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The Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Climate Justice Forum radio program, produced by regional, climate activists collective Wild Idaho Rising Tide (WIRT), features an Earth Day panel discussion facilitated by Bill Moyer of Solutionary Rail, with environmental justice and labor organizers Ryan Calbreath of the UE Union Green Locomotive program, Jess Conard of Rail Watch, mark! Lopez of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Tabitha Tripp of Public Rail Now, and Andrea Vidaurre of People’s Collective for Environmental Justice, talking about shifting harmful, private, Wall Street-extractive, Class 1 railroads into beneficial, public, electrified, rail and transmission infrastructure systems that could provide better accountability and community safety and services. We also share news, videos, and reflections on the proposed, unpermitted, bedrock blasting under rivers for construction of the Enbridge Line 5 tar sands pipeline, rerouted around a Wisconsin indigenous reservation near the Great Lakes, and Idaho citizen objections to Snake River Oil and Gas plans to drill the Miller 1-15 methane well and extract their privately-owned resources via forced leasing, close to hundreds of Fruitland residences, businesses, and water wells. Broadcast for fourteen years on progressive, volunteer, community station KRFP Radio Free Moscow, every Wednesday between 1:30 and 3 pm Pacific time, on-air at 90.3 FM and online at KRFP and the Pacifica Network AudioPort, the show describes continent-wide, grassroots, frontline resistance to fossil fuels projects, the root causes of climate change, thanks to generous, anonymous listeners who adopted program host Helen Yost as their KRFP DJ.

New: Enbridge’s Line 5 Reroute Blasts through Bedrock Without Permits, Threatening the Great Lakes, May 7, 2026 Unicorn Riot

WIRT Comments and CAIA Objection with Attachments Opposing Snake River Oil and Gas Miller 1-15 Methane Well Drilling Application, April 20, 2026 Wild Idaho Rising Tide

Panel Discussion: Solutionary Earth Day Special — From Problem to Solution, May 2, 2026 Solutionary Rail

A Brazil-led initiative that is pulling together a global roadmap to end deforestation will invite countries to produce their own voluntary pathways to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030, experts managing the process said this week.

At last year’s COP30 climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon city of Belém, a group of around 80 countries led a failed push to start developing two new global roadmaps – one to stop deforestation by 2030 and another to transition away from fossil fuels. All countries signed up to these commitments in a landmark deal at COP28 in Dubai, but little progress has been made to implement them since then.

As a bridging alternative, Brazil’s COP30 presidency agreed to draft two voluntary versions of these roadmaps. COP30 officials said a final version of the deforestation roadmap will be published by September this year, after receiving more than 130 written submissions from countries.

This Monday, Juliano Assunção, executive director of Climate Policy Initiative/PUC-Rio in Brazil and an advisor to the COP30 presidency on deforestation, presented a first outline of the roadmap to countries at the United Nations Forum on Forests in New York (UNFF21).

Assunção said the roadmap “will not prescribe a single model”, but would rather invite countries to translate commitments they have already made to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030 – which is a longstanding global goal – “into forest roadmaps grounded on regional and national diagnosis”.

In 2025, the world lost 4.3 million hectares of tropical primary rainforest, an area roughly the size of Denmark, according to annual data published by Global Forest Watch. While that was 36% lower than in 2024 when climate-fuelled fires pushed forest loss to a record high, deforestation was still 70% higher than it should to be to meet the 2030 international pledge to end it, the report said.

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What will be in the roadmap?

Assunção said the COP30 team “were positively surprised by the level of depth and how comprehensive” the contributions from countries and experts were in the consultation phase for the global roadmap, noting that these served to inform the current outline.

The plan is for the global roadmap report to be structured in two parts: one on the social, economic and environmental risk of continued forest loss; and a second presenting a menu of options to tackle deforestation by 2030.

“The roadmap will be practical, based on countries’ experiences. It will help identify the key challenges, and understand their drivers, which vary quite differently among different countries. It’s going to be drawing on existing policy tools,” Assunção told countries at the UN forests meeting this week.

The COP30 advisor said that, while countries can draft national plans, there’s also “a lot of room for international co-operation”, which governments themselves requested as part of the consultation.

The roadmap will include a sub-section on international co-operation, which will include how countries can share tools such as satellite platforms to improve monitoring systems, how to improve the finance architecture to channel more resources for forests, and how to align international regulations on trade, crime and due diligence to protect forests.

Indigenous groups warn Amazon oil expansion tests fossil fuel phase-out coalition

Marco Tulio Cabral, a diplomat at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs who leads the deforestation roadmap process, told governments that, while the document is not a negotiated outcome, the COP30 presidency is “investing a lot of time and effort” in talking with countries to “make as good a text as we can” that represents a range of views.

He noted that, while the COP30 initiative for a fossil-fuel phase-out roadmap led to a coalition of countries that gathered for a first landmark conference in Santa Marta last month, a similar dedicated push is not necessarily expected for a deforestation roadmap.

“The supportive actors and those who oppose it are very different, so there are limits to what we can do together or associate one thing with the other,” Cabral said.

Cattle graze on deforested areas of the Ituxi ranch near Kaxarari Indigenous land, in Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil August 12, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Adriano Machado) Cattle graze on deforested areas of the Ituxi ranch near Kaxarari Indigenous land, in Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil August 12, 2024. (Photo: REUTERS/Adriano Machado) Forest nations seek focus on local realities

Countries at the UN event were supportive of the roadmap, but also expressed the need to offer real alternatives to rural communities.

Joseph Malassi, climate advisor at the Ministry of Environment of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said that in the Congo basin – the planet’s second-largest rainforest – deforestation “is not caused by vast industrial or infrastructure projects, but rather by extreme poverty” as local people cut down trees for firewood, minerals or crops.

“The roadmap will be confronted with these realities,” Malassi said, adding that it should avoid competing with other UN forest initiatives already working at the intersection of conservation and development.

Nicholas Suryobasuindro of Indonesia’s Ministry of Forests, which manages another mega-diverse rainforest basin, welcomed the Brazilian roadmap, adding it will need to address the “complex interaction between land use chains, economic pressure, spatial planning challenges and development needs”.

Finance will be key to dealing with these realities, according to Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Guyana’s permanent ambassador to the UN. She said the roadmap should take into account an existing six-point plan to scale up forest finance launched last year by 34 countries.

Two options in that plan in particular have potential to drive up funding for forest protection and “must immediately receive strong international support”, she added. They are a new rainforest fund called the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) – launched last year by Brazil and supported by several donor governments – and “high-integrity jurisdictional” carbon markets, which refers to government-led sales of carbon credits from large forested areas.

“Both approaches can support countries with different forest and deforestation profiles, including countries with historically low deforestation rates achieved with sustainable forest management,” Rodrigues-Birkett said.

The post COP30 roadmap to end deforestation will invite countries to draft domestic plans appeared first on Climate Home News.

Food industry claims state chemical laws will spike grocery bills, but that doesn’t add up Ketura Persellin May 13, 2026

In a page straight out of the industry playbook, a powerful group of U.S. food companies has funded a “study” claiming consumers will pay more if harmful chemicals are labeled or banned.

The industry front group, which represents food giants Nestlé and General Mills, among many others, is also backing other efforts to quash states’ ability to enact stricter food chemical laws.

The Policy Navigation Group, a lobbying and consulting firm whose clients include Dow Chemical and Snack International, published the so-called study. It says food chemical laws in Louisiana, Texas and West Virginia would increase household grocery spending by 12%, or $860, per year. 

Louisiana and Texas enacted laws requiring a simple label or QR code be added to a food products packaging if it includes select ingredients of concern, such as certain artificial dyes and preservatives. West Virginia’s law bans food products containing potentially harmful ingredients like propylparaben, Red Dye No. 3, Red Dye No. 40 and Yellow Dye No. 5 from being sold in the state.

Federal regulatory failures have driven dozens of states to introduce similar laws targeting dyes, additives and other ingredients of concern.

But the study has serious flaws. From faulty data to bad math and poor logic, scrutinizing the claims makes clear they don’t add up.

Flawed grocery price analysis

The study uses highly selective examples, false assumptions and outdated models to drive up the cost estimates.

The study’s central assumption is that consumers who see a warning label on food will waste valuable time searching for an alternative that is more expensive. That’s because the study’s authors looked at only a handful of selected retailers who possibly charge more for products with fewer ingredients of concern. 

But that’s not how most Americans actually shop.

Many major grocery chains, including Kroger, Publix, ShopRite and Wegmans, already offer affordable store-brand products that are free of many of the chemicals states are targeting with new food safety laws. 

ShopRite, for instance, designed its Wholesome Pantry store brand to be free of artificial additives at competitive prices.

The study largely fails to account for these affordable, available alternatives – a limitation the researchers themselves acknowledge, noting that their focus on particular retailers likely led them to overlook some products and introduce bias in their results.

Texas, where H-E-B dominates the grocery business, is a heavy focus of the study. Under market pressure, H-E-B has already removed more than 175 synthetic ingredients from its store-brand line. That’s most of the ingredients targeted by Texas’ food chemical labeling law. 

The study didn’t disclose the products and brands it analyzed. But its retailer of choice, Amazon, also owns Whole Foods, so it’s possible many of the pricier alternatives the study identified were Whole Foods products, not the kind of everyday substitutes most shoppers reach for.  

According to a separate food industry report from February, two-thirds of all grocery retailers are reformulating brands to meet consumers’ desire for cleaner products. This includes removing artificial dyes and additives while maintaining affordability.

Faulty math skews study's outcomes

The study’s flaws don’t stop there. 

Most significantly, it claims to be a cost-benefit analysis yet it fails to include the benefits of food chemical labels. This is not a minor methodological oversight but a fundamental failure.

Lower consumer exposure to chemicals of concern would benefit public health, yielding significant healthcare savings. Increased consumption of ultra-processed food, or UPF, is linked to higher rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes, dementia and reproductive harm. 

And the study’s calculations included the 14% of consumers who said they would ignore warning labels. This inflates estimates in consumer spending by assuming cost increases among consumers whose behavior would not actually change. 

It also relied on consumer behavior data that is more than 16 years old, a limitation the researchers themselves flagged as a source of unknown bias. 

Rather than use the lowest available prices for label-free alternatives, as a budget-conscious shopper would likely do, the study used average prices, further overstating the real cost to consumers.

Further, industry representatives and lawmakers sympathetic to them have misused the results to claim that labeling laws would increase by 12% the prices we see on store shelves. The study doesn’t predict that individual grocery items will get more expensive. It actually – and inaccurately – predicts some people will choose to buy more expensive groceries to avoid ingredients of concern. Those are not the same thing.

Helping shoppers make more informed choices is a public health benefit, not a burden. But the study frames labeling requirements as financial harm only.  

Real-world effects of changing food labels

Faulty studies and overinflated price claims are tired industry responses to requests for greater food ingredient transparency. 

In 2022, a federal rule took effect requiring labels on products made with genetically modified ingredients. Industry-funded studies predicted major price increases when products made with GMO ingredients were required to bear labels. 

But the new labels didn’t drive prices up. Many brands simply chose to include the new symbol on their existing labels while other household staples like Cheerios and Grape Nuts were reformulated at no extra cost to consumers.

Consumer Reports found similar industry-funded studies overstated the costs of GMO labeling by nearly a factor of 10. The most realistic industry estimate was around $66 per family of four per year, compared to the original estimate of nearly $500, and even that lower figure was likely inflated. 

Food companies update their labels regularly for seasonal promotions and rebranding, without consumers switching to pricier products. Ingredient disclosure labels would be no different.

A label change would cost a company as little as $205, an amount too small to show up on store shelves, according to the Agriculture Department in 2024.

Clearer labels mean more confident consumers

The study’s authors are correct about one thing: Shoppers’ time is valuable.

Right now, consumers who want to make better food purchases have to read fine-print ingredient lists on every product. Clear labels designed to identify chemicals of concern make it easier and faster for them.

While states push for better public health protections, EWG has tools to help you shop with confidence. 

At home, consumers can check EWG’s Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Chemicals, which highlights top food chemicals to avoid due to health and safety concerns. 

For more guidance, search  EWG’s Food Scores, which provides ratings for more than 150,000 foods and drinks based on nutrition, ingredients and processing. Food Scores also flags unhealthy UPF and can help you identify alternatives. 

Or if you’re on the go, EWG’s Healthy Living app puts that information at your fingertips while you shop.

Areas of Focus Food Ultra-Processed Foods Food Chemicals Authors Jared Hayes Sarah Reinhardt, MPH, RDN May 13, 2026

We’ve all been stuck in jobs we’ve hated for one reason or another —  for example, when a workplace doesn’t share our values. It’s a tough job market right now, but we can still take back our agency. Let’s explore how to move past feelings of bitterness and alienation and find the vocational niche that supports our beliefs and sense of morality.

Dr. Green,

In my workplace, an alien from outer space would fit in better than I do. My soul is hurt every day by the wanton waste and disregard for natural resources I see. For example, despite having a full galley with sinks for dishwashing, the company springs for disposable plates, cups, plastic cutlery, and even those godawful plastic coffee stirrer straws! Toilet paper rolls are tossed way before they’re empty. The same goes for detergent bottles, soap containers, and more. Good, usable products end up in the trash for no discernible reason and don’t get me started about food waste. I try to set an example by never using the disposables and practicing efficiency, but nobody has ever followed suit. I’m sure I’m also the only vegetarian within a 15-mile radius of our home port.

I’m desperately looking for another job, gritting my teeth (dentist told me I have bruxism), communicating as little as possible (They’ll never listen. They already think I’m a freak. Guess which news channel they watch?), using the “un-empty” items myself, invoking the “environmentalist curse” (May you live next to a landfill.) silently on them and trying my best to not explode in eco-rage. Anything else I can do for myself?

Breathing exercises and meditation are not going to cut it. After nearly a year of trying, they’re not helping. I’m just too high-energy. Any research vessels or companies involved in trying to REPAIR the environment rather than destroy it need to hire a great mariner?

Hello Friend,

I certainly understand your frustration — it’s clear you’re unhappy and want to find a position that’s a better cultural fit. This can be difficult in a soft job market. On the other hand, if you expend too much energy on eco-rage, you’ll have little left over to seek a better-fit position and workplace with clarity.

Musicians go where there are other musicians and musical opportunities, engineers go where there’s engineering, and environmentalists gravitate toward where environmentalism is cultivated and upheld in practice and deed. Let’s see if we can help make that happen for you.

What Is Eco-Rage?

You may not have realized it when you used the phrase, but “eco-rage” is a very real and common feeling — though not always productive.

Eco-rage is an intensely negative emotional response to the lack of other people’s concerns for the environment — an overwhelming feeling of helplessness when others around you don’t seem to share your urgent concern. That can elevate antisocial aggression and even result in you lashing out at coworkers, family and friends, or strangers. You become isolated because you can’t control your emotions or actions, and an increasing fatalism can cause you to lash out further or shut down in depression. This is related to climate doomism.

At the same time, because you’re overwhelmed with negativity, your brain begins to release chemicals that physically and mentally further degrade your system.

Rage can be a destructive force, but it can also be a powerful catalyst for positive change. A desire for a better world and an anger over natural destruction lie at the heart of environmentalism. Try to refocus of your rage into finding a new job, career, or avocation; cultivate intelligent control over runaway emotions. Get out of your own way.

Here are some suggestions for working with your eco-rage to develop skills in self-possession and inner strength so that you can more fruitfully explore new opportunities and feel validated and supported. (And see the resource guide below for more information.)

Talk to a Therapist

To identify and organize your overwhelming feelings, it’s a great idea to seek the help of an objective person trained in one-on-one sessions where you can slow your feelings down a bit and separate each bad feeling into an item for exploration on how to cope.

Psychologists and psychiatrists are trained in this and bound by law and The Ethics Code (the equivalent of The Hippocratic Oath for medical professionals) to maintain confidentiality. Make sure only to work with psych professionals who are legally licensed and certified. Most health insurance plans cover therapy (at least, in network and in your home state). And some remote or distance psychological services will accept health insurance, too. See The Revelator’s “Dr. Green: The Therapist-Patient Relationship” for more resources on finding help.

I highly recommend engaging a psych professional to make sense of your current state of mind and learn coping skills. While you search for that new job, the one you feel stuck at job may be a good place to challenge yourself by practicing your newfound self-regulation techniques.

Cultivate Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify and manage your own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. This skill requires awareness, an ability to identify your own feelings, and an effort to redirect those emotions toward strategic and creative thinking to solve problems.

Stop cleaning up after your coworkers or “educating” them. When people perceive that they’re being scolded or preached at — especially in a pervasive culture like the one you describe — they get defensive and dig in. Simply let it go, stop monitoring them, and work on yourself instead. Set an example through your silent deeds (which can be more effective than we think, since people who respond to them also often do so silently). In the workplace, address your own feelings and behaviors. Rage is wasted energy that will be best used in strategic planning for future employment.

Consider Stoicism

Stoicism is a philosophy focused on developing emotional regulation and inner fortitude, regardless of external circumstances. It emphasizes distinguishing what is within our control from what is not in our control, exercising self-discipline, and accepting what comes. It’s excellent for gaining and projecting inner strength, focus, and resilience.

All philosophies are imperfect, but taking a bit of wisdom from each can help you define yourself clearly in self-empowerment. My personal mix of humanism, nihilism, and stoicism has been invaluable in both my personal and professional life.

Here are a few ideas from stoicism:

“Any person capable of angering you becomes your master; he can anger you only when you permit yourself to be disturbed by him.” — Epictetus

 “If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” — Epictetus

“Whenever you are about to find fault with someone, ask yourself the following question: What fault of mine most nearly resembles the one I am about to criticize?” — Marcus Aurelius

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” — Marcus Aurelius

A Few Words of Advice on Job-Hunting

If you’re applying for jobs now, make sure that your resume and cover letter are objective and dispassionate. Remove any editorial comments that may reflect negative feelings you have about your current job. If you land an interview, don’t say even one negative thing about your current or previous employers and coworkers. Simply say you’re seeking a new position because you’re ready for new challenges and leave it at that.

I tell you this because I once got the best job of my life by not complaining about my previous employers. The hiring manager didn’t know that I was being brutally bullied by two managers at the job I held while HR did nothing and coworkers looked the other way so they wouldn’t get bullied too.  I focused on my strengths and what I could bring to the new job — not what was holding me back.

Now stop wasting your energy on the actions of others and get to work on finding a job where you feel appreciated for the values you hold dear.

Cheers,

Dr. Green

What are you struggling with in your job as a dedicated environmentalist?  Let us know by sending your questions and success stories in the text box below.

All participants are anonymous. Even Dr. Green has no idea who you are.

Send Dr. Green your questions and stories below:

All questions are intended for publication; published questions will be kept anonymous. Individual replies are not possible.

See you next time!

Disclaimer: This column is not a replacement for therapy, and the advice given is educational in nature, not a replacement for professional psychological or psychiatric therapy. This is a peer-driven support effort by The Revelator to inform and build community with environmental and wildlife defenders.

If you are feeling critically depressed and suicidal, it’s time to immediately find professional help. Go to your closest emergency room or call the following numbers to get immediate help in your area:

SUICIDE HOTLINES

Worldwide: http://www.befrienders.org/support/

United Kingdom: http://www.samaritans.org

USA: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

1-800-273-TALK

Resources:

Jobs in environmental mariner fields (though I don’t know what type of mariner you are):

Search engine term: environmental mariner jobs

Conservation Job Board – https://www.conservationjobboard.com

Environmental Jobs – https://environmentaljobs.com

Green Jobs Network – https://greenjobs.net

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – https://www.unep.org/work-with-us

EcoJobs – https://ecojobs.com

Conservation International – https://www.conservation.org/conservation-international-jobs

Environmental Career Center – https://environmentalcareer.com

EnableGreen – https://enable.green

(These should get you started!)

Emotional Intelligence – a good resource to start with: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/emotional-intelligence

Eco-Grief and Psychotherapy Support Resources: Many of these groups are donation-based or free, or will take your insurance, offering a crucial outlet for those feeling isolated in their climate anxieties.

BetterHelp

Talkspace

Climate Grief Groups

Good Grief Network

GreenFaith

Stoicism Resources

The Daily Stoic

How to Be a Stoic: 9 Stoic Exercises to Get You Started

The post Dr. Green: What If Your Job Doesn’t Align with Your Eco-Values? appeared first on The Revelator.

Trump’s war in Iran is now bleeding through the wholesale pipeline. April’s Producer Price Index (PPI) report shows wholesale prices rose 6% over the past year, the largest annual increase since December 2022, with core wholesale inflation at 4.4%. Despite the grim report, Trump said this week that he “[doesn’t] think about Americans’ financial situation,” and it’s clear. The president could not be more out of step with Americans. For working families struggling with high prices, their financial situation is top of mind.

The PPI reading comes just one day after the April CPI report revealed that consumers faced the sharpest inflation in nearly three years, and shows inflation pressures are still building. Rising diesel and jet fuel prices are increasing transportation-related costs. These upstream price increases indicate that families will face additional price hikes at the grocery store and across other everyday expenses in the months ahead.

Groundwork’s Executive Director, Lindsay Owens, shared her reaction to the news:

“Trump’s war in Iran has driven prices through the roof and today’s reading shows there is no end in sight. Inflation has now eaten through a year’s worth of wage gains, painting a brutal picture for working families’ budgets heading into summer. Rather than focus on making life more affordable for Americans, Trump is spending time – and taxpayer funds – on his billion dollar ballroom.”

BACKGROUND

• Wholesale inflation is running hot, signaling higher prices for consumers in the months ahead.
  • Final demand producer prices climbed 6% over the past year, the largest annual increase in three years, and 1.4% in April alone, while core wholesale prices (less foods, energy, and trade services) rose 4.4% over the past year and 0.6% in April alone. Wholesale inflation typically runs ahead of consumer prices, so today’s print suggests further price increases are on the horizon for consumers.

• Trump’s war in Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz for more than two months, and the resulting energy shock is feeding into wholesale prices.
  • Final demand energy prices surged 7.8% in April alone, with wholesale gasoline up 15.6% in the month and 39.3% over the past year, diesel fuel up 12.6% in April and 73.8% over the past year, jet fuel up 36.4% in April and 103.8% over the past year, and natural gas is up 4.9% in April and 27.3 percent over the past year.
  • The energy shock is increasing wholesale transportation prices: transportation and warehousing is up 5% in April, which includes truck transportation of freight, rising 8.1%, and air transportation of freight, increasing 3.6%. These wholesaler price hikes will feed into price hikes for consumers in the months ahead.
• Trump’s war in Iran is layered on top of his tariffs that continue to raise wholesale prices for tariff-exposed goods.
  • Wholesale final demand goods (less food and energy) climbed 4.6% over the past year and 0.7% in April alone.
  • Wholesale prices for tariff-exposed goods continued rising, including metals up 35.6% in the past year, electronic components up 27.6%, and communication equipment up 11.9%.

Publication of plans to restart oil production at Horse Hill – suspended after a landmark Supreme Court ruling – is unlikely for several weeks.

Horse Hill site, near Reigate, Surrey. Google Earth image uploaded 13/05/2026

UK Oil & Gas plc, majority owner of the Horse Hill operator, announced early this month that it had submitted a new planning application.

But so far, the proposal has not been published.

The application seeks to replace planning permission, quashed in June 2024 by the Supreme Court.

The court’s judgement, now known as the Finch Ruling, decided the permission for long-term oil production and new wells was unlawful.

The ruling said the decisionmaker, Surrey County Council, failed to take into account the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the use of Horse Hill oil.

The county council told DrillOrDrop today publication of the new application and a public consultation were expected late this month (May 2026) or early next month (June 2026).

A Surrey County Council spokesperson said:

“Further environmental and planning information was submitted by the applicant on 30 April 2026 in support of planning application ref: Ref: RE18/02667/CON which remains with the County Planning Authority (CPA) for determination. This follows the quashing of the original decision by the Supreme Court in June 2024. The submission was in response to a request from the CPA for the provision of additional information.

“Once the submission has been reviewed to ensure all the information requested has been provided by the applicant, there is a process to go through and arrangements that need to be put in place before publicity and consultation can begin. This process is more complicated for applications such as this which are accompanied by an Environmental Statement and the process needs to be undertaken alongside other work priorities.

“We estimate that online publication and public consultation are likely to take place towards the end of this month or in the early part of June.”

The government committed in today’s King’s Speech to a permanent ban on fracking – but there’s no still detail on which operations would be included.

Fracking equipment at Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road shale gas site, 20 August 2019. Photo: Ros Wills

Briefing documents confirmed that the Energy Independence Bill would deliver the government’s manifesto promise to ban fracking.

But campaigners said the ban must cover all forms of fracking.

A moratorium on fracking in England, introduced in 2019, has a presumption against fracking that uses more fluid than a threshold set out in law: 1,000m3 per fracking stage or 10,000m3 in total.

But lower-volume fracking, sometimes known as proppant squeeze or reservoir stimulation, is currently allowed. This has been described by opponents as a legal loophole.

There are plans to use lower-volume fracking to increase oil and gas production at onshore sites in North East Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.

An application for proppant squeeze in North Yorkshire was refused permission last month. Europa Oil & Gas, the company behind that scheme, has said it will appeal.

Steve Mason, of Frack Free United and a North Yorkshire councillor said:

“I welcome this commitment to ban fracking…again, but let’s have some clarity. This pledge is merely a recycled headline that fails to close the loophole that the frackers just tried to drive a rig through in Burniston.

“That time, North Yorkshire Council stood with residents to reject ‘fracking by stealth,’ yet still the government plays semantic politics in Westminster, while communities are left hanging on the front line.”

He added:

“Its frustrating and exhausting that this has not moved a single inch since. The victory at Burniston proved that when you look past the policy mirage of labels like ‘proppant squeeze,’ you find the same unacceptable risks and the same climate ‘carbon bombs’.

“If the government wants to protect our communities, simply ban ALL new onshore fossil fuels extraction. If they won’t do that, then at least legislate for ban on the intent and product extracted and close the loophole that invites the industry game the system.”

Rosie Downes, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth, said:

“This legislation must shut the door on fracking once and for all. Labour has pledged a permanent ban – now it must deliver one that covers every form of fracking, including so-called “proppant squeeze”.

“A loophole in the current moratorium is already being exploited by fossil fuel companies, putting communities across England at risk.”

The bill would also meet a manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new oil and gas fields.

The briefing says the legislation would aim to “scale-up home grown renewable energy and protect living standards for the long-term”.

Friends of the Earth said the Energy Independence Bill was “urgently needed to unlock the UK’s vast homegrown renewable potential and deliver a step change in energy efficiency”.

This article is part of Food Tank’s primer series, “Food Tank Explains.” Each installment unpacks the ideas, innovations, and challenges shaping today’s food and agriculture systems, offering clear insights into complex topics. To explore more articles in the series, click here.

Precision agriculture is a data-driven farm management approach that uses technology like GPS, sensors, drones, and Artificial Intelligence to collect and analyze detailed information on crops, soil, and environmental conditions in real time.

These tools can help farmers account for variability within fields, track and analyze soil quality, crop health, pest infestations, and temperature levels, and apply inputs like water, fertilizers, and pesticides with greater precision. The aim is to improve resource efficiency, productivity, and profitability while reducing waste and optimizing decision-making.

Precision agriculture tools can be used separately or combined into integrated data-driven platforms. GPS-guided tractor systems seek to improve field accuracy by minimizing overlaps or gaps in herbicide or fertilizer application. And yield monitoring technologies collect and map GPS and farm equipment data to guide decisions about when to sow, fertilize, or harvest.

Drones and remote sensors capture high-resolution imagery to assess crop health and detect variability. Variable rate technology uses this data to adjust the application of inputs like fertilizers and pesticides in real time.

As investment accelerates, the digital farming sector has grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry, valued between US$10 billion and US$30 billion  in 2025 with projections of doubling in the next decade.

Precision agriculture shows potential by enabling farmers to make timely, data-driven decisions tailored to conditions on their land. Precision tools can improve resource efficiency, support more precise decision-making, and facilitate adaptability, which researchers associate with lower fuel, labor, and maintenance costs. These capabilities may contribute to improved outcomes for soils, crops, livestock, and overall farm performance.

But many farmers cannot access precision agriculture technologies because high costs, infrastructure demands, and technical requirements create significant barriers. Farmers must navigate substantial upfront investments, limited training opportunities, and a reliance on consistent internet and electricity, which makes adoption especially difficult for small-scale producers and those in lower-income regions.

Most smallholder farms, which account for about 85 percent of farms globally, continue to operate without these tools, while adoption remains concentrated among larger, capital-intensive operations. Authors of a recent HEAL report warn that these disparities may further exacerbate deeply rooted racial and economic inequities in agriculture.

A report from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES) links this dynamic to a broader shift toward farm consolidation, as alliances between major agribusiness and technology firms expand control over data, inputs, and decision-making across the food system. “They are shaping what technologies are developed, how food production decisions are made, and what the future of farming looks like,” IPES says.

In parallel, research evaluating environmental outcomes has found limited and inconsistent evidence that precision agriculture reduces inputs or emissions in practice. And there questions about whether the approach could deliver meaningful sustainability gains if it were more equitably accessible.

The wide-spread adoption of precision agriculture is a conflation between efficiency and sustainability, Celize Christy, Member Organizing Lead at HEAL Food Alliance, tells Food Tank. According to HEAL, the production and use of precision agriculture technologies relies heavily on internet-connected devices and energy-intensive operations which generate substantial global emissions.

While innovation is central to improving agricultural efficiency and sustainability, its benefits depend on how it is developed, governed, and deployed, experts caution.

IPES calls for “reclaiming innovation for people and planet,” emphasizing the need to strengthen public oversight, limit the concentration of power among major technology and agribusiness firms, and reshape dominant narratives about what constitutes innovation. HEAL Food Alliance suggests focusing on regenerative practices that regenerate soil, strengthen rural economies, and prioritize equity.

“Climate solutions should serve communities,” Christy tells Food Tank. “Not corporations.”

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 Job Vermeulen, Unsplash

The post Food Tank Explains: Precision Agriculture appeared first on Food Tank.

EWG on FDA’s request for information on SPF and UV protection values rcoleman May 13, 2026

Attached are EWG’s comments asking the Food and Drug Administration consider moving away from SPF testing in people in favor of in vitro UV protection testing, and for the agency should consider replacing the SPF value with a UV protection value that equally weights the entire UV spectra.

File Download Document fda-1978-n-0018-15844_attachment_1.pdf Areas of Focus Personal Care Products Sunscreen Toxic Chemicals Authors David Andrews, Ph.D. Carla Burns Emily Spilman November 1, 2021

EWG on FDA’s request for information on butylated hydroxyanisole in food rcoleman May 13, 2026

Attached are EWG’s comments asking the Food and Drug Administration to remove BHA from food. submitted in response to the agency’s request for information.

File Download Document ewg-s-final-comments-on-bha-to-fda-4_13_2026-1-1.pdf Areas of Focus Food & Water Food Ultra-Processed Foods Toxic Chemicals Food Chemicals Authors David Andrews, Ph.D. Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D. May 13, 2026

Southern California has seen a spike in great white shark sightings amid a spate of unseasonably warm spring weather. Experts expect to see more unusual heat, and more sharks, in the months ahead.

Read more on E360 →

Scientists, including ecologists, are data hogs. More data can give analyses more statistical power, increasing confidence that a researcher is seeing something real in the numbers, whether it’s fluctuations in an animal’s numbers, location, or some other metric. There is generally no such thing as “too much data.”

Except when there is. As technological advances enable people to collect more information, such as images from satellites or audio from tiny weather-resistant recorders, some scientists are drowning in data.

Just one example: The proliferation of small, cheap wildlife cameras has enabled researchers to amass tens of thousands of images that can take months of tedious work to catalog. Recently, AI tools have been some help, enabling scientists to, for example, sift out images containing no wildlife at all. But people are often still spending months scrolling through grainy snapshots before doing any of the “real” analysis. In computer parlance, there’s still a “human in the loop.”

That might not be true soon, however. AI-powered programs have grown sophisticated enough that in some cases they can screen and analyze wildlife camera data with enough accuracy that the final result isn’t meaningfully different from the more common labor-intensive approach, according to a new paper in the Journal of Applied Technology. In other words, no more human in the loop.

“We’re not trying to replace people,” said Washington State University wildlife ecologist Daniel Thornton, the study’s lead author. “The goal is to help researchers get to answers faster so they can make better decisions about managing and conserving wildlife.”

The new research didn’t involve some fancy technical breakthrough in AI programming. Rather, ecologists like Thornton collaborated with people at tech giant Google to see how they could harness existing AI tools. To do that, they set up what amounted to a competition: computers versus humans.

They started with nearly 3.8 million digital photos taken by 1,200 wildlife cameras in three different locations – eastern and central Washington state, Glacier National Park in Montana, and a jungle reserve in Guatemala. The photos had been scrutinized by experts to identify the species of any mammal that turned up. Then the researchers handed them over to AI.

 

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First, they used MegaDetector, a program that detects whether animals, humans or vehicles are in an image. After that initial screening, the animal-positive images were turned over to SpeciesNet, a Google-developed program built to identify what animals are in a photo. It covers approximately 2,500 different groups of species from around the world. The results were then fed into a computer model built to convert these animal sightings into an estimation of where each species occurred on a landscape, what’s known as “occupancy.”

With the exception of a few outliers, the results from the automated AI approach weren’t very different from the analysis with a more human touch. The results aligned between 85% and 90% of the time.

It doesn’t mean the computers were perfect. Rare or hard-to-identify species sometimes tripped up the programs. SpeciesNet mistakenly classified mountain goats in Montana as domestic goats. Grizzly bears were reported in Washington, when they haven’t been there in decades.

But for many species in each of the three regions, the lightning-fast computers were as accurate as the plodding humans.

“The key question wasn’t whether the AI got every image right,” said Dan Morris, a scientist at Google who helped create SpeciesNet and is a co-author on the study. “It was whether the ecological conclusions you care about would end up being basically the same.”

If this approach finds its way out of academia, it could enable wildlife managers to get up-to-date information much more quickly about what’s happening to wild populations. Among other things, that could mean quicker alerts when an endangered species shows up somewhere, or if it’s starting to vanish.

“The big takeaway is that this doesn’t have to be a bottleneck anymore,” Thornton said of the image backlog. “If we can process data faster, we can respond faster, and that’s really what matters for conservation.”

Thornton, et. al. “Identification of camera trap images by artificial intelligence and human experts produces similar multi-species occupancy models.” Journal of Applied Ecology. May 6, 2026.

Image (based on) ©Smithsonian via Flickr

Headline News:

• “The Navy Plans To Build Fifteen Trump-Class Battleships Through 2055 At $17 Billion Per Ship” • According to the Navy’s May 2026 shipbuilding blueprint, the service intends to procure fifteen Trump-class battleships through 2055. The Navy has confirmed that the proposed Trump-class battleship will be nuclear-powered. [National Security Journal]

Proposed USS Defiant (US Navy, public domain)

• “Heat Pump Sales Proliferate In Germany As Gas Boiler Sales Drop” • In Germany, heat pumps have become the best-selling heat technology, making up 48% of all new heating systems sold in the country last year. But eight countries are transitioning faster, and in the three countries farthest north, over 50% of all homes have them already. [Euronews]
• “Renewable Energy Central To Industrial Competitiveness For India: Pralhad Joshi” • In India, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi highlighted that renewable energy is becoming a critical determinant of competitiveness in key industrial sectors such as steel, aluminium, chemicals, automotive and textiles. [pv magazine India]
• “Qualitas Aims To Invest €10 Billion In Energy” • Qualitas Energy plans to invest over €10 billion by 2029 in renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. The goal is centered on the Qualitas Energy Fund VI, which launched at the end of 2025 with a €3.25 billion target volume. Investment will go primarily to Spain, Germany, the UK, Poland, and Chile. [reNews]
• “Inflation Jumps To Highest Level In Three Years” • Inflation rose for a second consecutive month as the US-Israeli war with Iran kept making gasoline prices grow in April, government data showed. The inflation report matched economists’ expectations. Prices rose 3.8% in April compared to a year earlier, an increase from 3.3% in the prior month. [ABC News]

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

Polls closed across the UK on Thursday 7 May 2026 for local elections across the UK. In England, around 5,000 local councillors across 136 councils...

The post From bad to worse: Labour’s latest defeat signals an uncertain future for British politics first appeared on Spring.

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Alberta taxpayers, municipalities, and rural landowners are facing increasing costs and harms from inactive and orphaned oil and gas wells, Calgarians heard at a town hall Tuesday evening.Co-hosted by the Pembina Institute, Alberta Environmental...

When the NASDAQ opens on Wednesday morning, the exchange will include a new ticker symbol: FRVO. The company, Fervo Energy, is in the geothermal electricity business and aims to raise $1.8 billion. An initial public offering of that magnitude would be one of the biggest Wall Street debuts for renewable energy in U.S. history and a promising sign for clean tech’s future.

“This is a very, very big deal,” said Gernot Wagner, a climate economist at Columbia Business School. “Money speaks.”

At the simplest level, geothermal generation is the process of harnessing the heat within the earth to produce steam, which then spins turbines to generate much-needed electricity. But locating suitable geology and getting deep enough to make power on a utility-scale isn’t easy. Fervo uses horizontal drilling and fiber-optic sensing to tap previously out-of-reach sources. 

“Innovation is allowing these technologies to cover a wider variety of sites,” said Zainab Gilani, a geothermal analyst with research firm Cleantech Group. Fervo, she noted, is using some of the same techniques that the oil and gas industry uses, with the hope of cutting the price of geothermal from $7,000 to $3,000 per kilowatt as it grows. This initial public offering, or IPO, could prove a bellwether for not only that technology, but cleantech more broadly. 

“If Fervo demonstrates that there is money to be made for investors,” said Wagner, that “is going to draw a lot of attention well beyond just the narrow advanced geothermal community.” 

Fervo has successfully deployed its technology in Nevada, producing enough clean energy to power about 2,600 homes. It is building a much bigger facility, Cape Station, in Utah that would produce more than 100 times that amount of electricity and is slated to go online later this year. The prospect has attracted a slew of high-profile investors, including Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, which has also signed contracts with the company to supply power to its data centers. 

Now it’s the public’s turn to weigh in. 

When Fervo announced it was going public earlier this year, it said it would sell 55.6 million shares at around $21 to $24 each. Its debut comes as electricity demand is rapidly rising in the U.S. The race to build the data centers needed to sustain the artificial intelligence boom has strained grids nationwide, and has made the appetite for reliable energy seem insatiable. The Iran war has only exacerbated high energy prices, and this week Fervo boosted its target to 70 million shares, at around $25 or $26, which would value the company at $7.4 billion. The line has reportedly been out the door. 

Still, the road ahead won’t be easy, and bringing the price of geothermal down will take time. “They’re just not here yet on any large scale,” said Rob Gramlich, president of Grid Strategies, a power sector consultant. “They are great 2040 and 2050 options.”

Regardless of whether Fervo’s stock sinks or sails in the coming months or years, some see its initial offering as a promising sign for a clean energy industry that has faced political whiplash in recent years. The Inflation Reduction Act that President Joseph Biden signed in 2022 was the nation’s most ambitious climate legislation ever and included billions for solar, wind, geothermal, and other green technologies. But, since returning to office, President Donald Trump and Congress have largely dismantled that legislation, rolled back much of the nation’s wind development, and pushed fossil fuel as the answer to the country’s energy woes. 

While many major projects were canceled in the wake of those changes, Fervo has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in additional financing for Cape Station, and could be about to have a blockbuster IPO. “You’re in this situation where it is very obvious that the oil and gas sector is doing the best it can,” said Jigar Shah, a former senior official at the Department of Energy under Biden. “But the climate sector is the one that’s surging.” 

Earlier this year, Amazon-backed nuclear reactor developer X-Energy raised $1 billion with its public offering and is valued at more than $9 billion. Shah, who is a managing partner at the investment firm Multiplier, says IPOs like these bode well for clean tech. 

“There is a level of confidence coming to our sector, which I think is great,” said Shah. “For a long time, our space has acted as if we’re alternative energy. But when you’re 90 percent of everything that gets added to the grid every year, you’re no longer alternative.”

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This story was originally published by Grist with the headline Wall Street is betting big on clean energy tech on May 13, 2026.

The Irish state has encouraged a heavily capitalised, resource and energy intensive farming model, pushing farmers into a system tied to the weakest and most unstable links in the fossil fuel economy.

The post Talamh Beo: Ireland has a governance crisis, not a fuel crisis appeared first on La Via Campesina - EN.

All across Georgia, on the banks of the Coosa, Chattahoochee, and Ocmulgee and other rivers, sit large lagoons filled with coal ash, the toxic residue left behind after coal is burned. These massive impoundments hold millions of tons of toxic stew, and most are unlined. As a result, heavy metals in the coal ash — such as arsenic and mercury — quietly leach into the ground and nearby water bodies. 

In 2015, the Obama administration passed rules requiring utilities to clean up the ponds and implement monitoring requirements, transforming the Environmental Protection Agency into the chief regulator overseeing these sites. States were also given the opportunity to assume this regulatory role — as long as they met minimum federal requirements. 

Georgia was among the first to do so. In 2019, the EPA approved the state’s authority to oversee coal ash management. But in their first official act — a “bellwether” for future decisions — regulators at the state’s Environmental Protection Division approved a permit to leave coal ash partly submerged in groundwater at one of Georgia Power’s plants. Despite outcry from communities and a rebuke by the EPA, the agency continues to hold its regulatory authority and has approved another 20 permits for coal ash ponds at roughly a dozen coal plants across the state. 

The Trump administration is now signaling it wants to transfer coal ash oversight to even more states and roll back federal protections. Five states currently have approved coal ash programs, including Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Oklahoma and Georgia were approved during Trump’s first term, Texas received approval during the Biden administration, and North Dakota and Wyoming were approved in the last year. The Trump administration is also in the process of approving Virginia for local coal ash permitting.

“The state agencies that have programs where they can issue permits, we’ve seen, unfortunately, that they’ve not been rigorous in enforcing standards,” said Nick Torrey, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. “We know that they are underfunded, underresourced. The utilities are often the most powerful entity in the state and call the shots.”

A spokesperson for the EPA stressed that the agency maintains “backstop authority and will use it” if states fail to meet federal standards. The agency can conduct reviews as necessary, and state programs are only approved if they are at least as protective of public health and the environment as the federal requirements, the spokesperson noted. “If state staffing or funding proves inadequate — or if implementation is otherwise deficient — EPA will address it through these reviews,” they said.

The coal ash decision is part of a broader campaign to shift environmental regulation to the states. During Trump’s first term, the EPA handed over wetlands permitting in Florida to state regulators — the first state to apply for and receive the authority in 25 years. In January, the administration began the process of accepting so-called “Good Neighbor Plans” from eight states. These plans had previously been rejected by the Biden administration for failing to prevent ozone emissions from crossing state lines. And over the past year, the administration has expanded state authority over underground carbon sequestration, giving West Virginia, Arizona, and Texas supervisory authority of carbon injection wells. 

According to the EPA, there are more than 670 coal ash ponds across the country. The lagoons range in size from a few acres to a thousand or more. Over the years, many of these ponds have repeatedly spilled coal ash into waterways. One of the worst accidents took place in 2008 when a dike at a Tennessee Valley Authority pond failed, releasing more than a billion gallons of coal ash. The flood buried homes, and residents are still reporting health issues. Similar incidents have occurred on the Dan River in North Carolina and in eastern Kentucky.

The Obama administration’s 2015 rules — the first oversight of coal ash — required utilities to monitor groundwater near coal ash ponds for contamination and for new ponds to be lined. In cases where there was evidence coal ash was leaching into water, the companies were required to close the ponds, either by draining them or excavating the ash and moving it elsewhere. 

But the rule had major loopholes and didn’t cover all coal ash disposal sites. Lagoons that weren’t actively receiving new material and located at retired coal plants weren’t covered. And crucially, dump sites — where coal ash is collected before being moved into lagoons — were not included in the rule. As a result, when testing indicated heavy metals were leaching into groundwater, utilities could point to the dump sites and claim they were to blame. 

“Utilities would point to these areas and say, ‘We don’t have to clean up our groundwater pollution because we think the pollution is coming from these exempt areas. Therefore, the pollution is exempt,’” said Torrey. 

About six years ago, the Altamaha Riverkeeper, a local nonprofit, tested groundwater near the coal-fired Plant Scherer in Monroe County, Georgia, and began notifying residents that their well water was contaminated with compounds found in coal ash. The county eventually ran water lines, but some low-income residents unable to afford water bills still rely on church waterfilling stations, said Fletcher Sams, executive director of the Altamaha Riverkeeper. “This is an area where the median household income is $30,000,” said Sams. “It’s pretty rural, and some people can’t afford to run pipe from the road and the hookup and the monthly fee for the water.”

Sara Lips, a spokesperson for the  Georgia Environmental Protection Division, said that the agency has a long history of overseeing coal ash in the state prior to the passage of the Obama-era rules. Their oversight has allowed for “timelier permitting process, quicker response to compliance issues, better understanding of community and environmental needs, and the ability for our permits to be more stringent than the federal requirements.” Lips said the agency added five staff members to help oversee coal ash permitting and that the state’s permits comply with federal regulations. “Georgia’s state rules reference and incorporate the federal rules,” she said. Lips also defended the permit at Plant Hammond, which the EPA noted was deficient, saying Georgia Power installed a cover system that “minimizes infiltration, promotes runoff, and collects precipitation to prevent future impoundment of surface water, sediment, or slurry” at the coal ash pond.  

In 2024, the Biden EPA attempted to close these loopholes by expanding coverage with a new rule that applied to all coal ash disposal sites, including so-called “legacy ponds.” But the Trump administration is now attempting to unwind these protections. In April, the EPA proposed exempting older or inactive coal ash disposal sites from the rules and granting state officials more leeway in overseeing coal ash monitoring plans. In press releases announcing these plans and the EPA’s intent to overhaul how coal ash is managed, administrator Lee Zeldin said that the agency “will advance cooperative federalism to allow states to lead the charge on local issues, with federal support. This is just one of many examples where this agency can and will work with our state partners to deliver for the American people.” 

“State environmental agencies know their communities, their geology, their utilities, and their facilities better than any federal regulator in Washington, and empowering them to run their own permit programs, under a federal floor of protection that cannot be lowered and with continuing EPA oversight, delivers stronger, faster, and more accountable results for the people and resources at stake,” the EPA spokesperson said. 

This move comes at a time when state legislatures have slashed budgets for environmental agencies. According to an analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit founded by former EPA enforcement officials under both parties, more than half of states have cut funding for environmental agencies in the last 15 years. Mississippi’s budget has dropped by more than 70 percent during this time period, while South Dakota had its budget slashed by 61 percent. Three of the five states overseeing coal ash disposal — Texas, Georgia, and Wyoming — have had budget cuts of at least 20 percent over this time. Georgia has reduced its staffing by about 16 percent. 

Not all states that have applied for coal ash authority have received it. In 2024, the EPA rejected Alabama’s application to manage its coal ash ponds because it did not meet standards set in federal law. “Alabama’s permit program does not require that groundwater contamination be adequately addressed during the closure of these coal ash units,” the agency noted in its decision.

Torrey said the Trump administration appears poised to rubber stamp state requests, putting public health and the environment at risk.

“There’s a real retreat from the EPA doing the job it was created to do,” Torrey said. “When you combine that with the weakening and choking of funds for state agencies, it means that people are getting dramatically less protection from pollution.”

This story has been updated with comments from the EPA and Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

This story was originally published by Grist with the headline The EPA wants to shift monitoring of toxic coal ash to states on May 13, 2026.

BRUSSELS — A leaked letter signed by more than 100 food and beverage company CEOs, including Coca-Cola, Heineken, McDonald’s, Kraft Heinz and Mondelez, is calling on European Union institutions to delay and reopen key provisions of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), just months before implementation is set to begin in August 2026.

On 29 April, CEOs requested EU institutions to delay key implementation timelines and revise provisions. If acted upon, requests could weaken restrictions on harmful PFAS chemicals in food packaging, and expand exemptions to keep large volumes of single-use packaging on the market, undermining the EU’s objective to reduce packaging waste at a time when waste levels remain high. Notably, a number of signatories and active sponsors of this initiative are headquartered outside the EU, raising questions about the extent to which corporate interests beyond Europe are seeking to undermine democratically agreed EU law.

A broad alliance of over 160 Break Free From Plastic members and allies, communities impacted by plastic and PFAS pollution, universities, consumer rights organisations and businesses committed to reuse, have sent a letter in response urging EU leaders to reject this lobbying push and uphold the Regulation as agreed by the European Parliament, Council and Commission.

They have warned that reopening agreed legislation at this stage risks weakening environmental protections, undermines regulatory certainty for companies already investing in compliance, and sets a precedent for corporate influence over environmental law after adoption. 

Companies have shaped the Regulation and have had years to prepare

The PPWR, one of the most heavily lobbied EU files, was adopted through the full legislative procedure, following extensive public and industry consultation. Companies have had both regulatory clarity and guidance to adapt their business models and supply chains.

Environmental and health groups argue that reopening agreed provisions would erode trust in the legislative process and deflect responsibility for democratically agreed environmental commitments back onto EU institutions. 

Public commitments contradicted by private lobbying

There is a contradiction between the voluntary sustainability commitments made by major brands and their behind-the-scenes policy positions. Several signatory companies have presented themselves as climate and circular economy leaders, yet are now seeking to weaken packaging reduction rules, delay chemical safety measures, and limit implementation of reuse systems. However, the PPWR mandatory reuse targets exist precisely because recycling alone cannot deliver the structural shift Europe needs to reduce packaging waste.

The lobbying push is creating collateral damage for businesses,  including major market players, that are genuinely committed to the success of the regulation and are already investing in the transition. Companies that have already started to adapt their supply chains around PPWR compliance are now facing unnecessary regulatory uncertainty, putting planned investments and innovation at risk. 

The power of precedent

The outcome of this lobbying effort will be closely watched across Europe and beyond as governments around the world consider similar packaging and plastics policies. If corporate lobbying succeeds in reopening a regulation weeks before it applies, it risks signalling that even landmark environmental law remains vulnerable to last-minute, covert lobbying pressure, regardless of democratic process. 

Marco Musso, Deputy Policy Manager for Circular Economy at the European Environmental Bureau, said: 

''It is disappointing to witness yet another attempt to delay and dilute a legislation designed to protect citizens and to stop the uncontrolled growth of packaging waste. Fortunately, the usual suspects behind the CEO letter do not speak for the majority of the packaging value chain. Across Europe a multitude of businesses, including major players, remain genuinely supportive of the regulation and are already investing to prepare for it. We stand with the EU institutions to preserve the integrity of the regulation and ensure effective implementation.”

Emma Priestland, Corporate Campaigns Coordinator for the Break Free From Plastic movement, said: 

“The letter sent by some of the world’s biggest users and polluters of plastic is a shocking example of corporations trying to override the democratic will of 27 countries. Their last minute attempt to derail this vital piece of legislation shows a frankly appalling disregard for the wishes, safety and wellbeing of their own customers. Companies should be focusing on ending their reliance on single-use packaging rather than influencing the law of an entire region.”

Sam Pearse, Campaigns Director from Story of Stuff, said: 

“The PPWR is a direct response to decades of fast-moving consumer goods companies shifting to disposable packaging—shedding microplastics and harmful chemicals while pushing their costs onto society. Now, some of those same companies, including U.S.-based corporations like McDonald’s, claim to support the law’s intent after pouring resources into weakening it and carving out exemptions. Their complaints ring hollow. The PPWR sets a critical global benchmark for moving away from throwaway packaging. EU leaders must hold the line — the world is watching.”

Catia De Cao, from Italian civil society network Rete Zero PFAS Italia, said: 

"I am deeply concerned about PFAS, having grown up in a region of Italy’s Veneto that has been severely affected by ‘forever chemical’ contamination. Years of exposure have left many people in my community with dangerously high levels of PFAS in their blood, increasing the risk of a multitude of serious health issues. But regardless of whether people live in pollution hotspots or not, we are all exposed to PFAS on a daily basis, as it is commonly used in food and beverage packaging. To protect people’s health - and especially the health of the youngest generations - the European Commission must go ahead with the ban of PFAS in food packaging.”

 

Notes to the editor

• Read the Break Free From Plastic and allies’ response letter here
• Read the leaked CEO letter here
• The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation text and implementation timeline: 2025/40 

Press Contacts: 

• Bethany Spendlove Keeley, European Communications Manager Break Free From Plastic | Bethany@breakfreefromplastic.org | +49 (0)176 595 87 941
• Caroline Will, Communications Coordinator Rethink Plastic alliance | caroline@rethinkplasticalliance.org | +32 456 56 07 05