues/programs/gualala_roads/index.html.

January 2027 Community Meeting

North Coast Water Board staff will hold a community meeting at the Gualala Arts Center on Thursday, January 21, 2027 from 9:00 am – 10:30 am. This will be a hybrid meeting and those who are unable to attend in-person are invited to join via Zoom.

At this community meeting, staff will provide an overview of the proposed Gualala Roads Assessment Order, which will be released prior to the meeting.  

Additional details and instructions for participation will be provided at least 10 days in advance of the meeting.

February 2027 Adoption Hearing

The adoption hearing for the proposed Order has been moved from December 2026 to February 2027. This change was made to provide staff sufficient time to meaningfully consider the significant volume of public comments submitted for the draft Order.

Additional details and instructions for participation will be provided when available, at least ten days prior to the adoption hearing, on the following webpages:

Gualala Roads Program webpage: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/water_issues/programs/gualala_roads/index.html

Board Meeting agenda webpage: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/northcoast/board_info/board_meetings/2027/index.html

FUTURE QUARTERLY UPDATES

North Coast Water Board staff will continue to provide quarterly updates throughout the development of the Gualala Roads Assessment Order. Please forward this email and/or direct interested individuals or groups to subscribe at the following link for timely project information: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/CAWRCB/subscriber/new?topic_id=r1_tmdl_gualala_river_watershed

The Sonoma Resource Conservation District is soliciting Statements of Qualifications for the development of a web-based Rural Roads Technical Workshop Series.

The workshop series will be developed to increase local capacity for applying practical and applicable techniques addressing rural road-related erosion, drainage, maintenance, and resource-protection issues in the Gualala River Watershed. 

Statements of Qualification must be submitted to the Sonoma Resource Conservation District by Friday, October 30, 2026.

For more information, including how to submit Statements of Qualifications, please visit the Sonoma Resource Conservation District webpage at https://sonomarcd.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/RFQ-Web-based-Technical-Road-Workshop-FINAL.pdf or email Jason Wells at jwells@sonomarcd.org

Gualala Redwood Timber’s 269-acre Little Pepperwood Timber Harvest Plan (THP 1-26-00076-SON) is located in southern Mendocino and northern Sonoma Counties, approximately 3 miles east of the town of Gualala. Surface flow from the THP drains into Big Pepperwood Creek, Little Pepperwood Creek, and several tributaries to Big Pepperwood and Rockpile Creeks. The plan was submitted to Cal Fire on June 16, 2026. CalFire recommended approval on Aug. 27; public comment period ended on Sept. 8.

On October 21, 2026, Cal Fire rescinded their recommendation for approval of this plan, and announced that sections 2 through 5 of the plan were being recirculated due to “significant new information” which had been added. The newly added information includes protection measures and related environmental analysis for Foothill Yellow Legged Frog, proposed operations during the winter period, use of heavy equipment on steep and/or unstable areas, culvert sizing calculations, and greenhouse gas quantitative analysis.

The public comment period has been re-opened for 30 days. The new close of the comment period is Friday, November 20, 2026 at 5pm Pacific Time.

Little Pepperwood Timber Harvest Plan documents Submitted on June 16, 2026

Little Pepperwood THP Section 1 – [1 MB, 10 pages] Legal description: Cover pages, signatures.

Little Pepperwood THP Section 6 – [1 MB, 1 page] Archeological information: (confidential)

Recirculated on October 21, 2026

Little Pepperwood THP Section 2 – [18 MB, 93 pages] Operations: Silviculture, yarding, erosion hazard rating, winter operations, roads & landings, watercourse & lake protections, alternative watercourse & lake protections (in lieu of standard rules), biological resources, maps.

Little Pepperwood THP Section 3 – [2 MB, 22 pages] Supporting materials: General site description, analysis of alternatives, variable retention, discussion and justification of use of ground based equipment on unstable areas, discussion and justification of alternative watercourse and lake protection practices, cultural resources.

Little Pepperwood THP Section 4 – [3 MB, 114 pages] Cumulative Impacts: Past, present and future projects, assessment of cumulative watershed effects, soil productivity, biological resources, recreational, visual, traffic, greenhouse gas impacts, wildfire risks.

Little Pepperwood THP Section 5 – [32 MB, 313 pages] Attachments: Including soil erosion hazards, Erosion Control Plan, Greenhouse Gas calculations, landslides, roadwork, stream reports, botanical surveys, Northern Spotted Owl information.

Little Pepperwood THP: Additional Documents

“LP” THP: First Review Questions, by Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
[6/23/26, 0.2 MB, 2 pages]

“LP” THP: First Review Report, by CalFire
[6/25/26, 1 MB, 7 pages]

“LP” THP: RPF Responses to First Review Questions
[7/7/26, 5 MB, 45 pages]

“LP” THP: Pre-Harvest Inspection by Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
[7/14/26, 0.2 MB, 5 pages]

“LP” THP: Pre-Harvest Inspection by CA. Geological Survey
[7/16/26, 2 MB, 13 pages]

“LP” THP: Pre-Harvest Inspection by CalFire
[7/16/26, 1.5 MB, 15 pages]

“LP” THP: Response to Agency Recommendations, by Registered Pro. Forester
[7/30/26, 26 MB, 25 pages]

“LP” THP: 2nd Review Team Recommendations by CalFire
[8/6/26, 1 MB, 1 page]

“LP” THP: Marbled Murrelet Consultation by Dept. of Fish & Wildlife
[8/11/26, 1 MB, 7 pages]

“LP” THP: Response to 2nd Review Recommendations, by Registered Pro. Forester
[8/11/26, 2 MB, 6 pages]

“LP” THP: Remaining Question from 2nd Review by CalFire
[8/14/26, 1 MB, 1 page]

“LP” THP: Response to Remaining Question by Registered Pro. Forester
[8/19/26, 3 MB, 8 page]

“LP” THP – Recommended for approval, by Cal Fire
[8/27/26, 1 MB, 1 page]

“LP” THP – Comments on behalf of Friends of Gualala River, by Jason Holder, Esq.
[9/8/26, 2 MB, 48 pages]

“LP” THP – Comments by Friends of the South Fork Gualala
[9/8/26, 16 MB, 111 pages]

“LP” THP – Additional revisions necessary for approval, by Cal Fire
[9/29/26, 1 MB, 2 pages]

“LP” THP – Response to necessary revisions by Reg. Pro. Forester
[10/8/26, 3 MB, 14 pages]

“LP” THP – Rescission of approval recommendation, by Cal Fire
[10/21/26, 2 MB, 2 pages]

“LP” THP – Recirculation of plan due to new information, by Cal Fire
[10/21/26, 1 MB, 2 pages]

All documents regarding this logging plan are available in the new CalTREES system.

Unfortunately, CalTREES is not easy to use, so FoGR has compiled some
basic instructions for use of CalTREES to help you navigate the system.

To download additional documents for this logging plan,
if you want to follow the back & forth as agencies ask questions and the RPF replies,
visit the Little Pepperwood THP page on the CalTREES website.

Below are instructions on how to submit comments during the public comment period.
The new public comment period will close on November 20, 2026 at 5pm Pacific Time.

To submit your comments on a logging plan, email your comments to: santarosapubliccomment@fire.ca.gov
or send your comments via U.S. Mail to:

Forest Practice
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
135 Ridgway Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95401

In the subject line of your email message, or at the top of your letter,
be sure to reference the THP number and name, for example:
THP 1-26-00076-SON “Little Pepperwood”

Today, visitors come to Lockridge Park on Herrington Lake for weddings, weekend getaways, covered wagons, hiking trails, and lake views. It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, the ridge was slated to be covered in storage units.

For decades, Brian Lockhart had been preparing the property for development. He had spent 30 years building a foundation repair company across the street. Each year, they were adding fill dirt and clearing the land with the plan to build storage facilities across the property, building on his successful nearby facility called Poppy Lock.

Brian described the day he stood there on the palisades looking across the lake, “It’s too pretty; I couldn’t do it.”

Imagining Lockridge Park

Instead, Brian and his family started imagining a place where people could gather, celebrate, explore, and make memories. That vision eventually became Lockridge Park, which opened in 2022 as a family-run destination that continues to grow and evolve almost before your eyes.

They started by building five RV pads and a wedding barn. The wedding barn, known as The Rick House, drawing its name from bourbon country, sits high above Herrington Lake and has become a popular venue for weddings, reunions, retreats, and special events.

Soon, they added covered Conestoga wagons, concrete tube hotels, and cave inspired rooms built around shipping containers. From the cozy cave to a mine shaft-inspired room, each is built with a mix of creativity, craftsmanship, and repurposed materials. They love finding new uses for old things, and that spirit shows up all over the property.

Guests can grab a meal in the café, wander the trails that weave across the ridge and down toward the lake, or simply sit and enjoy the view from one of the many hottubs or seating areas.

New Ideas & Community Involvement

The park is truly a family-run business. Brian and his family live just around the corner. They’re the ones giving tours, cleaning rooms, greeting guests, and dreaming up what comes next.

“We’re always having fun, and always thinking of ideas,” he said.

On a recent visit, those ideas were taking shape in the form of hobbit houses. The park employs five people, including two full-time builders, Billy Dan and LeRoy, who were busy bringing the newest addition to life. Future plans include even more lodging options like a silo house, and, if approvals can be secured, a zipline that would stretch out over the lake.

The Lockhart family has also made community involvement part of the park’s mission. They regularly open their doors to local organizations, providing use of the barn at no cost to groups such as CASA and Hospice.

Building a Business That Will Last

That same thinking led the family to invest in solar energy. In September, PoppyLock Storage, the family company that leases buildings to Lockridge Park, completed a solar installation with financing and technical assistance from Mountain Association. The project, installed by Mann Solar, a fellow Lancaster-based company, will help reduce operating costs as Lockridge Park continues to grow.

Brian believes investments like this one will strengthen operations, helping create stable jobs for employees and ensuring the business can continue growing for years to come.

“Take care of the people who take care of you,” Brian said when reflecting on how he builds businesses for long-term success. “I’ve always built businesses like that.”

In addition to having run and sold United Structural Systems, and running the park, he operates Point Data, where he develops software, applications, and websites.

Looking around Lockridge Park today, it’s hard to imagine rows of storage units sitting on this ridge. Instead, thousands of people get to experience a beautiful corner of Kentucky each year, thanks to the vision, hard work, and entrepreneurial spirit of the Lockhart family.

The post How a Planned Storage Lot Became One of Kentucky’s Most Unique Destinations appeared first on Mountain Association.

Councillors in the North Yorkshire village of Burniston have called on the Environment Agency to reconsider its refusal to allow more time for comments on local drilling and fracking plans.

The EA told us last night it had closed the public consultation on an environmental permit – despite repeated requests for an extension to the deadline.

The parish council had now asked the EA to hold a public meeting in Burniston and extend the consultation for at least two months.

The parish council chair, Cllr Richard Parsons, told us today:

“Our request for a further public open meeting in Burniston has so far been met by a wall of silence.

“I would urge the Environment Agency to reconsider their decision and allow further time for responses and a public open meeting.”

The council, local campaigners and residents had said the EA had not allowed enough time for them to review two key documents on the permit.

The documents had been revised earlier this month following complaints about errors and inconsistencies.

The EA said yesterday people had been allowed enough time to comment on the amendments.

But some residents did not receive a letter from the EA about the changes. Others did not receive the letter until less than a week before the deadline.

Cllr Parsons said:

“The Environment Agency appears to believe that the many and substantial changes did not merit proper scrutiny.

“They appear to have decided that, in many cases, less than a week was more than sufficient for ‘interested parties’ to read, investigate and comment on those changes, despite being informed that the time given to respond in detail and with accuracy was not enough.”

He said the EA had an “overarching responsibility” to “protect and enhance the environment in England as a whole, in order to contribute to the objective of achieving sustainable development”.

He said:

“Allowing those people, who are likely to be directly affected by the proposed gas drill, hydraulic fracturing and underground waste storage, little time to respond to the changes to the EA report is not justifiable.

“The Environment Agency have left this community and the wider community with the belief that they have little or no regard for the public consultation process and equally have little or no regard for public comments.”

Food Is Medicine, a new book by Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, offers a blueprint to transform food and farming systems in a way that heals people, the economy, and the planet.

“Being a healthy American adult is an anomaly,” says Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and Director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University. He notes that 94 percent of people in the U.S. over the age of 18 are “not where they should be” in terms of cardiovascular and metabolic health. 

The food system is “the top cause of death and disability in the country,” Mozaffarian tells Food Tank. “This is the top cause of preventable healthcare spending. This is the top cause of devastation to our oceans, soil, water, and climate. And if you put it all together, this is actually the top issue facing humanity.” 

His new book addresses these challenges, acknowledging their complexity. It also outlines the solutions available, revealing how the growing Food is Medicine movement can help communities produce and consume food in a way that supports public health and the environment. 

“We have the science and the evidence on what needs to change,” Mozaffarian tells Food Tank. “And we really can fix our food system in a very short amount of time.”

Mozaffarian also wants readers to understand a shift in diet shouldn’t be viewed in terms of sacrifice. For too long, he says, nutrition has been framed “in terms of deprivation and a fight against food.” He hopes the book will help people see things differently. “For me, healthy eating is about embracing and celebrating the good, more minimally processed, healthy, delicious foods.” 

Food Is Medicine is for healthcare providers, policymakers, and business leaders. “But at the end of the day,” Mozaffarian says, “this is for the general public to understand the levers we need to shift and move so that 10 years from now, we’re not having the same conversation.” 

Listen to the full conversation with Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian on Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg to hear more about Food Is Medicine: Healing Our Bodies, Nourishing Our Minds, and Transforming Our Food System, tips for eating healthy, and why the solutions we need come down to systems change rather than individual behavior change alone. 

Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.

Photo courtesy of David Trinks, Unsplash

The post ‘Food Is Medicine’ Shows Fixing the Food System Is a Public Health Priority appeared first on Food Tank.

Dirty Dozen™ food chemicals: Titanium dioxide Iris Myers October 22, 2026 EWG’s recommendation

Avoid or limit foods containing titanium dioxide.

Titanium dioxide is a color additive used to brighten packaged foods. Food-grade titanium dioxide contains a large amount of nanoscale particles that can accumulate in the body. 

In 2021, the European Food Safety Authority, or EFSA, concluded titanium dioxide could no longer be considered safe as a food additive due to concerns about genotoxicity, inflammation and effects on the immune system and gut.

What is titanium dioxide?

Titanium dioxide is a synthetically produced white color additive. It’s used in some foods to brighten their appearance, enhance whiteness and provide opacity.

Which foods contain titanium dioxide?

Titanium dioxide is most commonly found in candy. It is also used in salad dressings, chewing gum, ice cream, drink mixes and other food. 

Look for titanium dioxide in product ingredient lists, usually below or next to the Nutrition Facts panel, on the back of the package. 

How is titanium dioxide regulated?

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for overseeing food additives and other ingredients. Titanium dioxide is allowed as a food color additive in the U.S. at up to 1% by weight of the food. 

The European Union removed titanium dioxide from its approved food additives list in 2021, determining the chemical could no longer be considered safe for use in food. An Arizona law bans titanium dioxide in food sold in schools, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.

Titanium dioxide is prohibited in certified organic foods under Department of Agriculture organic standards, which bar synthetic substances.

What does the science say about titanium dioxide?

The health risks of titanium dioxide are closely tied to particle size. Nanoparticles – those smaller than 100 nanometers – are generally more toxic than larger particles. Although food-grade titanium dioxide is not entirely nanoscale, a significant fraction of its particles fall within that range. These nanoparticles can accumulate in tissues, causing oxidative stress and cell damage.

A 2023 meta-analysis found titanium dioxide nanoparticles can cause significant DNA damage in both in vivo and in vitro models. The 2021 EFSA review reached the same conclusion, finding it could not rule out DNA or chromosomal damage.

By contrast, the World Health Organization’s Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives maintains that as of 2023, the available evidence does not prove titanium dioxide is genotoxic. It isn’t completely clear how titanium dioxide nanoparticles cause genotoxicity, and evidence from studies conducted on humans is limited.

When titanium dioxide nanoparticles accumulate in the digestive tract of animals, they cause gut inflammation and damage to the intestinal lining. They can also cross the placental barrier, with animal studies linking prenatal exposure to developmental and neurological effects in offspring. Animal studies have also reported reproductive harm, including impaired sperm function and disrupted ovarian hormones.

Find out more

Learn more about recommendations relating to titanium dioxide – and the full EWG Dirty Dozen™ list of food chemicals – on EWG’s research page.

EWG’s Food Scores provides ratings for more than 150,000 foods and drinks based on nutrition, ingredients and processing concerns, and flags unhealthy ultra-processed foods to help you identify alternatives.

Titanium dioxide is also added to personal care products, including  sunscreens, as a whitener and UV filter. EWG’s Skin Deep® database helps to identify harmful chemicals in personal care and beauty products. Those bearing the EWG Verified® mark meet the strictest criteria for transparency and health. 

Titanium dioxide is safe when used on the skin as an ingredient in personal care products. It is classified as potentially hazardous if inhaled from sprays or loose powders, which permit titanium dioxide to reach deep into the lungs. EWG recommends avoiding titanium dioxide products that can be inhaled, such as spray sunscreens and loose powders. 

EWG’s Healthy Living™ app lets you take these tools with you on the go.

Areas of Focus Food Ultra-Processed Foods Food Chemicals Authors Sarah Reinhardt, MPH, RDN October 22, 2026

Just weeks before the November midterm elections, a federal judge in California ordered on Oct. 21 a preliminary injunction that stops the Trump administration in nine states from weaponizing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to harass and intimidate voters by having armed agents go door to door to question their eligibility to vote.

Today, Public Citizen released a new set of fact sheets that track the toll of the NAFTA-WTO era and today’s chaotic trade policies on the workers, farmers, local communities in all 50 states in the U.S., covering lost manufacturing jobs and farms, shuttered factories, battered union membership, depressed wages, falling farm exports, and other effects of bad trade policies.

While this story is often associated only with the industrial Midwest, the latest data show significant job, farm, and income loss across the South and Northeast, as well in other areas of the country often left out of the discussion on trade.

The ongoing impacts of these losses still looms large in political battleground areas, and are especially relevant when talking about working-class politics in post-industrial and rural areas.

“For decades, both parties have promised working people that “free trade” deals would bring good jobs and rising wages,” said Melinda St. Louis, Global Trade Watch director at Public Citizen. “Instead, initiatives like the NAFTA and the WTO led to massive outsourcing, the closure of thousands of factories, the destruction of millions of good-paying jobs, and left rural and working-class communities abandoned nationwide — and current chaotic and corporate-friendly trade policies have only made matters worse.”

Key Revelations:

• ALMOST EVERY STATE GOT HIT HARD – The U.S. has about 4.4 million fewer manufacturing jobs today than in 1994, when NAFTA went into effect. Nationwide, more than 3 million workers were certified by the U.S. government as losing their jobs to trade policy during this period. The share of manufacturing jobs in 43 states dropped by more than 30% in that period and by more than 50% in 12 states.
• BATTLEGROUND STATES PARTICULARLY IMPACTED – One quarter of manufacturing job losses took place in the seven key 2024 battleground states. Overall, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin lost more than 1 million manufacturing jobs combined. Manufacturing’s share of total jobs in these states fell by nearly 40% on average, and union density fell by 46% on average, 10 points higher than the national average.
• THE DECLINE OF THE INDUSTRIAL HEARTLAND – Nearly one third of national manufacturing job losses came from just six states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Combined, these states lost more than 1,400,000 manufacturing jobs.
• HUGE LOSSES IN THE NORTHEAST – The Northeast, New England plus New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, lost more than 40% of its manufacturing jobs – more than any other region. New York and Rhode Island each lost more than half of their manufacturing jobs.
• THE SOUTHERN RUST BELT – In the Southern states, manufacturing’s share of total jobs dropped by more than 45%, 10 points higher than in the Midwest. This shift was most pronounced in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, where the drop was more than 50%. North Carolina lost 365,000 manufacturing jobs—110,000 more jobs lost than Michigan, 54,000 more than Illinois, and 39,000 more than Ohio and Pennsylvania; and manufacturing’s share of total jobs dropped by 63%, worse than any other state.
• UNION MEMBERSHIP WAS DECIMATED – Ten states saw union density declines of more than 50%, five of which are in the South. Union density declined most in South Dakota, followed by Wisconsin and Arkansas, at 72%, 65%, and 63%, respectively. Nationwide, overall union density fell 35%, while only one state, Vermont, saw an increase.
• FARM LOSSES HIT HARDEST IN THE SOUTH – Of the 10 states that saw the largest proportional declines in the number of farm operations, six are in the South. Tennessee and North Carolina lost more than 30% of their farms, the highest percentage losses of any state. The South lost more than 140,000 farms, more than half from just three states: Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky.
• WORKERS LEFT WITHOUT RELIEF – Since 2022, Congress has left over 100,000 workers who lost their jobs due to our trade policies stranded by failing to reauthorize the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. Almost a quarter of those workers are from just two states – Texas and Oregon. Thirty-two states had more than 1,000 workers who were awaiting assistance at the time.

Atrazine taints tap water for millions – California says it causes cancer. EPA’s plan won’t fix it. Anthony Lacey October 22, 2026

Three recent developments underscore the health threat posed by atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S. 

Earlier this month, California’s environmental health agency said it planned to list atrazine as a carcinogen. 

A new analysis found roughly one-quarter of the miles of rivers and streams in the U.S. are contaminated by it at levels harmful to aquatic life. 

And a separate study said the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed approach to curbing atrazine runoff would do little to resolve the contamination problem. 

EWG's Guide to Safer Drinking Water

Reduce your exposures to common drinking water pollutants with EWG's handy tipsheet!

Prevalence and exposure 

Agrochemical giant Syngenta’s atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S., with roughly 70 million pounds applied annually, primarily to cornfields across the Midwest. 

Rain washes the chemical off farm fields and into nearby rivers, streams, lakes and groundwater. About 860,000 miles of rivers in the U.S. are contaminated with the weedkiller at levels that can harm aquatic life, according to a new analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity. 

The problem isn’t limited to the Midwest. Atrazine is especially prevalent in five hot spots, including the Chesapeake Bay, Lake Okeechobee and Texas’ Gulf Coast. In the Chesapeake Bay, atrazine contaminates more than 5.5 million acres of the watershed at levels higher than those known to harm aquatic ecosystems. 

The runoff also pollutes sources of drinking water for millions of Americans. Atrazine is consistently the most frequently detected crop chemical in tap water, according to EWG’s Tap Water Database, which shows that 2,055 water utilities in 36 states detected atrazine, affecting drinking water for about 40 million people.

Of those utilities, 479 in 18 states serving roughly 3 million people reported atrazine levels above EWG’s health guideline of 0.1 parts per billion, or ppb.

The EPA’s own monitoring data repeatedly show atrazine in Midwestern drinking water sources at levels that spike above EPA’s woefully inadequate legal atrazine tap water limit of 3 ppb. 

What exposure can do to your health

A growing body of scientific research links atrazine exposure to serious health concerns, including reproductive and developmental harm, such as premature birth and low birth weight, as well as endocrine disruption, which can interfere with the body’s hormone systems. 

More recent research has also raised concerns about the connection between atrazine exposure and an increased risk of cancer.

In 2025, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, or IARC, classified atrazine as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” underscoring the urgent need for the EPA to reassess the chemical’s safety. 

But the agency, parroting Syngenta’s talking points, dismissed IARC’s findings. It claimed the science shows exposure does not increase cancer risk. 

Federal and state regulation

Set in 1991, the EPA’s outdated atrazine tap water standard fails to reflect the full body of scientific evidence accumulated over the past three decades. 

EWG’s health guideline is 0.1 ppb to protect from harm to the developing fetus, harm to the reproductive system and hormone disruption. 

A second recent peer-reviewed study by researchers with CBD, published in the Journal of Environmental Quality, concluded that the EPA’s proposed measures to curb atrazine runoff would do little to protect U.S. waterways from the herbicide. The agency in 2024 proposed a contamination-relief plan but is yet to finalize it.

The researchers estimated that just 1% of the 11,248 watersheds contaminated with atrazine would fall below the EPA’s threshold for concentrations that can harm aquatic ecosystems if the plan were implemented. 

The CBD, the Center for Environmental Health and the Pesticide Action & Agroecology Network this month sued the Trump EPA for failing to establish Clean Water Act-required water quality criteria for the weedkiller. 

The lawsuit comes just as EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin considers whether to renew approval of atrazine for another 20 years.

The suit doesn’t seek a ban, but its outcome could eventually shape how states regulate herbicide runoff from farmland. 

Recent California action may force the issue. 

Earlier this month, the state’s EPA announced its intent to list atrazine as a carcinogen under the state’s Proposition 65 law. 

Prop. 65 requires businesses to warn state residents about the health risks of exposure to certain chemicals. A conclusion by the state EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment carries weight among environment and safety advocacy experts.

Government action and inaction

Today more than 60 countries prohibit the use of atrazine. Yet it remains legal in the U.S. and widely applied to agricultural fields, despite widespread water contamination and mounting evidence of its potential harm to human health.

And given the Trump administration’s increasingly industry-friendly approach to pesticides, there is little reason for confidence that the review will result in meaningful restrictions.

The initial report from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again Commission explicitly acknowledged that atrazine “can cause hormone disruption and birth defects” in babies. 

But even that limited recognition of the weedkiller’s health risks provoked an intense backlash from the pesticide industry. All references to atrazine and other crop chemicals were subsequently stripped from the final report.

Over the past year, the Trump EPA has approved more than five new pesticides containing “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, while President Donald Trump signed an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to boost domestic production of glyphosate, the nation’s most widely used weedkiller. 

Against this backdrop, the prospect of the EPA taking decisive action to curb atrazine’s use and protect public health remains uncertain.

The bottom line

The growing evidence of atrazine’s potential health risks, its widespread presence in drinking water and waterways, and its classification as probably carcinogenic to humans demand a serious response from federal regulators. 

Rather than dismiss independent scientific findings and yield to pesticide-industry pressure, the Trump EPA should thoroughly reassess atrazine, establish more protective water-quality standards and put the health of families over the narrow financial interests of chemical corporations. 

Americans should not have to wonder whether the water flowing from their taps contains a pesticide that likely causes cancer and developmental harm to children and that dozens of countries have banned.

What can consumers do to protect themselves?

While stronger federal safeguards are needed to protect everyone from atrazine and other drinking water contaminants, consumers can take steps to learn more about what is in their drinking water. 

EWG’s Tap Water Database helps fill critical information gaps by allowing people to search by ZIP code for reports on contaminants detected in their local water supply, the levels found for each and the potential health risks in their drinking water.

The database also offers guidance on water filters that may help reduce contaminants detected in a user’s water supply, helping consumers identify options tailored to their local water-quality concerns.

Areas of Focus Water Farming & Agriculture Guest Authors Aspen Rosner (EWG communications intern) October 22, 2026

Open access notables

Rapid Increase in Geogenic CO2 Emissions from Antarctic Permafrost, Ruggiero et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles

Antarctic permafrost and ice-free soils are generally assumed to make only a minor contribution to the global carbon cycle. This study shows that this assumption is incomplete. Using repeated field measurements and carbon isotope analyses, we document a marked multi-year increase in carbon dioxide emissions from Antarctic permafrost terrain and identify a substantial contribution from deep geologic carbon rather than modern microbial activity alone. Our results show that Antarctic permafrost can act as a pathway for the release of ancient carbon. This previously unrecognized process has implications for high-latitude carbon budgets and highlights the need to evaluate Antarctica in Earth system and climate assessments.

Experimental evidence of threshold-driven gas breakthrough in thawing permafrost, Shang et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science

Gas breakthrough is an important but poorly constrained mechanism for abrupt methane release during permafrost warming. This study presents an experimental investigation of gas breakthrough in saturated permafrost analogue soils subjected to controlled freezing and progressive thawing. A silty sand collected from Alaska’s North Slope was tested using an integrated program comprising unfrozen water content measurements, direct tensile tests, constant-volume gas breakthrough experiments, and stress-controlled breakthrough tests under confining pressures representative of shallow to deep permafrost. Unfrozen Water Content (UWC) measurements revealed a sharp, nonlinear reduction below 0 °C, with residual unfrozen water persisting at low temperatures and minor thermal hysteresis between freezing and thawing paths. Tensile strength increased nonlinearly with decreasing temperature, transitioning from ductile behavior near −2 °C to brittle failure at lower temperatures, while tensile resistance near −1 °C was negligible. Gas breakthrough occurred only when gas pressure exceeded thresholds governed by temperature-dependent unfrozen water content, tensile resistance, and confinement. Under high confinement, breakthrough pressures substantially exceeded unconfined tensile strength and occurred primarily during thawing near −1 °C. These results demonstrate that permafrost thawing significantly increases susceptibility to gas breakthrough and provide experimental constraints for assessing methane release from degrading permafrost.

Palaeoclimate constraints narrow uncertainty in future Arctic winter sea ice projections, Fu et al., Nature Geoscience

Arctic sea ice decline has been observed across all seasons and is projected to continue in the future. Relative to historical observations, climate models show their largest biases and uncertainties during winter, when ice cover strongly regulates air–sea heat exchange, ocean mixing and atmospheric circulation. Palaeoclimate records offer opportunities to evaluate model performance beyond the historical period, but applications have remained largely qualitative. Here we compile an Arctic-wide database of mid-Holocene (5–7 thousand years ago) biomarkers to assess sea ice simulations of this past warm period. Using a recently developed proxy system model, we present a Bayesian palaeoclimate model weighting scheme that refines the multi-model mean winter sea ice extent through fully quantitative proxy-model comparisons, accounting for model interdependence and non-stationary proxy seasonality. We demonstrate that, by adjusting the contribution of each model to the ensemble mean based on proxy evidence, model weights can eliminate biases and reduce uncertainties by 85%, to the level of interannual variability. Weighted projections using the same climate models indicate that future winter sea ice extent may be nearly 1 million km2 lower than prior estimates across forthcoming decades and possible emissions scenarios, with broad implications for Arctic ecosystems, mid-latitude weather, and cryosphere stability.

Resolving short-term meteorological variability amplifies projected glacier loss and sea-level rise, Tricht et al., Nature Communications

Global glacier models typically rely on temperature-index mass balance calculations forced with aggregated meteorological data, limiting their ability to resolve short-term variability. Here, we develop a daily-resolution version of the Global Glacier Evolution Model (GloGEM), which we apply globally and compare against the monthly configuration. Our results show that the daily model more closely reproduces mass balance observations and provides a more detailed representation of glacier runoff. Accounting for short-term meteorological variability leads to systematically greater projected mass loss, with up to 25% greater loss in Svalbard. These differences arise from extreme melt days, precipitation-phase transitions, and surface-type feedbacks not fully represented at monthly resolution. Globally, the daily model yields ice volume losses of 26 ± 10% under low-emission and 47 ± 17% under high-emission scenarios over 2025-2100 (ensemble mean ± 1 StD), resulting in an additional 5-10% mass loss (20-33 mm of global mean sea-level rise) relative to the monthly implementation. Resolving high-frequency forcing, or accounting for its effects through parameterisations, is therefore essential for robust glacier projections, while its omission may systematically underestimate future glacier loss.

From this week's government/NGO section:

The Myth of “Baseload” Power in Modern Power Grids, Jennifer Danis and Christoph Graf, Institute for Policy Integrity

the authors the term “baseload” power, together with other reliability-related energy concepts that are often used interchangeably, or in various combinations, to describe the resources’ role in electricity markets and regarding grid reliability. They also discuss why, despite the rhetoric indicating that electric grid reliability is at risk because of retiring “baseload,” “dispatchable,” or “firm” resources, these terms have distinct meanings for reliability in a diversely resourced grid.

Sounding the Alarm, Inside Track

The authors are deeply concerned that the level of physical climate and environmental risk they are seeing is increasing at a dangerous rate. The frequency, severity, and unpredictability of hazards are broadly increasing, as are the exposure and vulnerability of many parts of society to these hazards. They are worried that the risk levels we are seeing either are not being communicated to or are not being properly internalized by government. Without intervention these physical risks will translate into major economic risk. The undermining of the mortgage market drove the Global Financial Crisis – they are worried a major increase in uninsured, high-risk properties could manifest in a similar way as climate effects intensify.

Emissions Gap Report 2026: The point of return – Urgent emissions cuts needed to come back from overshoot of 1.5°C, Olhoff et al., United Nations Environment Programme

The authors detail the cuts to emissions needed by 2030, 2035 and 2040 to get on a return pathway — finding that the cuts needed are far above what current Nationally Determined Contributions deliver. However, the authors find that it is possible to close this emissions gap — pointing to many successful climate policies that have already delivered real-world emissions cuts and could be scaled up globally to accelerate action. 138 articles in 57 journals by 932 contributing authors

Physical science of climate change, effects

Enhanced Efficacy Contributes to Tropical Cyclone Intensification in Warmer Climates via Stronger Storm-Scale Radiative Feedbacks, Zhang et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0570.1

Estimating the Maximum Mean Precipitation in Hothouse Climates, Bonan & Schneider, Journal of Climate pdf 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0593.1

Heatwave intensification and associated driving mechanisms across High Mountain Asia, Zhao et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2026.10.004

Improved Estimates of Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity From Non-Equilibrated Climate Simulations, He et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2026jd046855

Increased southward swings of the South Indian convergence zone under greenhouse warming, Wang et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02767-x

Interdecadal Changes in the ENSO-Induced Summertime Anomalous Western North Pacific Anticyclone, Wu et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-26-0211.1

Local and Cross-Basin Driving Mechanisms for Marine Heatwaves in the Kuroshio Extension Region, Cao et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026jc024634

Modulation of Global-Scale Warming of the Atmosphere and Subsurface Ocean by Diathermal Heat Transport in the Equatorial Pacific Cold Tongue, Iyer & Moum, Journal of Physical Oceanography 10.1175/jpo-d-26-0100.1

Why the midlatitude ocean is warming faster in summer than in winter, Vimont et al., npj Climate and Atmospheric Science Open Access 10.1038/s41612-026-01567-6

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Adjustments to Climate Perturbations—Mechanisms, Implications, Observational Constraints, AGU Advances, 10.1029/2023av001144 16 cites.

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Observations of climate change, effects

Changes in precipitation seasonality over the Indochina Peninsula during 1981–2020: observational evidence and attribution of anthropogenic forcing, Zhang et al., Frontiers in Earth Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/feart.2026.1937024

Heatwave intensification and associated driving mechanisms across High Mountain Asia, Zhao et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2026.10.004

Multidecadal Changes in Atmospheric Dryness Over East Asia Dominated by Internal Climate Variability, Wang et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2026gl125508

Rapid Increase in Geogenic CO2 Emissions from Antarctic Permafrost, Ruggiero et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gb009134

Significant Acceleration of Wintertime Current in South China Sea Western Boundary Region During Satellite-Observed Time, Wang & Lan, Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans 10.1029/2026jc024895

Threefold Land-Use Forcing Intensifies Twofold Warming of Urban Europe, Swain et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2026jd046541

Warming-driven lower-tropospheric stratification intensifies ducting over global oceans, Zhao et al., Nature Climate Change Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41558-026-02774-y

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Global rise in forest fire emissions linked to climate change in the extratropics, Science, 10.1126/science.adl5889 199 cites.

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Instrumentation & observational methods of climate change, effects

Evaluating space-based methane detection through a one-year blind test, Reuland et al., Nature 10.1038/s41586-026-11115-0

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Dheed: an ERA5 based global database of compound dry and hot extreme events from 1950 to 2023, Earth system science data, 10.5194/essd-17-6621-2025 9 cites.

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Modeling, simulation & projection of climate change, effects

An ensemble of regional CMIP3/CMIP5 wind wave scenarios for the North Sea and the Baltic Sea: a revisit, Groll & Grabemann, Ocean science Open Access pdf 10.5194/os-22-3185-2026

Anthropogenic attribution and constrained projections of summer wet-bulb globe temperature over global land areas, Li et al., Global and Planetary Change 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2026.105737

Changing patterns of compound coastal flooding along the Pacific coast of North America: precipitation-surge interactions under climate change, Fereshtehpour et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100963

Declining Surface Solar Radiation Resources in Polar Regions Under Global Warming, Huang et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl125763

Evaluating the Coupled GEOS-AOGCM for Climate Research: Response to an Abrupt Quadrupling of CO2 Forcing, Li et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres 10.1029/2025jd044986

Intensification of East Asian summer extreme precipitation under a net-zero anthropogenic CO2 emission scenario, Paik et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.aec9366

Millennial-Scale Climate States Alter Atlantic Multidecadal Variability Mechanisms in a Climate Model, Kjellsson & Park, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2026gl123473

NUKLEUS—A First Convection-Permitting Multimodel Ensemble for Germany: Assessment of Future Changes in Temperature and Precipitation Extremes, Beier et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0613.1

Probabilistic constraints on the zero emissions commitment, Hohn et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access 10.3389/fclim.2026.1877157

Reversible Atlantic overturning despite continued Greenland ice sheet melt, Guo et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.aee5373

Significant Spatiotemporal Asymmetry in Future Global Rainstorm Flood Risk, Zhao et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2025ef007148

The 2023 North Atlantic marine heatwave could have evolved into a far more extreme event, Gregory et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-78863-5

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Projected changes in mean climate and extremes from downscaled high-resolution CMIP6 simulations in Australia, Weather and Climate Extremes, 10.1016/j.wace.2024.100733 25 cites.

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Advancement of climate & climate effects modeling, simulation & projection

The Sensitivity of a Coupled Climate Model to Numerical Mixing in Its Ocean Component, Megann et al., Journal of Climate Open Access 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0661.1

Tropical Ocean Evaporation-Temperature Sensitivity to Surface Radiative Property Perturbations in Fully Coupled CESM2, Wei et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026jd048440

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Implications of a Pervasive Climate Model Bias for Low-Cloud Feedback, Geophysical Research Letters, 10.1029/2024gl110525 30 cites.

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Cryosphere & climate change

Abrupt permafrost thaw overwhelms vegetation-driven erosion reduction in sediment export on the Tibetan Plateau, Ma et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-04125-3

Alaskan Glaciers in a Warming Climate, Wells et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026ef009035

Antarctic marine-based ice destabilized when warming outpaces solid-Earth feedbacks, Swierczek-Jereczek et al., Nature Geoscience Open Access 10.1038/s41561-026-02117-8

Palaeoclimate constraints narrow uncertainty in future Arctic winter sea ice projections, Fu et al., Nature Geoscience Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41561-026-02123-w

Resolving short-term meteorological variability amplifies projected glacier loss and sea-level rise, Tricht et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-78260-y

Seasonal surface melt onset and firn freeze-up across the central Wrangell and St. Elias Mountains, Kindstedt et al., cryosphere Open Access 10.5194/tc-20-5941-2026

Sudden collapse of ice mélange under increasing submarine melt at tidewater glaciers, Summers et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-78423-x

Tuvaijuittuq: The Last Refuge of Multiyear Ice (MYI) Is Becoming Increasingly Open, Pu?ko et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans Open Access 10.1029/2025jc023023

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Seasonal changes in black carbon footprint on the Antarctic Peninsula due to rising shipborne tourism and forest fires, Science Advances, 10.1126/sciadv.adp1682 7 cites.

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Sea level & climate change

Changing patterns of compound coastal flooding along the Pacific coast of North America: precipitation-surge interactions under climate change, Fereshtehpour et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100963

Global ice loss drives source-independent amplification of sea-level rise at Pacific and Indian Ocean Small Island Developing States, Powell et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-04132-4

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: The rate of global sea level rise doubled during the past three decades, Communications Earth & Environment, 10.1038/s43247-024-01761-5 153 cites.

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Paleoclimate & paleogeochemistry

Constraints on Past CO2 and Climate Sensitivity From Global Temperature and Sea Level Reconstructions Across the Plio-Pleistocene, Köhler & Clark, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2025gl120608

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Expanded subsurface ocean anoxia in the Atlantic during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-53423-x 15 cites.

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Biology & climate change, related geochemistry

Climate Change Experienced by Life on Earth—Drivers and Mechanisms of Future Trends in Microclimates, Wolters et al., BioScience 10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[1089:eogcoa]2.0.co;2

Coordinated Leaf Trait Acclimation Reduces Simulated Global Photosynthesis Sensitivity to Elevated CO2 in a Land Surface Model, Bian et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences 10.1029/2026jg010127

Detecting long-term canopy change and vegetation shifts in northern peatlands using LAI and climate data, Burdun et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-23-7289-2026

Dispersal Limitations Restrict Predicted Climate-Driven Biodiversity Dynamics Across North America, Meng et al., Global Ecology and Biogeography Open Access pdf 10.1111/geb.70321

Drought tolerance and mortality risk of European beech, Walthert et al., Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Open Access 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111541

Effects of climate change on marine biodiversity on the western Atlantic coast, Oliveira et al., Conservation Biology Open Access pdf 10.1111/cobi.70399

Escalating competition in changing seas: baleen whales exploit killer whale prey herding, Jourdain et al., Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1098/rstb.2025.0197

Explainable artificial intelligence reveals spatially divergent effects of global change on mammals, Song et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-78677-5

Global grassland productivity and carbon storage benefit from functional diversity under climate change, Wirth et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access pdf 10.1073/pnas.2528067123

Hemispheric asymmetry in predicted range shifts of anti-tropical fish under future climate change, Zhang et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-78577-8

No Net Increase in Ecosystem Water Limitation Under Greenhouse Warming, Xu et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026ef008222

Norway spruce shows stronger growth sensitivity and weaker intrinsic water-use efficiency response than Scots pine under increasing water limitation in southern Finland, Szejner et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-23-7223-2026

Persistent effects of experimental heatwave duration on population dynamics, Gruntz & Grainger, Biology Letters Open Access 10.1098/rsbl.2026.0444

Regime Shifts During Compound Drought-Heatwave Events Amplify Ecosystem and Heat Stress Risks, Yang & Tang, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl125653

Spatio-temporal dynamics of ringed seal density and habitat use in the Arctic's Last Ice Area, MacLean et al., Ecography Open Access 10.1002/ecog.08562

Thermal Generalism Shapes Tolerance to Extreme Heatwaves in Estuarine Fishes, Mitchell et al., Global Change Biology Open Access pdf 10.1111/gcb.71143

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Global exposure risk of frogs to increasing environmental dryness, Nature Climate Change, 10.1038/s41558-024-02167-z 46 cites.

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GHG sources & sinks, flux, related geochemistry

Bedrock erodibility governs transient erosion and CO2 release in alpine landscapes, Marder et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.aei9275

Characterizing Point-Source Carbon Emissions by Combining TROPOMI CO and OCO CO2 Data, Leguijt et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres Open Access 10.1029/2025jd044636

Climate Warming Impaired the CO2 Sink Capacity and Efficiency in a Suaeda salsa-Dominated Salt Marsh, Wei et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.71151

Cross-Network Synergies Fundamental to Sustained Global Ocean Carbon Observing, Sutton et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026ef008722

Disentangling the drivers of soil CO2 ventilation in a Mediterranean dryland using in situ and remote sensing techniques, Abril-Gago et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-23-2569-2026

Divergent Spatial and Temporal Sensitivities of Forest Biomass to Climate Challenge Space-For-Time Assumptions and Models, Yang & Anderegg, Ecology Letters Open Access 10.1111/ele.70466

Drivers and implications of declining fossil fuel CO2 concentrations in Chinese cities revealed by radiocarbon measurements, Li et al., Atmospheric chemistry and physics Open Access 10.5194/acp-26-5085-2026

Drivers of long-term grassland CO2 fluxes: effects of management and meteorological conditions during regrowth periods, Wang et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-23-1625-2026

Eastern Arabian Sea Is a Perennial Source of CO2 With High Coastal Fluxes: Quantifying Key Drivers, Sherin & Gupta, Global Biogeochemical Cycles 10.1029/2024gb008368

Effects of disturbance on seasonal CO2 dynamics in two boreal forest sites underlain by permafrost, Vas et al., cryosphere Open Access pdf 10.5194/tc-20-2017-2026

Experimental Determination of the Global Warming Potential of Carbonyl Fluoride (COF2), Kim et al., Atmospheric chemistry and physics Open Access pdf 10.5194/acp-26-2707-2026

Experimental evidence of threshold-driven gas breakthrough in thawing permafrost, Shang et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1820261

Flash drought promotes decoupling of soil CO2 emissions and CH4 uptake in seasonal subtropical wetlands: A case study in Dongting Lake, Youxin et al., Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111542

Global Anthropogenic Methane Emissions: Bottom-Up Simulations of Current Trends and Scope for Future Mitigation, Höglund-Isaksson et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access 10.1029/2026gb009471

Global mapping of disaggregated international trade-linked transportation CO2 emissions, Luo et al., Science Advances Open Access pdf 10.1126/sciadv.adz1670

Interpretable Machine Learning Reveals Global Nonlinear Responses of Soil Respiration to Climate, Laffitte et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl124051

Linking sea–air and benthic methane fluxes across seasons in a tropical seagrass meadow of Taiwan, Tseng et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-23-7309-2026

Methane Uptake by Inland Waters: Fact or Fiction?, Peacock & Webb, Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gb009212

Microbially Mediated Soil Carbon Sequestration Under Long-Term Increased Snow Cover: Divergent Mechanisms Between Topsoil and Subsoil in a Temperate Grassland, Ma et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2025ef007819

Net CO2 Emissions From Dry Inland Waters Persist in the Presence of Vegetation, Sharma et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access 10.1029/2025gb008801

Rapid Increase in Geogenic CO2 Emissions from Antarctic Permafrost, Ruggiero et al., Global Biogeochemical Cycles Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gb009134

Respiration-Induced Weakening of Land Sink Contributed to the Largest CO2 Increase in 2024, Dang et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70831

Soil Invertebrate Body Size Groups and Effect Magnitude Jointly Influence Global Soil CO2 Emissions, Liu et al., Global Change Biology 10.1111/gcb.70770

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation sustains carbon sinks under warming Tibetan permafrost region, Xu-Ri et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-04085-8

UEx-L-Eddies: decadal and global long-lived mesoscale eddy trajectories with coincident air–sea CO2 fluxes and environmental conditions, Ford et al., Earth system science data Open Access pdf 10.5194/essd-18-969-2026

Wetland Expansion Reduces CO2-Equivalent Emissions and Strengthens the Congo Basin's Role as a Net Carbon Sink, Byrne et al., Global Change Biology Open Access pdf 10.1111/gcb.70746

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: The restoration of karst rocky desertification has enhanced the carbon sequestration capacity of the ecosystem in southern China, Global and Planetary Change, 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2024.104602 70 cites.

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CO2 capture, sequestration science & engineering

A Two-Phase Layered Model for Simulating Leakage Along Faults Considering the Blocking Effect of CO2 Exsolution, Jixing et al., Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology 10.1002/ghg.2384

Development and Application of a Simplified Method for Preliminary Assessment of Enhanced Oil Recovery and CO2 Geological Storage in Petroleum Reservoirs, Oliveira et al., Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology Open Access pdf 10.1002/ghg.70009

Electrified release of pure CO2 from postcapture liquid: A two-stage system lowers the total energy cost, Jung et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2528655123

Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Gas–Liquid Two-Phase Breakthrough Behavior of Wellbore Micro-Annuli in CO2 Geological Storage, Zhang et al., Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology 10.1002/ghg.70049

Impact of Wettability on CO2 Mineral Trapping in Carbonate Saline Aquifers: A Reactive Transport Simulation Study, Khoramian et al., Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology 10.1002/ghg.2387

It depends on the question: How survey format shapes the measurement of public attitudes to carbon capture and storage in Norway, Andersen et al., Energy Research & Social Science Open Access 10.1016/j.erss.2026.105032

Optimization of CaO–Ni Blends for Enhanced CO2 Adsorption: Aspen Plus Simulation Study, Sarmad et al., Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology Open Access pdf 10.1002/ghg.2385

Reductions in Climate Zone Changes Under Stratospheric Aerosol Injection Compared to Unabated Warming, Brunelli & Diamond, Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026ef008937

Salt Precipitation-Driven Rock Failure Mode Transition During Geological CO2 Sequestration, An et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2025gl120303

Simulation of CO2 Storage in a Low-Pressure Depleted Gas Reservoir and Economic Assessment of Multiphase CO2 Injection Strategies under Two Business Models of Storage Services, Ilham et al., Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology 10.1002/ghg.70027

Temporary carbon storage can mitigate slow-responding climate changes, Dickau & Matthews, Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-78620-8

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: A global assessment of mangrove soil organic carbon sources and implications for blue carbon credit, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-53413-z 101 cites.

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Decarbonization

A multi-model analysis of hydrogen uptake in a climate-neutral Europe, Fattahi et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-78681-9

Enviro-Economic Cement Production With Minimal CO2 Emissions: Implications to Net Zero Emissions, Rashid et al., Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology 10.1002/ghg.70013

Impact of proposed wind turbines on seismic monitoring stations at the Xiaolangdi Reservoir, Wei et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-75011-3

Market Integration Pathways for Enhanced Geothermal Systems in Europe, Franken et al., Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) Open Access 10.5281/zenodo.21778393

Revealing the Synergistic Drivers of Air Pollutants and CO2 Emissions Reduction in China's Resource-Based Industries, Sun et al., Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology Open Access pdf 10.1002/ghg.70014

Targeting high-value uses to unlock the mitigation potential of clean hydrogen, [authors did not process], Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02766-y

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Impacts of renewable energy resources on the weather vulnerability of power systems, Nature Energy, 10.1038/s41560-024-01652-1 111 cites.

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Geoengineering climate

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Early life stages of fish under ocean alkalinity enhancement in coastal plankton communities, Biogeosciences, 10.5194/bg-21-4521-2024 23 cites.

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Aerosols

Forcing closure suggests stronger aerosol forcing and higher climate sensitivity than the consensus, Yuan et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.aeh6401

Climate change communications & cognition

Climate change worry and generalized anxiety among high school students in a rural district of Türkiye: a cross-sectional study, Sa?lam, BMC Public Health Open Access 10.1186/s12889-026-29987-2

Local voices for a global cause – youth in climate movements in Poland, Gorczyca et al., Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2026.2748877

Political affiliation impacts climate attention and choice beyond extreme weather exposure, Wyss et al., Nature Climate Change Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41558-026-02765-z

Re-examining the prevalence of Self-focused Value Profiles and Their Relation to Climate Change Outcomes: Findings from the European Social Survey, Ward et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology 10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.103245

Reciprocal Associations Between Immigration Attitudes and Climate Change Concern: An 11-Year Longitudinal Study, Zong et al., Journal of Environmental Psychology Open Access 10.1016/j.jenvp.2026.103252

Risk in the eye of the beholder: Climate-risk perception and livelihood heterogeneity among indigenous Maya households, Gonzalez & López-Feldman, Climate Risk Management Open Access 10.1016/j.crm.2026.100899

Risk perception and decision-making during multiple climate hazards, Heimbach et al., Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Open Access pdf 10.1002/etc.3631

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Climate emotions, thoughts, and plans among US adolescents and young adults: a cross-sectional descriptive survey and analysis by political party identification and self-reported exposure to severe weather events, The Lancet Planetary Health, 10.1016/s2542-5196(24)00229-8 85 cites.

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Agronomy, animal husbundry, food production & climate change

Behavioral Readiness for Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption Among Smallholder Farmers in Southwest Ethiopia, Gafaro et al., Climate Resilience and Sustainability Open Access pdf 10.1002/cli2.70071

Developing a Climate Impact Indicator Framework for the UK Agri-Food Sector: A Literature Review and Stakeholder Co-Production Approach, Mollard et al., Climate Resilience and Sustainability Open Access 10.1002/cli2.70068

Editorial: Impact of climate change on plantation crops, Tsai et al., Tree Physiology Open Access pdf 10.1093/treephys/tpy026

Explaining Climatic Drivers of Yield Anomalies in Global Crop Models Through Metamodel-Based Attribution, Oberleitner et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2025ef007457

Multi-scale feedback mechanism and synergistic governance of carbon emissions and fragmentation in cultivated land, Liu et al., Environment Development and Sustainability 10.1007/s10668-026-08233-0

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Carbon farming in India: are the existing projects inclusive, additional, and permanent?, Climate Policy, 10.1080/14693062.2024.2416497 23 cites.

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Hydrology, hydrometeorology & climate change

Changes in Flood Frequency and Seasonality Across Midwestern U.S. Watersheds Under a Warming Climate: Insights From Convection-Permitting Climate Simulations and Physics-Based Hydrologic Models, Abbasian et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl124622

Changes in precipitation seasonality over the Indochina Peninsula during 1981–2020: observational evidence and attribution of anthropogenic forcing, Zhang et al., Frontiers in Earth Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/feart.2026.1937024

Extreme discharge asymmetry over the Tibetan Plateau under a changing climate, XIE et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2026.10.001

Flood Responses to Climate Warming on Tribal Lands Using High-Resolution Hydrodynamic Modeling, Pu et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl124766

Intensification of East Asian summer extreme precipitation under a net-zero anthropogenic CO2 emission scenario, Paik et al., Science Advances Open Access 10.1126/sciadv.aec9366

Long-term changes in extreme precipitation and their non-stationary teleconnections with ENSO and PDO over Vietnam (1981–2024), Thien, Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1899944

Projected intensification of soil salinization in global drylands under future aridity increase, Yu et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-78622-6

Significant Spatiotemporal Asymmetry in Future Global Rainstorm Flood Risk, Zhao et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2025ef007148

Topology-aware and constraint-guided deep reinforcement learning for climate-resilient control of urban stormwater systems, Jing et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1963502

Variability and Attribution of the Surface Water Budget Under the Background of Warming and Wetting in Northwest China, Yang et al., International Journal of Climatology Open Access pdf 10.1002/joc.70599

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Climate change impacts on hydrology and water resources in East Africa considering CMIP3, CMIP5, and CMIP6, Frontiers in Climate, 10.3389/fclim.2024.1453726 18 cites.

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Climate change and the circular economy

Material circularity implications of battery degradation in shared electric mobility, Yang et al., Nature Sustainability 10.1038/s41893-026-01969-7

Climate change mitigation public policy research

Assessment of Brazilian household consumption patterns and their associated CO2 emissions, Santos et al., Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2025.2509069

Combining climate policy instruments for a just transition to a climate-neutral economy, [authors did not process], Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02757-z

Translating EU renewable energy community policy under geopolitical constraint: An actor-network analysis of Cyprus, Kalemis et al., Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115666

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: The key role of sufficiency for low demand-based carbon neutrality and energy security across Europe, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-53393-0 65 cites.

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Climate change adaptation & adaptation public policy research

Adaptation Potential of Local Water Management Practices to Glacier Loss, Jésus et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2026ef008697

Diminishing cooling returns of urban greening amid a warming climate, Leng et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2616535123

Intensifying Tropical Cyclones and Expanding Renewable Energy Call for Climate-Resilient Planning in China, Zhang et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2026ef009261

Schools in a warming world: how climate change reveals institutional vulnerability, Draelants, Environmental Sociology 10.1080/23251042.2026.2750356

Supporting climate change adaptation worldwide: a web application for exploring uncertain future changes in water resources, Döll et al., Geoscience Communication Open Access pdf 10.5194/gc-9-473-2026

Synthesizing lessons from European adaptation pathways projects for climate resilience, Zorita et al., Environmental Science & Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.envsci.2026.104525

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: An analytical framework for assessing heat vulnerability in urban thermal environmental planning, Urban Climate, 10.1016/j.uclim.2024.102145 14 cites.

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Climate change impacts on human health

Impact of climate change on malaria incidence in Senegal and Nigeria: a machine learning approach, Diouf et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access 10.3389/fclim.2026.1877760

Intensifying summer-monsoon human thermal stress across eastern China's major urban agglomerations, Iqbal et al., Urban Climate Open Access 10.1016/j.uclim.2026.103195

Projected climate extremes and health burden in Kenya to 2050: a scenario-based analysis under SSP245 and SSP585 pathways, Muchangi et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1890697

Rare diseases are an overlooked dimension in climate–health adaptation, Sasongko, Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02770-2

When climate risk enters the household: Climate disasters and intimate partner emotional violence, Chang et al., Climate Risk Management Open Access 10.1016/j.crm.2026.100898

[Comment] Early career insights on boundary crossing for planetary health and a just future, Kennedy et al., The Lancet Planetary Health Open Access 10.1016/j.lanplh.2026.101507

Climate change & geopolitics

Quantifying assets for the geopolitics of climate change mitigation, Pan et al., Nature Sustainability Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41893-026-01971-z

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Measuring the climate security nexus: The Integrated Climate Security Framework, PLOS Climate, 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000280 13 cites.

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Other

Rebels in a changing climate: insurgent perspectives on disasters and the rise or fall of rebellion, Ide et al., Global Environmental Change Open Access 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2026.103250

The Cold Fresh Pulse in the Northwest Atlantic in 2023/2024, Gawarkiewicz et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans Open Access 10.1029/2026jc024883

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: On the fidelity of high-resolution numerical weather forecasts of contrail-favorable conditions, Atmospheric Research, 10.1016/j.atmosres.2024.107663 13 cites.

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Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives

Global emissions slow — but world hurtles towards 2 °C of warming, Dinneen, Nature 10.1038/d41586-026-03355-x

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago: Over-reliance on land for carbon dioxide removal in net-zero climate pledges, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-53466-0 51 cites.

Articles/Reports from Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations Addressing Aspects of Climate Change

World Energy Transition Outlook 2026: 1.5°C Pathway, Collier et al., International Renewable Energy Agency

The global energy transition has entered a decisive new phase. Renewable energy deployment continues to break records, technology costs have fallen significantly and electrification is advancing across transport, buildings and industry. However, the authors found that this progress remains too slow and uneven. The central challenge is increasingly one of accelerating implementation: scaling renewable energy, electrification, energy efficiency, grids, storage and flexibility together, while maintaining energy security, affordability and public acceptance. Under IRENA’s revised 1.5°C Scenario, electricity’s share of global final energy consumption would rise from around 23% today to 35% by 2035 and more than 50% by 2050, supported by around 18.4 terawatts (TW) of renewable power capacity by 2035 and 38.2 TW by 2050. By 2050, electricity would account for around 77% of final energy use in buildings, 47% in transport and 42% in industry, with sustainable bioenergy, renewable hydrogen and other sustainable fuels complementing direct electrification in hard-to-abate contexts. Delivering this transformation would also require a major expansion of grids, storage and flexibility, alongside more than USD 256 trillion in cumulative investment and expenditure between 2026 and 2050 (i.e. around 10.3 trillion/year).

Dominion-NextEra merger plan may slow clean energy transition, Dennis Wamsted, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

September’s revised merger agreement between Dominion Energy and NextEra includes clues about future resource decisions in Virginia that should concern state regulators, political leaders, and renewable energy proponents. Despite the success of the utility’s current offshore wind projects and promises of consumer fuel cost savings related to the renewable technology, the merger agreement fails to mention offshore wind at all. Prior to the merger announcement, developing additional offshore wind was clearly a consideration for Dominion, but NextEra largely dismisses offshore wind—meaning the merger could challenge the state’s renewable energy transition. NextEra is looking out for its shareholders first and foremost, and not Virginia ratepayers. Politicians, regulators, and energy advocates in the commonwealth need to keep that point front and center as they consider the massive merger proposal in the months ahead.

Risk Factors and Failure Statistics of Lithium Ion BESS, Srinivasan et al., Electric Power Research Institute

Lithium ion battery energy storage system (BESS) deployment has increased exponentially in the past few years. Failure incidents are rare, but understanding their risks is important to support continued improvements in BESS safety. The authors calculated the likelihood of failures and quantify failure consequences. The risk of BESS failures is compared with risk of failure of other energy infrastructure such as transformers. Several BESS design factors, including site architecture and chemistry, are analyzed to understand the effects to risk.

Sounding the Alarm, Inside Track

The authors are deeply concerned that the level of physical climate and environmental risk they are seeing is increasing at a dangerous rate. The frequency, severity, and unpredictability of hazards are broadly increasing, as are the exposure and vulnerability of many parts of society to these hazards. They are worried that the risk levels we are seeing either are not being communicated to or are not being properly internalized by government. Without intervention these physical risks will translate into major economic risk. The undermining of the mortgage market drove the Global Financial Crisis – they are worried a major increase in uninsured, high-risk properties could manifest in a similar way as climate effects intensify.

Headwaters Counties: A Water Economy (Colorado), Harvey Economics, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments

This study is an update to a 2012 Report that explores the relationship between water and economic activity in a portion of western Colorado where the interaction of precipitation, elevation, and location produces water for the Headwaters Region, much of Colorado, and the western United States. The current study focuses on what has changed in the intervening 15 years for the Headwaters Counties, documenting the relationship between water and the Headwaters Counties’ economies due to new and evolving influences. One of these influences includes increased Understanding of climate change and its' effects on Headwaters Counties’ water users.

30X30 Global Assessment 2026, Campaign for Nature, Campaign for Nature and Together for the Ocean

The authors assess where global progress toward 30x30 stands today, what current trajectories imply for 2030, why implementation is not on track, and which priorities can accelerate delivery. Under the 2022 Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted Target 3, commonly known as 30x30: the effective protection and conservation of at least 30 percent of land, inland waters, marine and coastal areas by 2030 through protected areas, Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs), recognizing Indigenous and Traditional Territories where applicable, while respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Ocean Protection Gap Report 2026, Chia et al., Together for the Ocean

In 2026, the world passed an important milestone: more than 10% of the ocean is now reported as protected or conserved, up from 8.6% in 2025. However, progress remains far off track from the global target to protect and conserve at least 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30x30). At the recent historical pace, global coverage would reach only around 15% by 2030, halfway to the target. The expansion of marine protected and conserved areas is also not yet matched by the conditions needed to deliver effective implementation. Only 3.5% of the ocean is assessed and deemed to be effectively protected. While protection of key marine habitats is relatively high on paper, only a small share is assessed as being effectively protected: 33% of mangroves are reported as protected, but just 0.3% are fully or highly protected; for seagrass the figures are 34% and 1.1%, respectively; and while 47% of warm-water corals fall within protected areas, less than 10% are fully or highly protected.

The Affordability Advantage: How Virtual Power Plants Can Alleviate Household Electricity Bill Pressure, Volume I: Summary Report, Ryan Hledik and Kailin Graham, Brattle Group

Over the past five years, electricity prices have risen faster than an already elevated rate of inflation, increasing household electricity bills and putting renewed pressure on utilities, regulators, and policymakers to address affordability. The authors evaluate how aggregating flexible household technologies—including smart thermostats, electric vehicles, and behind-the-meter batteries—could reduce system costs and translate those savings into lower electricity bills for customers.

Clean Jobs America Initial Findings: Nearly 37,000 Clean Energy Jobs Lost in 2025, Timberlake et al., E2

The U.S. clean energy workforce fell by nearly 37,000 jobs last year to 3.52 million. It was the first annual job loss in the U.S. clean economy since the pandemic-driven economic crisis, ending four consecutive years of strong growth. The reversal coincided with the sharp increase in clean energy project cancellations since the Trump administration and Congress began ending and rolling back federal support for clean energy and electric vehicles beginning in January 2025.

Emergency Management Organizational Structures, Staffing, and Capacity Finding Study, National Preparedness Analytics Center, Argonne National Laboratory

The study is the most comprehensive effort to capture foundational data about public sector emergency management (EM) agencies to date. It includes quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis examining what EM agencies look like nationwide, the challenges they face, their directors’ strategic and tactical aspirations, and the relationship between agency characteristics and successful outcomes.

The Myth of “Baseload” Power in Modern Power Grids, Jennifer Danis and Christoph Graf, Institute for Policy Integrity

the authors the term “baseload” power, together with other reliability-related energy concepts that are often used interchangeably, or in various combinations, to describe the resources’ role in electricity markets and regarding grid reliability. They also discuss why, despite the rhetoric indicating that electric grid reliability is at risk because of retiring “baseload,” “dispatchable,” or “firm” resources, these terms have distinct meanings for reliability in a diversely resourced grid.

Global Hunger Index. No Security Without Food Security, Deutsche Welthungerhilfe, Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict and Helvetas

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) measures and compares the extent of various hunger indicators such as undernourishment and child mortality each year—worldwide, across regions, and in individual countries. Welthungerhilfe (WHH) releases the index annually with global, regional, and national figures. It aims to draw greater attention to the commitment to end hunger, to show in which regions of the world additional resources are most urgently needed, and to provide recommendations for action to eradicate hunger. Lower GHI scores indicate less hunger. Higher scores indicate more.

Global Estimate of Marine Oil Pollution, Skytruth

Marine oil pollution is a chronic and widespread global problem. Based on new model estimates, approximately 1.58 million km² of the world's ocean are covered in oil slicks each year from vessels and offshore platforms. Despite their protected status, many sensitive areas show some level of oil pollution. Oil pollution is occurring in many marine protected areas (MPAs), despite their designation. This can occur when slicks drift in from vessels and platforms operating outside the borders of protected areas. Certain sensitive areas are heavily impacted by oil pollution. Three of the most polluted Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA) occur in the Mediterranean Sea. Pollution is largely caused by vessel traffic and concentrated in specific fleets. Vessels are associated with about 81% of the estimated annual oil slick area that can be attributed to a source, including both AIS-tracked vessels and dark vessels, while offshore oil infrastructure is associated with about 18%. Tankers and cargo vessels are the dominant types of polluting vessels.

The Climate-Exposed Workforce: Expectations, Responsibility and Trust at Work, Anthony Langlois and Astghik Mavisakalyan, The Curtin Centre for Applied Ethics

What do Australian employees expect of their employers in a time of disruptive climate change? Drawing on a national survey of 2,048 working Australians, the authors examine what employees expect of business, how far they trust corporate climate claims, and what they are prepared to do about it.

2026 Healthy NDC Scorecard. A global assessment of how comprehensively health is integrated into national climate plans (NDCs), Global Climate and Health Alliance

The 2026 Healthy NDC Scorecards assess the extent to which governments’ national climate commitments recognise and respond to the abundant linkages with health. Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs, are climate action plans that countries submit every five years under the Paris Agreement. Using a point-based method, 117 NDCs detailing the climate plans of 132 countries were evaluated based on how frequently, where, and how effectively they include health-related issues across eight key categories: health impacts; air pollution; health sector action; health co-benefits; just transition; integrated governance; economics and finance; and, monitoring and implementation.

Hidden assets. The economic and health case for climate and clean air action, Dietz et al., United Nations Environment Program

Climate change and air pollution share many of the same sources, yet are almost always assessed separately. This Assessment corrects that. The authors evaluate 25 proven solutions across energy, industry, transport, agriculture, cooking and waste, and finds that integrated action delivers more than acting on either alone. Every dollar invested returns around 15 dollars, an internal rate of return of 60 per cent, with market returns exceeding costs within ten years. By 2050 the solutions could avoid 144 million premature deaths and hundreds of millions of cases of chronic disease. The chief obstacles are often neither technical nor economic, but institutional. Investment in enabling conditions can bring full implementation forward by up to a decade, worth up to US$10 trillion in savings by 2040. Every region benefits. Benefit-cost ratios range from three in high-income regions to 26 in Southern Africa. Every year of delay forgoes more than US$1.5 trillion.

Impact of Climate and Environmental Change on Brain Health, Matonte et al., NeuroClimate Working Group

Excessive heat impairs cognition, neurological function, mental wellbeing, and sleep, raises the risk of neurological diseases and self-harm, and is associated with an increase in emergency department visits for numerous psychiatric disorders. Extreme weather events bring injury, trauma, displacement, disrupted care, and chronic stress, with neurological and psychological consequences outlasting disasters years after they arrive. Air pollution increases the risk of stroke, neurodevelopmental disorders, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline, and is estimated to contribute to roughly one in four dementia deaths worldwide. Food insecurity impairs brain development, cognition, and mental well-being, with the most severe impacts occurring in the critical first 1,000 days of life, perhaps the most important neurodevelopmental period. Soil and water contamination raise exposure to arsenic, pesticides, plastics, and heavy metals like lead and mercury: all neurotoxicants that act on neurological development and function across the lifespan.

An Inflection Point for the U.S. Power Sector, Tom Taylor and Rachel Reolfi, Atlas Public Policy and the Environmental Defense Fund

The authors found that America’s power pipeline is shifting sharply toward fossil fuels after years of clean power growth. Clean energy still dominates new power coming online today, reflecting projects planned and developed over several years. finding that America’s power pipeline is shifting sharply toward fossil fuels after years of clean power growth. Clean energy still dominates new power coming online today, reflecting projects planned and developed over several years. Fossil power development is accelerating as clean power faces growing headwinds. Aging coal plants are staying online longer. A fossil-heavy buildout could significantly raise electricity costs.

Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee: Preliminary Learnings and Questions Document, Oregon Data Center Advisory Committee

This document does not contain the Committee’s final recommendations. Instead, it provides a foundation for continued discussion and public comment. Following review of additional information and public input, the Committee expects to submit final recommendations to the Governor before the end of 2026. The Committee has reached the collective understanding that Oregon must consider the individual effects of data centers at the local level, the cumulative effects of multiple facilities operating in the same community, airshed, basin, or energy system, and the industry’s role in Oregon.

Financing the AI Buildout, Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall 2026

The author combines three elements. First, he quantifies the physical and financial scale of the AI infrastructure buildout and compares it with earlier U.S. infrastructure booms. Second, he describes the emerging capital stack, including the growing roles of third-party ownership, leases, project finance, private credit, and structured-finance vehicles, and uses Meta’s Hyperion transaction to illustrate these arrangements in detail. Third, he analyzes how this financial architecture allocates and potentially amplifies technological, operating, and demand risk, with particular attention to asset-level leverage, contingent obligations, and the visibility of exposures outside hyperscaler balance sheets.

Statewide Summary: California’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment, Becker Lowe et al., California Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation

The Statewide Summary provides a high-level overview of key findings from across the Fifth Assessment’s research and data, and other relevant sources. It serves as an entry point to understanding the breadth of climate effects across California, and potential paths to build resilience based on the best available science and information. California will experience rising temperatures across the century. California will experience greater precipitation variability and more “climate whiplash.” California’s snowpack will decline substantially, affecting downstream water systems, local economies, and ecosystems. Climate change is reshaping California’s seasons, altering the timing, duration, and intensity of seasonal conditions. Wildfire smoke exposure and associated health risks are increasing. Extreme heat events are growing longer and more frequent. Climate risks are not distributed equally across California communities.

Geostationary Weather Satellites: Next Generation Program Challenges Put Vital Observations at Risk, Walsh et al., Government Accountability Office

Geostationary weather satellites provide critical information on atmospheric conditions, including severe storms and hurricanes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is working on acquiring the next generation of these satellites, called GeoXO. Starting in 2025, NOAA restructured the GeoXO program. It reduced the number of satellites and cut costs from $19.6 billion to $13 billion. But this program needs to document its new cost estimates. It also needs to fully incorporate lessons learned from prior programs—including contingency planning to address gaps in satellite weather data.

Emissions Gap Report 2026: The point of return – Urgent emissions cuts needed to come back from overshoot of 1.5°C, Olhoff et al., United Nations Environment Programme

The authors detail the cuts to emissions needed by 2030, 2035 and 2040 to get on a return pathway — finding that the cuts needed are far above what current Nationally Determined Contributions deliver. However, the authors find that it is possible to close this emissions gap — pointing to many successful climate policies that have already delivered real-world emissions cuts and could be scaled up globally to accelerate action. About New Research

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The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today demanded that a U.S. manufacturer of electroshock weapons stop sending its devices to Israel following an investigative report revealing their systematic use in the torture and abuse of Palestinian detainees.

According to an investigation published by The Guardian and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism, American company Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International) has continued to supply electroshock Taser weapons and accessories to Israeli security forces despite mounting documentation that these devices are deployed inside detention facilities to inflict severe physical abuse.

Released detainees interviewed in the report detailed horrific accounts of being tightly restrained, doused with water to intensify electric shocks, and repeatedly tortured, leaving lasting physical and psychological scars.

The investigation also highlighted findings from the UN Committee Against Torture regarding a sharp escalation of abuse, sexualized torture, and electrocution inside Israeli detention facilities since October 2023, alongside similar documentation by human rights organizations like Amnesty International.

In a statement, Washington, D.C.-based CAIR said:

"It is unconscionable that equipment manufactured by an American corporation is reportedly being used to carry out acts of torture and abuse against detained Palestinians. Axon must immediately halt all current and future contracts, shipments, and servicing of electroshock weapons to Israeli authorities. Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Commerce must rigorously enforce export oversight criteria to block the transfer of technologies to governments implicated in systemic human rights violations."

Dapperly dressed in black, white, and glacial gray, the Northern Shrike might pass as any other songbird. But don’t be fooled—it's also a brutal killer. With a bold black mask and hooked bill...

Bill would give Interior Secretary Doug Burgum a two-year window to approve projects a future president could not undo

DENVER — A bipartisan permitting bill headed for a Senate vote right after the election would give President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum two years to approve data centers, nuclear facilities, and fossil fuel projects on public lands, then make those approvals nearly impossible to reverse, according to a new analysis from the Center for Western Priorities.

The Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, written and sponsored by Senators Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, Martin Heinrich, and Sheldon Whitehouse would be disastrous for public lands:

• Industry lock-in: Section 1401 bars agencies from altering any permit in effect on or after September 16, 2026, unless they meet a “clear and convincing evidence” standard far higher than agencies normally face.
• Public lock-out: Courts could no longer pause projects with botched environmental reviews. Construction would continue while reviews are redone, agencies could not act on what they find, and challengers would get just 150 days to sue.
• Taxpayer price tag: Section 1402 would make taxpayers pay developers 50 to 100 percent of construction costs if a future administration slows a whole category of projects, such as gas plants or nuclear fuel facilities, with money drawn from a Treasury fund that requires no vote of Congress.

Burgum’s Interior Department is already reviewing applications for around 17 data centers on public lands, and it attempted to approve the first one by skipping environmental review and public comment entirely. If this bill passes, that could become the norm for permitting data centers on public lands. The bill would shield permits issued by the Trump administration for everything from drilling to nuclear waste storage on public lands from revocation by a future administration, while Trump’s cancellations of wind and solar projects would remain in place. The bill also rewrites the National Historic Preservation Act, drawing opposition from nine national Tribal organizations and the All Pueblo Council of Governors.

The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Aaron Weiss.

“Senator Heinrich says his bill ‘will age very well over time.’ As it’s currently written, it will indeed age, locking in data centers and a new nuclear legacy on our public lands for generations—after all, the half-life of plutonium-239 is about 24,000 years.

“Any permitting deal passed under this administration must strengthen the guardrails that keep Burgum and Trump in check, not hand them a blank check. Senator Heinrich should pump the brakes on this bill during the lame duck session and work with leaders in the next Congress to get it right.”

Read our full analysis of the bill on Westwise.

Learn more:

• New map tracks data center applications moving through BLM’s pipeline – Center for Western Priorities
• 6 threats to public lands in the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act – The Wilderness Society
• NRDC Assessment of BAAJA, the 2026 Permitting and Transmission Bill – National Resources Defense Council
• Hard Questions About the Permitting Bill – National Resources Defense Council

 

Feature image: The Utah Data Center located in Bluffdale, Utah; Swilsonmc/Wikimedia Commons 

 

The post Senate permitting bill would cut the public out of public lands and lock in Trump-era data center, nuclear, and fossil fuel approvals appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

The nation’s largest and most profitable corporations paid an average federal income tax rate of just 10.4 percent in 2025, the lowest rate documented in more than four decades of research by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), according to a new study released today.

The study examines the current federal income taxes of 706 major U.S. corporations that collectively reported $1.88 trillion in domestic profits last year. Despite these enormous earnings, the companies collectively paid less than half the statutory federal corporate income tax rate of 21 percent, and 114 paid no current federal income tax at all.

The findings illustrate the combined effects of two rounds of corporate tax cuts enacted under President Trump: the 2017 tax law, which slashed the statutory corporate income tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, and the 2025 tax law, which expanded and made permanent lucrative corporate tax breaks.

Among the study’s key findings:

• 114 corporations paid no current federal income tax in 2025, including well-known companies such as Tesla, Walt Disney, CVS, Citigroup, United Airlines, and DoorDash.
• 258 corporations paid effective tax rates below 7 percent, or less than one-third of the statutory rate. Together, these companies reported $683 billion in U.S. profits but paid an effective federal income tax rate of just 1.7 percent.
• The 706 corporations studied received $198 billion in federal tax subsidies by paying less than the statutory 21 percent rate. They also benefited from an additional $263 billion in tax savings attributable to the 2017 reduction of the statutory rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.
• Just 25 corporations accounted for more than half of the 2025 tax subsidies. Alphabet ($18.9 billion), Microsoft ($18.7 billion), Amazon ($17.4 billion), and Meta ($13.9 billion) were among the largest beneficiaries.

“These findings show just how dramatically the corporate tax system has been tilted in favor of the nation’s wealthiest and most powerful companies,” said Matt Gardner, ITEP Senior Fellow and co-author of the report. “At a time when lawmakers claim the country cannot afford investments in families and communities, some of the most profitable corporations in American history are paying little or nothing in federal income taxes. This is not an accident. It is the predictable outcome of deliberate policy choices that have steadily eroded the corporate tax base.”

The study finds that corporate tax avoidance is particularly pronounced in several industries. Technology companies collectively paid an effective federal income tax rate of just 10 percent, receiving $68.5 billion in federal tax subsidies. Motor vehicle companies paid just 2.7 percent, while telecommunications companies paid 6.7 percent and aerospace companies paid 7.6 percent.

The research also documents how corporate tax breaks enacted or expanded in Trump’s 2025 tax law have helped some of the nation’s largest tech companies dramatically reduce their tax bills. Provisions allowing companies to immediately deduct investments in equipment and research have provided substantial benefits to corporations making massive investments in artificial intelligence and other technologies.

While these subsidies are frequently promoted as necessary to encourage investment, the report raises questions about why highly profitable corporations should receive billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies for spending they may have undertaken regardless.

“Congress has repeatedly chosen to expand tax breaks for corporations that are already extraordinarily profitable,” said Steve Wamhoff, ITEP Federal Policy Director and co-author of the report. “Rather than continuing to subsidize corporate investments and reward aggressive tax avoidance, lawmakers should close these loopholes and ensure that large corporations pay a meaningful share of their profits in taxes.”

ITEP’s analysis draws on annual financial reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by corporations in the Fortune 1000 or S&P 500. The study calculates effective federal income tax rates based on companies’ reported current federal income tax expense relative to their U.S. pretax profits.

The findings continue a series of corporate tax studies conducted by ITEP and Citizens for Tax Justice over more than four decades. The 10.4 percent effective rate in 2025 is even lower than the 11.2 percent rate documented in 1982 following President Reagan’s first round of corporate tax cuts, and the 11.3 percent rate reported in 2018 following Trump’s first tax law.

In December 2025, former B.C. Premier Christy Clark gave an interview on Global News where she described Canada’s west coast ban on oil tankers as a “ridiculous” constraint on the Canadian economy.

A clip of Clark’s interview then began to circulate online, where it was shared by several Canadian conservative influencers and aggregator accounts on platforms including X and Facebook with captions including “reality check,” “huge truth bomb” and “economic self-sabotage.”

Within days, the interview clip was spreading across the social media feeds of people in B.C. and beyond, eventually surpassing 1.6 million views.

But this was not necessarily a case of west coast residents suddenly deciding organically they wanted to overturn the ban on coastal oil tanker traffic brought in by former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The digital media amplification of Clark’s comments was orchestrated in part by Canada Action, a pro-oil industry advocacy organization partly funded by Cenovus Energy, Canada’s third-largest oil and gas company.

It was one example of “showcasing Canada Action’s content leadership influencing the public discussion,” according to an internal slidedeck from the Calgary-based group. That slidedeck, which hasn’t yet been reported on, was obtained by Greenpeace Canada and published in its October 2026 report Manufacturing Petro-Populism.

Screenshot from a Canada Action Slidedeck called “Extended Third Party Reach: Showcasing Canada Action’s content leadership influencing the public discussion”.

These and other presentation slides from Canada Action demonstrate how fossil fuel interests manufacture the appearance of consent for increased oil and gas production in Canada, according to experts who study the spread of climate disinformation online.

“Most people can pretty easily see through messages coming directly from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) or industry CEOs,” said Shane Gunster, a professor at Simon Fraser University’s School of Communications, in a statement to DeSmog. 

“But when the message comes from people in their social network, local business leaders, their family and friends, they’re far more likely to engage with it and maybe even be persuaded by it. And this is especially true for growing segments of the public that don’t consume a lot of news.”

Canada Action didn’t respond to DeSmog’s questions about the slidedeck.

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Canada Action was founded in 2012 by Cody Battershill, a Calgary-based realtor. Though Canada Action claims to be a grassroots effort, it has numerous reported ties to the fossil fuel sector and its lobbyists. According to the Greenpeace report, Canada Action spent $1.9 million CAD on marketing in 2024, and $1.5 million CAD in 2023.

The presentations were made in the context of a funder session for the group Canadian Energy Prosperity (CEP), through its Energy in Action (EIA) initiative, and held at the Calgary Petroleum Club in January 2026.

According to the Greenpeace report, Energy in Action is an oil-industry backed network of thirty organizations that advocate for the fossil fuel sector, including front groups, charitable organizations, companies, media organizations and lobby groups. EIA is itself funded by Canadian Energy Prosperity.

Though neither of these are public facing organizations, members of EIA’s network are prominent pro-oil and gas voices in Canada. They include, among others, the Fraser Institute, Canada Action, Energy United, Debunk, Canadians for Affordable Energy, Young Canadians for Resources, Resource Works, Energy Creates, and The News Forum.
 

Two of those organizations, Resource Works and Energy United, prepared a slidedeck for the Calgary Petroleum Club event describing environmental groups as “opponents” and Indigenous rights as a “problem,” as reported previously in the Narwhal.

 Many of the groups that are funded by CEP also receive funding from Gwyn Morgan, a Canadian fracking magnate who has financed a climate misinformation ecosystem with nearly $10 million in funding to right wing anti-regulation lobby groups. Morgan is also linked to Cenovus (which has funded Canada Action), as well as Second Street, a libertarian advocacy organization.

In its presentation to CEP, Canada Action explained how it was able to manufacture viral pro-oil content online from a December 1 interview former B.C. Premier Clark gave to Global News.

First, Canada Action explained, “we snipped and posted a critically important message from former B.C. Premier Christy Clark, highlighting the importance of revisiting the federal tanker ban.”

Then, the group “modified the video to add the ‘On the Oil Tanker Ban’ text on the video, so any other video containing that graphic can be directly attributed to stemming from our post.”

Screenshot from a Canada Action Slidedeck called “Extended Third Party Reach: Showcasing Canada Action’s content leadership influencing the public discussion”.

Canada Action carefully tracked “other major pages who have taken our content and then directly re-uploaded it on their platforms as a new post on their page.”

One of these reposts was from the page Debunk, Inc., which characterized Clark’s comments as explaining “why the Pacific tanker bank is pointless.” That post garnered thousands of likes and comments. In a separate slide presentation obtained by Greenpeace, Debunk stated that “the energy narrative is ours to shape. With your continued support we will continue to challenge the myths, engage Canadians, and advocate for the energy future our country deserves.”

All told, the Clark clip generated 1,614,000 views across Canada Action’s social media pages as well as “unattributed traffic” due to the video being shared by third-party accounts, according to metrics shared by the group.

In a separate slide deck, titled “Digital Reach Report: April 2026 Social Media & Website Views & Impression”, Canada Action indicated its social media content received over 37.5 million views. The bulk of its monthly impressions came from one of its three Twitter accounts — @LNGAction, @OilSandsAction, and @CanadaAction — which together brought in over 25 million views.

Amplification Machine

Canada Action has considerable social media reach, noting in its presentation that its Facebook and Instagram posts “are being reached and interacted with by millions of unique Canadians.” Indeed, according to its presentation slides, the Canada Action Facebook page drew 2.8 million unique people while the Oil Sands Action Facebook page drew 1.4 million. On Instagram, Canada Action claimed to have attracted 559,000 while Oil Sands Action drew 476,000.

Canada Action uses its sizable digital imprint to amplify other groups in the CEP network, including Young Canadians for Resources, its youth advocacy arm.

The Canada Action presentation also highlights a  partnership with Resource Works “to amplify the economic leadership of 5 Mayors from the Alliance of Resource Communities,” an effort to build public support for oil and gas and other natural resource projects in B.C.  “We can now say that we are the LNG capital of Canada,” Kitimat mayor Phil Germuth stated in one Facebook post. At the time the screenshot was taken, that post had garnered 6,600 likes, 490 comments, and was forwarded 274 times.

Resource Works is also identified in the Greenpeace report as an organization with ties to the fossil fuel sector. DeSmog has previously reported that the organization has been involved in other influence campaigns, including an astroturf campaign to oppose a ban on natural gas that involved template comments for restaurant owners, hospitality workers and residents of Vancouver.

Gunster argues that the sorts of digital campaigns led by Canada Action and its allies have influenced how Canadians think and feel about the oil and gas sector.

“Look at the big swings in public opinion in favour of oil and gas projects over the past year-and-a-half,” said Gunster. “Some of that is obviously Trump and the trade war, and some of that is the Carney government. But I have no doubt that the kinds of campaigns described in this [Greenpeace] report are also having a significant impact, saturating our social media feeds with pro-industry messaging.” 

DeSmog reached out to Christy Clark and Global News to determine whether Canada Action had asked permission to use the video clip and still images in their promotional materials. Neither responded.

The post ‘Snipped And Posted’: How Pro-Oil Groups Generate Viral Content Online appeared first on DeSmog.

The board of the UN’s Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage agreed on Thursday to set aside $20 million to help Nepal recover from the devastating climate-driven flood it suffered in August.

At an extraordinary online meeting, board members unanimously invited Nepal’s government to submit a proposal for how to use the money, which will be considered at a future board meeting.

The board’s co-chair Camila Minerva Rodriguez described the decision as “truly historic” as it is the first time the new fund has allocated any money since it was set up three years ago. It is expected to approve its first set of projects at its next board meeting in December.

Maheshwar Dhakal, a senior official at Nepal’s climate ministry, told the meeting the decision was “a powerful expression of humanity, compassion, solidarity and hope” and, for the flood victims, a “recognition of their suffering, respect for their dignity and hope that they are not alone in their darkest hour”.

A woman carries belongings recovered from her destroyed home following flash floods, on August 29, 2026 in Devighat, Nepal. (Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

While board members were united in approving the $20 million, plus $1.6 million of administrative costs, representatives of developed and developed countries were divided over the extent to which the decision should set a precedent for the fund’s long-term way of operating.

Germany and Czechia’s board members said it should not set a “precedent” while Japan’s representative said the decision is “truly exceptional” and that the fund’s support must be “in accordance with established rule and procedure”.

Learning the lessons?

Responding, Pakistan’s Ali Sheikh said the lessons from the Nepal case should “feed the long-term model and its work on rapid disbursement” of funds.

He added that he had heard Jan Dusik, Czechia’s board member saying that “we are open for learning but not in setting precedent”. “Please do not define the boundaries for learning,” he emphasised.

Sheikh complained that the decision approved by the board – the result of negotiations between a group of four developed and four developing-country representatives – was narrower than developing countries had hoped for.

“We are saying it is a one-time and Nepal-only window, a sentiment against which many developed countries have raised their voice,” he said, adding there had been no time to review the decision.

Walter Schuldt from Ecuador echoed Sheikh, saying “we should not put limits on lesson learning”. He said the decision, which he was involved in negotiating through “intense exchanges”, tells the fund’s staff to assess the lessons learned.

The fund is currently in a start-up phase and the board will debate its long-term model – including whether and how to rapidly disburse funds in response to climate-driven disasters – at its next board meeting in the Philippines in December.

At Thursday’s meeting, several developing-country board members called for wealthy nations to put more money into the fund. Recovery and reconstruction from Nepal’s flood alone is estimated to cost $4.8 billion – in comparison, the fund has only around $350 million available to allocate to countries, with a current cap of $20 million per project.

Climate justice experts welcomed the decision to allocate money to Nepal as a sign of solidarity but lamented that it came only after significant pressure and is a tiny amount compared with the country’s recovery needs.

“Setting aside millions is not the same as delivering billions,” said Lien Vandamme, a climate justice campaigner with the Centre for International Environmental Law. “What’s clear is that a fund that is desperately under-resourced will remain toothless in the face of escalating climate disasters.”

Editor’s Desk: Nepal’s disaster has laid bare the world’s adaptation accountability gap

Communities on the frontline of those disasters are owed reparations “as a matter of legal obligation”, she added, referring to last year’s advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice which made clear that states most responsible for the climate crisis have a duty to repair the harm it causes.

Brandon Wu, director of policy and campaigns with ActionAid USA, noted that three years after being established, the loss and damage fund has yet to send any money to countries hit by climate impacts and has not provided a concrete timeline for paying out the money it reserved for Nepal this week.

“If the fund were adequately resourced, an immediate disbursement to Nepal would be an absolute no-brainer. But it seems rich countries are terrified that the fund – which has received a paltry $500 million to date – will run dry, thus putting more pressure on them to provide the money they owe,” he added.

This story was updated after publication to add comment from climate justice campaigners.

The post Loss and damage fund agrees $20m for Nepal but rich nations warn it should not set precedent appeared first on Climate Home News.