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This summer, the Government of Canada launched its National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy, highlighting the need to double Canada’s electricity capacity and accelerate electrification over the next two decades. The Government of...

With their intense, feline gaze, barred bodies, and fierce hunting skills, the Great Horned Owl has been called the “tiger of the air.” North America's most widespread owl, this species is also...

Weeks later, I’m still enjoying my time from the Utqiaġvik Migratory Bird Festival. The fourth edition of the festival unfolded over three days in mid-June, at the Fred Ipalook Elementary School...

Alert! This Thursday’s double-header: show up against Zenith & for Climate Justice

Zenith Energy is currently trying to quietly sneak out of town by selling its dangerous facility to I Squared Capital, an international private equity firm worth $60 billion in worldwide assets. Given the history of City officials breaking laws, straying from established processes to protect Zenith, and the immense dangers the Zenith facility poses to our region, Portlanders deserve more information, transparency, and a thorough investigation of this business deal–specifically the transfer of Zenith’s “franchise agreement” to I Squared (a legal contract that would grant I Squared a license to operate in a public right of way). City Council must conduct a thorough review of this franchise agreement transfer with substantial community involvement.

I Squared Capital has no previous connection to Portland. There is no reason to expect it would operate any differently than Zenith Energy. The last thing our community needs is another faceless, out-of-town fossil fuel company operating a dangerous, polluting facility in our City. Let City Council know you’re concerned about this process and demand public input, transparency, and accountability.

How to take action:

1. Send a quick message right now to City Councilors using this form

2. Sign up to testify this Thursday 7/23 at ~10:45 AM (in person or virtually) to the Committee of the Whole meeting at City Hall. Testimonies will only be 1.5 minutes long, and we have talking points you can use.

   • If you can come in person, please do. We need to pack City Hall. Wear Red.

   • If you’re unavailable to testify in-person or virtually, please submit written testimony, and feel free to use some of these talking points.

Multnomah County Climate Justice Plan – The Final Adoption!

County Commissioners are due to adopt the Multnomah County Climate Justice Plan, an innovative roadmap to guide community and County toward climate justice, equity and resilience for years to come. But some Commissioners are on the fence! Join us in flooding County leaders with written comments before Thursday. Let them know why you support clean air, affordable clean energy, parks, transportation, and more.

350PDX community members have actively participated during the plan’s comment periods, and now it’s time to show deep support and enthusiasm for its adoption and implementation with our County Commissioners. Here’s a guide to help craft your testimony, and here’s a great article to learn more about this innovative plan.

Send your written comment to the following email addresses: boardclerk@multco.us, sustainability@multco.us, district1@multco.us, district2@multco.us, district3@multco.us, district4@multco.us, mult.chair@multco.us

Thursday, July 23rd at 9:30 AM
Multnomah County Boardroom, 501 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214 (street parking is limited. TriMet bus lines are 2, 10, and 14)

Public Testimony: Sign up to testify in person or virtually HERE (testimony spots are limited and pre-registration is required). Wear Red.

Livestream: You can watch a livestream of the meeting HERE.

The good news is—you can attend both of these important events! 

• The 1-hour County hearing begins at 9:30 AM at the County building (501 SE Hawthorne Blvd).
• Once that’s over, head across the river on bus #6 or #14 to attend the 10:45 AM Zenith item at City Hall.

The post This Thursday’s double-header: show up against Zenith & for Climate Justice appeared first on 350PDX: Climate Justice.

Looking for the perfect way to spend a summer evening? Join us at Rowe Sanctuary for Pickin' on the Platte, where live music, river views, and family-friendly activities come together for a...

Op-ed by: Anne Hedges and Tamara Kennedy, Seattle Times For decades the Northwest has enjoyed affordable, abundant and clean electricity. We enjoy some of the lowest electric rates in the country because of our hydropower resources and now, with vast wind and solar resources at hand, we can meet future challenges, too. Because of rising …

The post New BPA leader must find balance between modernization, conservation appeared first on Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC.

Currently, on the South End of Wrightsville Beach, tiny gray and white downy Black Skimmer chicks with long legs and thick beaks have just hatched. With temperatures soaring, it’s more...

Residents of Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley” have defeated plans for what could have been the largest carbon sequestration and storage project in the world, adding to a long list of carbon dioxide facilities and pipelines across the state that communities have fought and defeated.

Hundreds of residents packed public hearings to share their opinions about the Air Products carbon capture pipeline.

On July 30, Air Products announced they abandoned their so-called Louisiana “Clean” Energy  Project, citing “expected financial returns not meeting stringent return criteria.” But we know the truth. Ever since the multi-billion-dollar project was announced more than four years ago, River Parish residents have demonstrated strong opposition to the project because of the considerable risks it would bring to communities, including: 

• Building an ammonia plant and carbon dioxide pipeline right next door to a primary school, putting children and teachers at risk of pollution and leaks.
• Industrializing Lake Maurepas, turning a beloved lake and important ecosystem into a toxic wasteland.
• Being built on the site of the former Orange Grove sugar plantation, where local communities raised the alarm regarding the presence of unmarked graves of people who had been enslaved on the property. 
• Using an unproven technology to bury carbon dioxide deep underground, turning communities and environment into testing grounds for something not guaranteed to work. 

The project would have injected carbon dioxide under Lake Maurepas for “permanent storage,” risking the livelihoods of residents nearby and people who trap, hunt, and fish as a living. 

Kaitlyn Joshua and Logan Wolf, Earthworks’ organizers who both live in River Parishes, have helped build opposition to the project since it was first proposed with many partners, building common ground across a diverse group of stakeholders. All the town halls, door knocking, public hearings and comment writing workshops eventually led to this win, further demonstrating to the petrochemical and carbon capture industry that their era of unchecked expansion in communities is over.

Earthworks’ organizers coordinated hundreds of door knocking events to educate residents on the project, its harms, and opportunities to engage with decision makers about their concerns for the project. 

We sat down with Kaitlyn to hear more about this win, the carbon capture scheme, and how community voices shaped this outcome. 

“So what I’m really noticing in this moment, and I think a lot of people can agree with this, is that it’s not a white, Black, Democrat, Republican issue,” Joshua says. “It is literally everybody’s issue at this point when it comes to CO2 build out across the state of Louisiana.”

Q: What does the blue hydrogen project being cancelled mean to the River Parishes and you personally?

A: Essentially, this particular halt of this project means that the work that we’ve been doing for years has merit, it has value, the grassroots organizing that we’ve been doing in these communities really does work. And most importantly it does mean that these industries are hearing our plea and understanding that folks are concerned about the impacts of carbon capture and storage and what CO2 pipelines could mean for the communities that they love, for the people that they love, for the kids that attend the schools, and for the neighborhoods that exist near these proposed pipelines.

Q: Why should people care about blue hydrogen and carbon capture?

A: I think that the reason why I’m so just committed to helping people understand why they should care about this particular technology is because it’s something that doesn’t work. It’s something that is kind of taking the focus off of something that could work and essentially put a place like Louisiana in a position to be able to address the climate crisis as we are seeing more aggressive hurricanes every single year, we’re seeing higher temperatures, more extreme weather. We used to not get tornado watches nearly as much as uh as much as we do now, and that’s something that’s extremely alarming and we need to be sounding the alarm — for lack of a better term — and helping industry understand that they play a major role in these climate crisis pieces and if we want to kinda make any type of change in this particular arena, then we’re definitely gonna have to work together to try and solve it instead of constantly coming up with fake solutions or false solutions.

Q: What’s the real impact on frontline communities?

A: Frontline communities stand to gain the least when it comes to carbon capture and storage. I know that the communities that I organize enjoy beautiful waterways and bodies of water across the state of Louisiana where we fish in, that we boat in. A lot of people have beautiful residential homes and retirement homes situated on these lakes and waterways and those would be completely dilapidated as a result of carbon capture storage. Literally — pipelines being constructed in the middle of these different bodies of water across the state.

We literally couldn’t have both anymore and I think what’s so sad about that is we’ve really done the work in south Louisiana to try to revitalize a lot of these different lakes and rivers so that people can enjoy them, so fishermen can continue their livelihoods, and that would be jeopardized as a result of CO2 pipelines being constructed, wells being drilled miles and miles underneath the lake and to what end? Right. And I think the moment that you allow one facility to take this on you’re allowing hundreds of facilities to take this on as Louisiana has already been coined as a breeding ground for CO2 pipelines. And that’s not just in south Louisiana unfortunately. We’re seeing that happen in central and making its way up to north Louisiana as well.

So what I’m really noticing in this moment, and I think a lot of people can agree with this, is that it’s not a white, Black, Democrat, Republican issue. It is literally everybody’s issue at this point when it comes to CO2 build out across the state of Louisiana. At this point everyone is becoming a frontline community. And I think that’s kind of in a weird way the beauty of us kind of coming together around this one particular issue that we have in common and being able to come up with creative ways to push back on it. 

Q: You’ve been organizing on the ground for years—can you describe what that looks like and how community voices shaped this moment?

A: I’ve been organizing on the ground for a few years now and can describe a little bit what that looks like and how community voices have shaped this moment. And it’s been a delicate dance, if you will.

First, I’ll start by saying Earthworks supported on the lake side, so in particular around the Air Products blue hydrogen facility. That fight started on the Lake Mareupas side which is situated in Tangipahoa and Livingston Parish which is southeast Louisiana and essentially a very affluent part of the district, if you will, and typically very conservative, if you will, and a lot of time a lot of these folks don’t necessarily have to deal with an industrial build out or petrochemical build out as it is, and this was their first time ever fighting industry. You wouldn’t necessarily find them as — they’re definitely unsuspecting allies for sure.

Lake Maurepas to be exact, to be specific, was the main kind of common denominator if you will around organizing on the lake side and we had a um term or like a campaign, if you will, that was “Save the Lake” that Earthworks was really instrumental on helping with and really excited to support the folks within Lake Maurepas Preservation Society, which started out about three years ago.

The momentum kind of built two years ago around legislative session but also at the local level where the lake side folks were able to pass resolutions on the local level in Livingston Parish, Tangipahoa, and I believe one more. Where basically, local governing bodies, we have city councils and Parish councils, who pass resolutions saying they did not want Air Products to come into Lake Maurepas, destroy it.

As I already alluded to earlier, Lake Maurepas took years or advocates took years to revitalize and constantly try to advocate on behalf of the lake which led it to becoming a wildlife management center officially. And so that fight was very interesting.

It was very much like, if it can be quite candid, a lot of white folks just, you know, advocating on behalf of the lake and, you know, us, you know, people of color, we have a very diverse group of folks organizing with Earthworks, supporting that work and we had to, you know, be very cautious in the way that we were organizing as we didn’t wanna kinda overlay the plan that we’ve used in the agenda and the lens of which we’ve organized is what I’m trying to say for the last few years. In certain other parts of the state we couldn’t just kind of, you know, use that same blueprint right over to Livingston and Tangipahoa, we had to kind of take the lead of the folks in that area, so that was a very unique thing.

All in all, it worked out. We’re still in community, still building with the folks on the lake side, and now that we’re on the Ascension Parish side, also organizing in St. James and St. John. 

And to be clear, St. James and St. John are the parishes that would bear the brunt of the CO2 pipeline construction. Ascension Parish is where the facility is situated, where the official announcement has happened from Air Products, where they have decided to halt construction of the CO2 carbon capture facility in Sorrento-Darrow area.

And so now that we are organizing this side, it’s also very interesting because it’s a mix of Black and Brown, white folks that are also pretty well off that typically enjoy, you know, a very luxurious lifestyle for the most part. Their kids go to really good schools, a great deal of them are already a part of industry but don’t necessarily buy into carbon caption storage and what that is and what that means and a lot of them are very well aware, very educated on the fact that carbon capture and sequestration has not worked anywhere in the world and they’re not bought into it right and Air Products has not sold them on the technology.

And so for them, it is the pushback on; I don’t want CO2 pipelines constructed near my home, what does this do to my property values, what does this technology potentially do, or what does a pipeline rupture or leak look like near the school that my kids attend. Right

So the conversations are a little different, but no matter what, those different narratives have certainly shaped the feedback and the responses and the public comments that we’ve dispersed throughout the different public hearings that we’ve been able to participate in in the last few years, whether in Baton Rouge at the primacy hearings or in Ascension Parish, or in St. John, St. James, or Livingston on the lakeside. And it’s been very interesting and really exciting to see people’s different world views on how they take on this CO2 pipeline facility.

The post Victory! Louisiana Residents Defeat Air Products’ Carbon Capture Project appeared first on Earthworks.

Sixty years after surveyors first uncovered evidence of a sprawling coral reef off the West African nation of Benin, scientists have at last found the reef.

Read more on E360 →

Headline News:

• “Construction Surge Pushes US Wind Outlook Higher” • The US wind industry is on track to connect more than 50 GW of capacity through 2030, Wood Mackenzie said in its US Wind Energy Monitor Q2 2026 report. The research group raised its five-year outlook, noting that construction starts increased 8% from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026. [reNews]

Wind farm (Ørsted image)

• “Deal Sealed To Unlock 3.56 GW Capacity In NSW Renewable Energy Zone” • The New South Wales government’s planned South West Renewable Energy Zone is closer to delivery after EnergyCo signed a Project Development Deed with Transgrid to upgrade a key section of the grid to support 3.56 GW of new renewable energy capacity. [pv magazine Australia]
• “Oil Prices Rise As Fighting Between US And Iran Intensifies” • Oil prices rose as fighting between the US and Iran intensified. Oil prices jumped in early trading as the US announced attacks for a ninth consecutive night. Iran responded to the strikes by targeting US allies across the Middle East. Benchmark Brent crude rose 3.2% to $90.95 per barrel. [Euronews]
• “Court Orders EPA To Implement National Soot Standard” • The US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the US EPA must follow the law and implement the strengthened health-based 2024 National Ambient Air Quality Standard for particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, commonly called soot. [CleanTechnica]
• “The US Needs 5,000 Miles Of New High-Voltage Lines Every Year. It Only Built 392” • Some transmission experts say the grid needs about 5,000 miles of new lines. The additions reached almost 4,000 miles in 2013. In 2025, the industry added 402 miles. Before we supply AI with electricity, we have to know where it will come from. [OilPrice.com]

For more news, please visit geoharvey – Daily News about Energy and Climate Change.

When the Strait of Hormuz first closed at the start of the 2026 Iran war, the world braced for the “largest energy crisis in history.” Before the conflict began, almost 20 percent of the world’s traded oil passed through the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran’s blockade of the strait effectively erased 15 million barrels per day from circulation overnight. 

Many experts and commentators predicted that the supply gap would have catastrophic consequences. Australia expected fuel rationing, the European airline industry warned of mass flight cancellations, and Goldman Sachs predicted widespread oil shortages. The International Monetary Fund warned of a potential global recession, and some traders worried that oil prices could hit $200 a barrel.

But a little over four months into the war, little of that has come to pass. 

TimelineHow the oil market has handled the Iran warFebruary 28The United States and Israel launch a joint military operation against Iran.MarchIran retaliates and announces that it has closed the Strait of Hormuz. Benchmark oil prices rise above $100 a barrel.

The International Energy Agency announces a coordinated strategic reserve release of around 400 million barrels from more than 30 countries, including the United States.

Governments across Asia introduce energy-saving measures such as remote work mandates and restrictions on who can drive.AprilThe United States and other countries increase domestic crude production and exports, filling the gap created by the closure of the strait.MayBrent crude rises toward around $120 a barrel, its highest level on the year, as traders fear a prolonged supply disruption.JuneOn June 17, the United States and Iran sign a ceasefire agreement. Commercial shipping resumes through the Strait of Hormuz, and benchmark oil prices fall back to about $70 per barrel.JulyThe ceasefire breaks down. The U.S. announces a new blockade of Iranian oil and Iran announces new transit requirements for the Strait of Hormuz. Prices rise back to about $85 per barrel.

True, oil prices have gone up around the world, and there have been critical shortages of products such as cooking oil in some places, but rationing and recession have largely not arrived. Instead, a series of emergency measures have helped avoid the predicted crises: Oil exporters including the United States stepped in to fill the gap, either by drawing down strategic petroleum reserves or increasing production. Countries that were most reliant on fossil fuel imports from the Middle East took emergency conservation measures to reduce their demand. 

Here’s how the world has averted the worst of the oil shock so far, and what experts say might happen next if the conflict continues to drag on.

Finding alternative sources of oil

In the months since Hormuz cut off access to Iran’s main oil supply, the world has scraped every corner to find substitute barrels of crude oil. Many countries had stockpiles of oil saved up for an emergency, and in March, the International Energy Agency coordinated a historic release of oil from those reserves. That put on the market more than 400 million barrels, enough to fill about 20 days’ worth of the supply from Hormuz. 

A U.S. flag flies over Marathon Petroleum Corp’s Los Angeles Refinery, one of the largest oil refineries in North America in March 2026 in Carson, California.
David McNew / Getty Images

In addition, oil producers around the world ramped up production to take advantage of elevated prices. The United States, Venezuela, and Norway all pumped out more crude in the first half of the year than they had in previous months, with those additional barrels going to countries that had previously relied on shipments from Iraq and Saudi Arabia. South Korea, for instance, doubled its oil imports from the United States between February and April of this year. Iraq and Saudi also routed more than 6 million barrels of oil per day through land pipelines that were operating below capacity, skirting the strait altogether.

China, the world’s largest oil importer, also helped stabilize the world market. It stopped buying oil for its own strategic reserve after the war began, and it also stopped purchasing crude for its own domestic refineries, shutting them down for months. To generate electricity, it pivoted to coal and solar. These measures together freed up another 5 million barrels per day for the world market.

Using less oil

Even as the world scrambled to replace Middle East oil, the Asian countries that rely on it moved aggressively to slash their usage. Many nations idled their factories and industrial facilities that use petroleum-based liquids, which shaved off a few million more barrels a day. Some increased imports of electric vehicles or accelerated plans to adopt solar and wind technology to reduce their dependence on foreign oil and gas. But the vast majority of imported oil is used for transportation and power generation, so in order to weather the crisis, countries also needed to change consumer behavior.

Read Next The Iran war is destroying oil demand. Could it also spark a shift to clean energy? Kate Yoder

More than 100 countries enacted some form of conservation measure, ranging from limits on elevator usage to outright restrictions on when people could drive. The Philippines, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka all moved to a four-day work week, and Myanmar restricted gas vehicles to driving every other day based on the number of one’s license plate. Bangladesh limited air conditioning temperatures to 77 degrees Fahrenheit and closed public university buildings. This helped reduce demand on a power grid that runs on imported oil and liquefied natural gas, much of which also comes through Hormuz.

Some wealthier countries in Europe got even more ambitious: The Netherlands, for instance, allowed citizens to trade in gas cars for electric ones, and Sweden halved the cost of public transportation fares.

Consumers wait to fill gas cylinders at the Nepal Oil Corporation depot in Kathmandu, Nepal, in March. Across much of Asia, cooking gas is in sort supply due to the Iran conflict.
Subaas Shrestha / NurPhoto via Getty Images

These conservation measures likely prevented an out-of-control price spiral, giving importers time to procure more oil from other nations. They also likely saved Asian countries from needing to impose extended periods of rationing the way the United States had to do during the oil crisis of the 1970s, the largest previous disruption to the world’s oil supply.

“There have been multiple measures taken by governments both on the supply and demand side, but mainly on the demand side for large oil importers,” said Kevin Morrison, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis who focuses on oil and gas in Australia. “This is a trend that is likely to continue as the uncertainty around future oil supplies remains uncertain.”

How long can these tactics last?

Even though the most dire early predictions haven’t borne out, the closure has not been easy. In the early days of the crisis, before countries procured substitute fuel, price spikes and supply disruptions in Asia altered millions of lives. Taxi drivers in Myanmar lost their livelihoods and funeral homes shut cremation services for lack of fuel. A lack of fertilizer during key rice planting times in Asia will likely hamper harvests later this year, contributing to higher food prices.

Aside from crude oil, the war has caused shortages of other goods like helium and sulfur, shipments of which also pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This has contributed to broader inflation for everything from nickel to semiconductors.

A natural gas delivery worker waits at a red light with tanks of gas strapped to their motorcycle in Bangkok, Thailand, in April The cost of living in Thailand is increasing as petroleum prices skyrocket amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
Matt Hunt / Anadolu via Getty Images

The market shifts of the last few months have had consequences even in places like the United States that could afford a consistent supply of oil. Refiners around the world have produced more jet fuel to keep airlines supplied, but that means they have also produced less gasoline for cars. As the U.S. heads into the peak summer driving season, its gasoline inventories are as low as they have been in a decade. Supplies could drop even lower this fall as companies perform delayed maintenance on their hard-working refineries, said Bob McNally, the founder of the analysis group Rapidan Energy Group, who also advised the administration of President George W. Bush on oil policy.

It may soon get a lot worse. Even though global oil prices have fallen from their peak, there’s still a fundamental mismatch between oil demand and oil supply. As a result, experts say the world could still experience severe economic disruption later this year if the strait remains closed. Some vessel traffic resumed through the Strait of Hormuz last month following a tentative agreement between the United States and Iran, but the ceasefire has collapsed and Iran now says the strait is closed again. 

Read Next The war in Iran could plunge the world into hunger Ayurella Horn-Muller

“The market decided at the end of Round 1 to price for perfection” in an Iran deal, McNally said. “Instead, we’re getting Round 2. We played some tricks and some cards, but all these things … are either wearing off or already known.”

Those “tricks” have run their course. Most countries’ emergency stockpiles are close to depleted, and the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve has fallen so low that its structural integrity is starting to strain. At the same time, China has ended what McNally called its “crash diet” and has started to buy oil for its refineries again. 

This leaves the world without the buffer that it had during the first round of the crisis. 

“Hormuz 1.0 was about supply and inventory,” said McNally. “In Hormuz 2.0, prices will have to do more of the work. And they have to go really high, because the problem is demand is inelastic — you’ve got to eat.”

toolTips('.classtoolTips10','A conductive and heat-resistant metal that forms a key part of many battery cathodes, which allow electric charges to flow. It is used in the lithium-ion batteries that power many EVs as well as solar energy systems and wind turbine components.');

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Why the Iran war hasn’t caused a global oil crisis — yet on Jul 21, 2026.

The government of French Polynesia plans to challenge an American startup’s proposal to explore the waters just beyond its maritime borders for seabed mining. 

“We were approached, but we were not consulted,” Moetai Brotherson, the territory’s president, told Grist. “We are not remaining passive while industrial activities are proposed immediately next to ecosystems that French Polynesia has chosen to protect.”

As Grist reported last week, a Bay Area investor wants the Trump administration’s approval to explore seabed mining in international waters entirely surrounded by the maritime borders of the Cook Islands, Kiribati, and French Polynesia. The company, American Deep Sea Minerals, has a permit application pending before U.S. regulators and hopes to extract minerals essential to the production of batteries and military technologies. It is one of at least a dozen applications under consideration as President Trump races to make the United States a leader in critical mineral mining. 

Negotiators from dozens of countries are meeting this month in Jamaica at the headquarters of the International Seabed Authority, where they are debating the minutiae of a regulatory framework that’s been in progress for more than a decade. Last year, the Trump administration invited companies to apply for permits to mine the high seas directly through the U.S. rather than wait for the adoption of those rules. That has prompted global outrage from countries who say it flouts international law. 

“The deep seabed belongs to no single country and no corporation; it belongs to all of us,” Letitia Carvalho, the secretary-general of the regulatory body, said in Jamaica last week. “If we lose sight of this, we risk repeating on the ocean floor the same injustices and destruction we still strive to remedy on land.” 

French Polynesia doesn’t have a seat at the authority because it remains a French territory whose Indigenous people haven’t been granted political self-determination. And until recently, when environmental nonprofit organizations extended their observer status to Indigenous advocates, the voices of French Polynesians were largely left out of the discussion. Still, Brotherson said he prefers the international regulatory process to recent U.S. actions. 

“This case therefore goes beyond one company or one licence application,” Brotherson said. It raises a fundamental question, he said, about whether an individual country can unilaterally authorize a new industry in international waters, particularly those adjacent to Pacific island nations and protected marine areas. 

According to Brotherson, American Deep Sea Minerals sent a brief introductory email to a government representative; the government replied asking for more information. “No response was received,” he said. “Thus, no consultation has taken place regarding this proposal, and the government has not been provided with sufficient information to assess the project or its potential environmental implications.” Under international law, Indigenous peoples have the right to free, prior and informed consent — and to withhold such consent — regarding development and extractive projects on their ancestral territories. 

Graham Goulet, the CEO of American Metals, told Grist the company intended to consult the governments of the Cook Islands, Kiribati, and French Polynesia “as the exploration program develops.” Those discussions will, he said, occur under U.S. oversight and in accordance with the intentions outlined in its application. The filing notes that it intends to create a benefit sharing agreement with Pacific nations and plans to avoid interfering with fishing.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. government agency overseeing seabed licenses in international waters, is still considering Goulet’s application. It is available for public comment online until August 3. 

Read Next Indigenous concerns surface as Trump calls for seabed mining in Alaskan waters Anita Hofschneider

The environmental implications of seabed mining have long concerned French Polynesia, which banned the practice in 2022, followed quickly by France in 2023. Indigenous peoples with longstanding connections to the ocean, such as for traditional navigation, account for 80 percent of the territory’s population. Studies show extraction could harm fisheries, and Indigenous Pasifika leaders from across the region have raised cultural concerns about the significance of disturbing the sea floor. 

“As if climate change wasn’t enough, the spectre of deep-sea mining threatens to strip-mine the ocean floor, our sacred place of creation,” said Hinano Murphy, an Indigenous cultural expert from Moorea and Tahiti in a TEDxTalk last year.  

Last September, Brotherson added further prohibitions on seabed mining within Tainui Atea, a marine protected area that encompasses nearly all of the islands’ exclusive waters. The preserve sustains 21 species of sharks, 176 species of coral, and more than 1,000 species of fish, according to the United Nations. One survey found more than 92 percent of French Polynesians support Tainui Atea because it honors their traditional cultural practices. 

“French Polynesia’s position is therefore not only a political statement. The protection of deep-sea ecosystems is now embedded in our domestic regulatory framework,” Brotherson said. 

The waters that American Deep Sea Minerals is eyeing, known as Eastern High Seas Pocket 3, are also a popular tuna fishing spot, as well as a potential conservation area. 

In January, the United Nations High Seas Treaty, an international law intended to protect marine ecosystems, took effect, allowing nations to create conservation areas in international waters for the first time. French Polynesia wants to use the law to protect the Eastern High Seas Pocket 3. Doing so could set an important precedent for how effective the treaty is, and how protected the world’s oceans will be in the future, Brotherson said. 

If American Deep Sea Minerals’ application proceeds, French Polynesia wants a say in what happens and a thorough environmental review. Recently, U.S. regulators fast tracked the approval process for deep-sea mining applications by halving the number of environmental reviews required for commercial permits. “We expect the interests of neighboring Pacific countries and territories to be fully taken into account through prior notification, meaningful consultation, and a comprehensive, independent and participatory environmental impact assessment,” Brotherson said.

As part of a U.S. application, American Deep Sea Minerals will need to conduct scientific studies of the area and create an environmental impact assessment. Brotherson said that his government supports independent scientific research conducted on deep-sea ecosystems.

“However, we do not regard this particular application as neutral scientific research,” he said. Although the company says it does not yet intend to apply for a commercial license, its application shows that it intends to conduct the research necessary to apply for one, as well as a mining test. “It is therefore part of a pathway towards potential commercial mining,” Brotherson said. 

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline French Polynesia objects to an American seabed mining plan made without its input on Jul 21, 2026.

This story is published through the Indigenous News Alliance.

The Arctic is warming four times faster than other regions, a trend that disproportionately harms the Indigenous Sámi people — particularly their access to vital traditional resources like reindeer and salmon, which are used for food, clothing, weapons, and more.

As northern temperatures rise, snow is melting and refreezing at an accelerating rate. That forms ice, preventing reindeer from reaching the lichen below and dramatically increasing starvation rates. “Those impacts in nature are severe for our culture and livelihoods,” said Tuomas Aslak Juuso, vice president of the Sámediggi, or Sámi Parliament, of Finland. “So survival of reindeer and then survival of our livelihoods [and] cultures is then questioned.” 

Last week, the impacts of climate change and colonialism were among the key issues raised by the hundreds of Indigenous people gathered in Geneva. They’d come from around the world to discuss these mounting threats at the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or EMRIP. They agreed that a multitude of crises will only grow worse unless they are given greater say in international negotiations and decision-making. That’s why in addition to pushing specific policy recommendations on conflict, AI, and other key issues, Indigenous delegates continued their decades-long demand for better representation at the U.N.

“What we are trying to do is to get some implementation resources for us to adapt to the climate change. With Finland, for example, we don’t have any adaptation resources on how to adapt to these situations,” Juuso said. “To be able to bring these issues forward to the global discussion, we would have to have the opportunity to participate.”

Member states are granted access to U.N. gatherings, where they can easily express views, determine policies, and outline their progress implementing international commitments required by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and other agreements. But Indigenous advocates say the voices of the peoples directly impacted by such actions aren’t always heard at international forums. 

The U.N. structure requires participation through either a member state or a registered civil society agency — for instance, a non-governmental organization, academic institution, or accredited Indigenous organization. But Indigenous nations don’t fit neatly into one of those categories and are reduced to participating as NGOs. Beyond those structural barriers, Indigenous peoples also face financial and other resource challenges that compound the difficulty of making themselves heard at the international level. That’s why those attending EMRIP continued the long fight for what is called enhanced participation, which could finally give Indigenous nations and organizations the same access and power the United States and other countries enjoy.

That increased influence is especially important when many countries ignore Indigenous priorities. Throughout the week, many delegates identified climate and environmental issues as one area where national governments often have different priorities than Indigenous peoples, who consider land and ecosystems more important than economic growth — a value system they believe is at odds with the world’s best interests. 

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“We’ve got to try and balance immediate economic interests with longer-term environmental protections,” said Kym Hamilton, who is from the tribes of Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Raukawa in Aotearoa New Zealand. “I think we’ve got a responsibility to protect our descendants.”

In U.N. lexicon, enhanced participation is the catchphrase often used for efforts to elevate Indigenous peoples’ voices. Those gathered in Geneva asserted the right to represent their communities in crucial global discussions that impact them. They are also demanding more respect from member-state governments and other policymakers, something they argue will better help them to survive conflict and other crises.

“The question before us is no longer whether Indigenous peoples should participate more fully in the Human Rights Council,” Hamilton, who spoke on behalf of the National Iwi Chairs Forum that represents 87 tribes, said. “The question now is how quickly we will implement these commitments.” 

She offered recommendations for EMRIP’s seven expert Indigenous members, including a clear timeline for creating participatory status for Indigenous peoples’ institutions and appointing Indigenous and state representatives with equal standing to lead the process. She also called for the establishment of an independent and transparent accreditation mechanism to prevent states from vetoing Indigenous representatives, and initiatives to provide predictable and sustainable funding to take part.

Hamilton said Indigenous peoples’ full participation in international deliberations includes the right to decide who represents their communities. “Governments don’t always tell the truth,” she said, citing the U.N. Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review — which all 193 member states must undergo every 4.5 years — which she said revealed gaps between the reports governments submitted and the actual human rights situations within their jurisdictions.

Kenneth Deer, member of the Mohawk Nation of Kahnawà:ke and longtime international Indigenous advocate, echoed that point. “The government never speaks ill about itself,” he said. “You can’t let government speak for us.”

But the U.N.’s accreditation and recognition process can hinder progress toward collectively tackling the challenges impacting Indigenous peoples, he noted. “For us, as a representative institution, there isn’t actually any clear path to accreditate ourselves — and that leads to them trying to improvise, and try to find ways how we can accreditate ourselves.”

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The National Congress of American Indians also called for increased Indigenous participation at the international level. “Recognition and participation of Indigenous peoples must accommodate the numerous ways we identify, organize, and represent ourselves,” President Mark Macarro said. “It is essential that we participate directly in matters of global concern that affect our environment, health, human rights, and unique rights as Indigenous peoples.”

Deer said he’s seen many caucuses of Indigenous delegates at the U.N. engage in important collaborations. But he wishes they could have a higher profile. “Indigenous peoples want to have a voice,” he said. “They want to be heard.”

A diversity of voices at the U.N.’s highest levels, he believes, would improve the U.N. processes and system to the benefit of all countries. “What we need is the states, now, to agree to a process that was run by Indigenous people,” he said.

Throughout the week, EMRIP delegates identified a host of other barriers to participation. For example, communications technology within remote communities presents challenges to joining global deliberations. Additionally, there are significant financial barriers for under-resourced communities when U.N. forums are held far from their homelands.

The U.N. Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples, which helps finance travel to U.N. forums, is also experiencing budget shortfalls, inhibiting many delegates’ ability to attend. It is seen as an important way to increase participation among delegates from areas where governments do not recognize the Indigenous peoples within their borders. Sheryl Lightfoot, EMRIP’s North America region member, is an Anishinaabe expert in Indigenous rights, global politics, and public policy.

She said states are not involved in how EMRIP officially recognizes Indigenous peoples. “Worldwide, there’s a need — and this is especially true across Africa and Asia — of Indigenous peoples seeking just mere recognition of their existence from their governments,” she said. “States seem to be more resistant now than they were 10 years ago to recognize that peoples are Indigenous peoples and have those rights attached to them.”

Despite Hamilton’s doubts about how much change has been achieved internationally, hearing her peers from other Indigenous nations testify about how they’ve persevered inspired her and restored her hope. “I feel like there’s a real sense of … urgency and concern,” she said. “We don’t want our grandchildren’s grandchildren to have to keep coming here and doing this stuff.”

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline As climate change threatens their lands, Indigenous nations demand more power at the UN on Jul 21, 2026.

Lucky Neko menjadi salah satu permainan bertema keberuntungan yang paling sering diperbincangkan oleh para penggemar game digital. Bukan hanya karena tampilannya yang penuh warna, tetapi juga berkat konsep unik yang mengusung ikon kucing pembawa keberuntungan khas budaya Jepang. Popularitasnya terus meningkat di berbagai komunitas, mulai dari media sosial hingga forum diskusi, sehingga tidak mengherankan jika banyak orang penasaran dengan daya tarik yang dimilikinya.

Lalu, apa sebenarnya yang membuat Lucky Neko saat ini sedang naik daun? Mari kita bahas dengan santai.

Desain Menarik yang Mudah Disukai

Hal pertama yang langsung mencuri perhatian adalah desain visualnya. Lucky Neko menghadirkan nuansa cerah dengan dominasi warna emas, merah, dan putih. Ikon kucing yang mengangkat satu tangan atau dikenal sebagai Maneki Neko dipercaya dalam budaya Jepang sebagai simbol keberuntungan dan kemakmuran.

Bagi banyak pemain, tampilan seperti ini memberikan pengalaman yang terasa lebih menyenangkan dibandingkan desain permainan yang terlalu gelap atau rumit. Animasi yang halus serta efek suara yang ringan juga membuat suasana bermain terasa lebih hidup tanpa berlebihan.

Gameplay yang Mudah Dipahami

Tidak semua orang menyukai permainan dengan aturan yang rumit. Di sinilah Lucky Neko memiliki keunggulan. Mekanisme permainannya relatif sederhana sehingga pemain baru pun dapat memahami cara kerjanya dalam waktu singkat.

Kesederhanaan tersebut justru menjadi nilai tambah. Pemain tidak perlu menghabiskan waktu lama untuk mempelajari berbagai fitur sebelum mulai menikmati permainannya. Hal ini membuat Lucky Neko mampu menjangkau berbagai kalangan, baik pemain berpengalaman maupun pemula.

Ramai Dibahas oleh Komunitas

Popularitas sebuah permainan biasanya tidak lepas dari peran komunitas. Saat ini, Lucky Neko cukup sering menjadi topik pembahasan di berbagai platform digital. Banyak pengguna berbagi pengalaman, membahas fitur permainan, hingga memberikan tips berdasarkan pengalaman pribadi mereka.

Fenomena ini menunjukkan bahwa sebuah permainan tidak hanya dinilai dari tampilannya saja, tetapi juga dari seberapa aktif komunitas yang mendukungnya. Semakin banyak orang membicarakannya, rasa penasaran calon pemain pun ikut meningkat.

Namun, penting untuk diingat bahwa setiap pengalaman bermain dapat berbeda. Informasi dari komunitas sebaiknya dijadikan referensi, bukan sebagai jaminan hasil tertentu.

Tema Budaya yang Memberikan Nilai Tambah

Lucky Neko tidak sekadar mengandalkan visual menarik. Permainan ini juga mengangkat unsur budaya yang cukup dikenal secara internasional. Maneki Neko telah lama menjadi simbol keberuntungan dalam tradisi Jepang dan sering ditemukan di toko, restoran, maupun tempat usaha.

Penggunaan simbol tersebut memberikan identitas yang kuat sehingga Lucky Neko lebih mudah dikenali dibandingkan banyak permainan lain dengan tema umum. Kombinasi budaya tradisional dan teknologi modern menciptakan pengalaman yang terasa unik sekaligus familiar.

Mengapa Banyak Orang Mencobanya?

Ada beberapa alasan yang membuat Lucky Neko semakin populer saat ini. Pertama, tampilannya menarik sehingga mudah memikat perhatian sejak awal. Kedua, mekanisme permainannya sederhana sehingga tidak membuat pemain merasa kesulitan. Ketiga, banyaknya pembahasan di komunitas digital ikut mendorong rasa ingin tahu masyarakat.

Selain itu, perkembangan industri hiburan digital membuat pemain semakin terbuka untuk mencoba berbagai tema baru. Lucky Neko berhasil memanfaatkan momentum tersebut dengan menghadirkan konsep yang ringan namun tetap memiliki karakter kuat.

Dari sudut pandang pengalaman pengguna, permainan yang mudah dipahami dan memiliki identitas visual yang jelas memang cenderung lebih cepat mendapatkan perhatian. Hal ini juga sejalan dengan tren industri game yang mengutamakan aksesibilitas dan pengalaman bermain yang nyaman.

Kesimpulan

Lucky Neko saat ini memang sedang naik daun berkat perpaduan antara desain yang menarik, gameplay yang sederhana, tema budaya yang ikonik, serta dukungan komunitas yang aktif. Popularitasnya bukan muncul secara kebetulan, melainkan karena mampu menghadirkan pengalaman hiburan yang mudah dinikmati oleh berbagai kalangan.

Meski demikian, setiap orang tentu memiliki preferensi yang berbeda dalam memilih permainan. Karena itu, pendekatan terbaik adalah menikmati Lucky Neko sebagai bentuk hiburan digital secara bijak dan tetap memiliki ekspektasi yang realistis. Dengan cara tersebut, pengalaman bermain akan terasa lebih menyenangkan sekaligus bertanggung jawab.

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