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This article How to combat fear at the polls this November was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

The ophthalmologist said he was going to touch my eyeball, then tilted my exam chair back in the darkness. I felt my body brace as movie torture scenes flashed through my mind. I noticed that I wasn’t breathing, so I practiced inhaling through my nose, and exhaling as steadily as I could for the rest of the exam.

Noticing our bodies and breathing intentionally may sound simple, but they are two of the practices that can keep us grounded when we are navigating scary or upsetting situations. As we approach a midterm election marred by threats of violence, I am practicing these skills as often as possible, not to suppress my feelings, but to be aware of how they are affecting me, so I can make conscious choices. 

Why staying grounded matters

The forces of authoritarianism want us to feel knocked off center by the many ways they are trying to keep people from voting. Trump administration officials continue to suggest that ICE, FBI or other federal agents could be sent to polling places. It’s important that election volunteers and voters stay grounded to avoid playing into their hands. One danger is that fearful voters will just stay home, whether or not the administration carries out their threats. Another danger is that we resist any government interference in ways that increase the chaos, which Trump would use to bolster his narrative that the left is the real threat.

Many national and local groups are hosting trainings to prepare people to protect our vote calmly and nonviolently. A widely used tool is the “Election Defense Scenarios” guide, which sketches out 18 possible threats and what people can do about them. Author Daniel Hunter writes, “One of the clearest lessons from every scenario in this guide — and from democratic movements around the world — is this: Illegal and unjust orders only work if people comply with them.” He notes that a more subtle theme of the guide is handling fear. For example, those volunteering at the polls should make sure we do not become “vectors of fear” by spreading unfounded rumors.

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I learned the danger of rumors in 2020. Weeks before the presidential election, my friend Ingrid Lakey heard that the neo-fascist Proud Boys were coming to a park near her home in Philadelphia. Despite growing up as George Lakey’s daughter, and years of training for nonviolent direct action with Earth Quaker Action Team, or EQAT, Ingrid did not feel prepared to de-escalate armed militants if they wanted to stir up trouble. Neither did I, though given the times, we both wanted to increase our ability to handle scary situations. With two other friends from EQAT, we decided to show up, not to intervene, but to see what we could learn. 

We met early for a few minutes of silent Quaker worship and named our intention to observe what happened, including inside ourselves. We walked to the park early and watched hundreds of people arrive, none wearing MAGA hats. When the crowd’s energy became frenzied, we asked people nearby what was happening and were told there was a Proud Boy with a bat. Later we heard it was a hockey stick, or maybe a gun. 

The four EQAT members helped each other to assess what was actually happening rather than get caught up in the fearful energy. In the end, the Proud Boys never actually showed up, but the rumor of their presence led a small crowd to chase a man into his car. Within a few days, a video of his window being smashed got millions of views on conservative social media.

If a similar video emerges this election season, there is no doubt that Trump and the media that support him would use it to claim that leftists are the true threat to the vote, distracting from his many efforts to stop people from voting. Even if armed agents do show up near polling places, managing our fear will help us choose responses that will aid us both in court and in the court of public opinion. 

If Election Day turns out to be relatively uneventful — if our fear was the point, and the armed men never show — preparing ourselves for the worst-case scenarios will build nonviolence skills and relationships between organizations. Both will be important in the work ahead, no matter who wins the midterms.    

We have more experience than we realize

The good news is that many more Americans have learned the value of nonviolent discipline in recent years. Even before people were moved by the successful nonviolent resistance in Minnesota in January, Trump’s second term motivated newly activated people to undergo training in both resistance strategies and de-escalation tactics to help large marches stay grounded and on message. 

EQAT has played a role in the Philadelphia area serving as peacekeepers (also known as marshals or a safety team, depending on the group) and training more people to take that role. Knowing that “stay calm” is the first step in any situation, our trainings always include grounding practices, such as breathing, humming or singing together. In-person roleplays enable people to practice holding their center in ways that online trainings can’t replicate.

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Timely lessons for keeping people safe in the streets 

I’ve seen this training pay off. At a Philadelphia No Kings march, one of our peacekeepers saw a marcher knock the red hat off of a Trump supporter who was trying to film himself arguing with the crowd. Our peacekeeper stationed himself by the provocateur and told protesters walking by, “Don’t take the bait.” The Trump supporter continued to try to draw a reaction, but other peacekeepers joined the first one, preventing the clickbait confrontation he clearly wanted.

While people this year are most worried about encountering armed agents at the polls, it’s important to remember that it’s not always outsiders who need de-escalation. An argument broke out at the front of a different No Kings march just before it was due to begin. A local march leader was angry at a man with a very large Palestinian flag that was flapping in the wind and hitting some participants in the face. A nearby marshal physically separated the two men, then spoke to each individually, calming them down so a solution could be found. The Palestinian flag remained visible near the front, but positioned so it wasn’t in anyone’s face. Incidentally, the marshal was the mother of two teenagers, and her day job is teaching neurodivergent children.

I find it helpful to remind people that they probably have skills from work or family life that are useful in dealing with conflict. This builds confidence, which also reduces fear. In the nonviolence trainings I’ve been offering, I often ask participants to get in small groups and share a time when they navigated a scary situation and kept their cool, paying attention to what helped them. Together we create a “fear toolbox” on newsprint to help us remember what works for us in a pinch.

Sometimes hard experiences teach us the most. When I was lead marshal for a march in early 2017, a man with a long robe, long hair and a beard inserted himself in front of local justice leaders holding the lead banner, just before the march was about to start. First, I calmly asked him to move behind the banner. He repeatedly refused. When I learned that “Philly Jesus,” as he’s known, had a history of this sort of thing, I asked other marshals to help, to no avail. The march started anyway, and our attempt to encircle the interloper so the marchers could pass him only escalated the conflict. Some marchers yelled that we should physically remove Philly Jesus, while others criticized us for surrounding a mentally ill person who was holding a thick walking stick, which in hindsight was not a smart choice.

The turning point came when I realized how dysregulated I was, stressed to a degree that was making me ineffective. First, I took a deep breath. That simple step allowed me to acknowledge that I needed to call in the action lead, a well-known pastor whom I had worked with before. I explained the situation to Rev. Gregory Holston, and he strode to the front of the march. After reassuring those most upset by Philly Jesus’ presence, the tall reverend began walking beside the robed figure, transforming the scene. Suddenly it looked like Jesus was accompanying the pastor instead of stealing the show.

When the march was over, I was still feeling unsettled, so I asked Ingrid Lakey, who had been at the back of the march, to lead a debrief for the marshals. She invited us to get in touch with how we were feeling, then led a discussion about what had happened, including what had eventually worked. That debrief cemented three learnings that I have recalled many times since: Remember to breathe; don’t be afraid to ask for help; and always debrief with friends to name what you learned.

Assessing and reducing risk

There is a difference between anxious energy, which makes it hard to think straight, and fear that is a response to real risk. Staying grounded can help us assess which is which and choose a response that feels appropriate for the situation.

Not long ago, I supported a nonviolent direct action where participants briefly trespassed on federal property, which has become more risky during the second Trump administration. After the protesters finished their action and crossed the street, a Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, vehicle sped around the corner and spun around like a stunt driver in an action movie. The agent jumped out to face the protesters with aggressive body language and an accusatory tone of voice. 

I’d seen DHS respond to protesters with excessive physical force under the Obama and Biden administrations. Knowing the Trump administration’s tolerance for state violence only increased my concern about the agent’s aggressive signals. Although I was the police liaison and had planned to immediately introduce myself to any law enforcement, I trusted my intuition that I should not approach the agent until he calmed down.

If armed government agents do appear at or near the polls this election — or armed militia, for that matter — there are ways to respond that reduce the risk of a confrontation. 

In the midterm election in Arizona in 2022, when right-wing Oath Keepers tried to intimidate voters by photographing them and their license plates, it took a while to get a judge to ban their behavior. In the meantime, ordinary people countered their intimidation by creating a welcoming atmosphere for voters, creating a protective perimeter around the polls, and handing out water and snacks. 

In Washington, D.C.’s primary this year, when National Guard troops entered the polls, volunteers confronted them and insisted they had no legal right to be there, while filming the encounters. As Daniel Hunter reported in Waging Nonviolence, “After forceful haranguing, the troops left without further incident.” 

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Understanding which government department we are dealing with can help our assessment of risk. While any armed agents at the polls constitutes illegal voter intimidation, the National Guard is generally better trained than ICE, which is particularly prone to violent lawbreaking. Identifying who we are dealing with will also help us pass on accurate information to lawyers who will petition for an injunction.

Showing up to potentially chaotic situations is not going to be everyone’s role. Our bodies have different experiences of trauma, vulnerability to police violence and physical stamina. As individuals, we need to assess how much risk we are willing to take. At the same time, we know from movement history that in times of crisis, more people become willing to risk their own safety to protect their communities. Speaking honestly about the various factors that impact our individual and group risk — race, citizenship, gender identity and health, to name a few — can help people identify their own limits before they are in a dangerous situation, or know when to leave if one escalates.

In the meantime, train and practice 

No matter how much training we have, none of us know for sure how we will react if we are pepper-sprayed or witness other people being hurt. That’s why the civil rights movement put so much emphasis on preparation, which greatly reduces the risk that we will lash out. That is why I’m offering nonviolence trainings in partnership with the LGBTQ Connection PAC, which is augmenting its usual deep canvass work with this kind of preparation. 

Freedom Trainers, a decentralized network that teaches strategic noncooperation, is offering two-day trainings and a host of resources for the specific ways authoritarians may try to stop people from voting. The Election Safeguards Response Network, or ESRN, is a nonpartisan coalition connecting national, state and local organizations in election defense. Indivisible has a series of online trainings that are drawing thousands and which include guidance on how to talk about this election. 

If all you can find is online training, take it, and then find a local group to plug into, especially if you already have de-escalation skills. If you can’t find a local group, recruit a few friends and commit to some grounding practices before you go to the polls. Maybe sing or pray or touch the grass together. Or read aloud Daniel Hunter’s reminder in the Election Defense Scenarios: “This regime desperately wants you afraid. … Don’t comply. Because here is the other truth: They fear you. They fear activated voters who are engaged. They fear a free people who show up, stay loud, and refuse to be turned away. Go be that.”

By showing up grounded and together this election, we are building the movement we need for the long haul.

A portion of this article was previously published by Friends General Conference.

This article How to combat fear at the polls this November was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

CEDAR HILL, TEXAS (September 18, 2026)Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center will host a special Art Exhibit and Art Sale featuring Filipina-American sculptor Elaine Antonio Bordeaux on Saturday, September...

The U.S. Forest Service announced on Friday that it will conduct a 15-day comment period before signing off on a special use permit for Pitkin County, Colorado to manage operations at the Maroon Bells Scenic Area. The opportunity for public comment was added following pressure from public lands advocates, including the Center for Western Priorities. The comment period will begin after county commissioners vote on the special use permit this Wednesday.

The agency still intends to approve the permit using a categorical exclusion, which lets it skip the environmental review and public comment process required under the National Environmental Policy Act. The Forest Service has not yet released a map or an acreage number for what the permit would cover. “The public can’t meaningfully participate if USFS is withholding key information about the scope of what it’s proposing,” said CWP executive director Aaron Weiss.

Pitkin County has partnered with the Forest Service on operations at Maroon Bells for decades, but the partnership is not a solution for a lack of federal funding. “We feel like this is the best path forward, and if we can all work together and get federal lands funded at a higher level, that one day, the county could give this back,” said Gary Tennenbaum, director of Pitkin County Open Space and Trails. “Ultimately, we would like the federal government to fund their public lands.”

Scott Fitzwilliams, retired White River National Forest supervisor, worries the arrangement could set a dangerous standard. “Partnerships should add to the agency’s capability,” he said. “They should not become a mechanism to normalize the decline and dismantling of our federal agencies.”

How Trump has disrupted America’s national parks

The Trump administration diverted at least $67 million in national park entrance fees this spring to projects in Washington, D.C., including a no-bid contract to cover four statues near the National Mall in gold leaf, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times. Workforce cuts have left at least 20 percent of parks significantly understaffed. Roughly 1,500 repairs and upgrades at more than 200 National Park Service sites were labeled “low priority,” and most will go unfunded when the fiscal year closes September 30.

Quick hits Trump signs orders loosening hunting restrictions

The Hill | Deseret News | Newsweek | Outdoor Life | USA Today | Mongabay

Border wall construction begins in Big Bend region

Associated Press

Trump asked Americans to help him whitewash national parks. They revolted instead

The Guardian

2025 saw a $1.3 billion dip for public land agency contractors

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Report: The current state of public lands

Mountain Pact

Prospectors filed 16 mining claims the same day the lands Trump cut from Bears Ears were opened to mining claims

Salt Lake Tribune

Federal employee unions sue to block reorganization of Forest Service

Arizona Daily Sun

Trump says planned 250-foot arch will be ‘military complex’ for drones, snipers

Washington Post | USA Today | The Hill | Time | ABC | Associated Press

Quote of the day

Our parks tell the history of this country. You may not like the history, but it is the history, and so you should tell the story that did take place, not come in and edit.”

—Fran Mainella, former National Park Service director under George W. Bush, New York Times

Picture This @katmainppThe wait is finally over!

Fat Bear Week starts Tuesday, September 22, 2026. This year, 16 bears go head to head in a bracket-style competition to see which bear of Brooks River is the fattest. A fat bear is a successful bear, and Fat Bear Week celebrates the success of these wild, brown bears.

America’s natural and cultural landscapes that support these fat bears, embody an evolving national story. Katmai National Park and Preserve offers a powerful lens through which visitors can experience an important part of this story. This year, when America celebrates its 250th year of independence, the park honors the places that sustain its communities, whether human or wildlife.

Learn more at the fat bear link in our bio!

Graphics designed by hand by Sara Wolman, courtesy of explore.org #fatbearweek

Featured photo: Maroon Bells Scenic Area. Source: David Blackley, CC BY-ND 2.0

The post Forest Service adds comment period for Maroon Bells management decision appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

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This year’s so-called “super El Niño” is entering into record-breaking territory. 

Sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific now equal the previous daily record set in 2015 and will likely keep rising in the days ahead.

El Niño is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon in the Pacific that reshapes weather patterns around the world and temporarily boosts global temperatures. 

The current El Niño event – which has been underway since June and is expected to last until next year – has been developing faster than any previous event on record. 

The strength of an event is tracked using the “Niño 3.4 anomaly”, which measures how much warmer sea surface temperatures in a section of the central Pacific are than average. 

As of 19 September, the daily anomaly in the Niño 3.4 region stands at 3.07C, putting it in a statistical tie with the previous record of 3.08C.

Some scientists, using a different baseline for calculating the anomaly, have already called the new record. 

Either way, this is remarkable, in part because of how early in the calendar year it is occurring. El Niño typically peaks in the winter months, most commonly in November or December. 

Every strong El Niño on record has continued to strengthen after mid-September – and there is every reason to think that this one will as well.

(For more on El Niño, see Carbon Brief’s recent interactive explainer.) 

Record territory

El Niño events are typically classed as “weak” when the Niño 3.4 anomaly reaches 0.5C, “moderate” above 1C, “strong” above 1.5C and “very strong” above 2.0C.

For this year’s event, the Niño 3.4 anomaly has now reached 3.07C, which puts it in a statistical tie with the record set on 18 November 2015, set during a “very strong” El Nino event.

The chart below shows how the strength of the current El Niño (red line) is dramatically outpacing both 2015-16 (blue) and another “very strong” event in 1997-98 (light blue).

Daily Niño 3.4 sea surface temperature anomalies, 1982-2026, each relative to a centred 30-year climatology (ONI convention). Chart by Carbon Brief.

To analyse the developing El Niño, Carbon Brief followed the convention of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Oceanic Niño index (ONI).

ONI is calculated by subtracting the latest 30-year average temperature in the Nino 3.4 region from daily sea surface temperatures. This approach allows for the most recent years to be compared against the most recent 30-year period. It removes much of the influence of longer-term, human-driven warming from the index. 

(While meteorological organisations typically track changes to ONI on a three-month rolling average basis, Carbon Brief’s analysis looked at how the metric is changing on a daily basis.)

If ONI is calculated using a baseline of 1991-2020 then the current El Niño has already set a new record.

Since the start of June, El Niño’s strength has been greater than any other year. In early September in both 1997 and 2015, anomalies were around 1.9C – more than one degree below where they are this year.

An alternative index 

There is another commonly used metric – the relative Oceanic Niño index (RONI) – used to study El Niño. 

Introduced by NOAA in 2024, the RONI index adjusts for tropical ocean warming linked to human-caused climate change. To do this, it takes sea surface averages in the Nino 3.4 region and subtracts out temperature anomalies observed across the tropical oceans (between the latitudes of 20 degrees north and south). 

This approach may better remove the influence of climate change in this specific region, but can also diminish the apparent strength of strong El Niño events, such as the current one, which extend well outside the Niño 3.4 region.

The chart below shows daily RONI values, which are record setting for this time of year, but remain below an all-time daily record set during the 1982-83 El Niño event.

Daily relative Niño 3.4 (RONI) anomalies for every year, 1982-2026. Chart by Carbon Brief.

RONI stood at around 2.5C in mid-September, some 0.7C below the 1982 record. 

However, that record was set in late December, at the peak of the event. 

The 1982-83, 1997-98 and 2015-16 events added between 0.5C and 1.9C to their RONI values between mid-September and their peaks.

On track to smash monthly and seasonal records  

Because daily El Niño values are noisy, scientists typically turn to monthly or seasonal averages to compare El Niño events. 

The latest full calendar month for which data is available – August 2026 – had a Niño 3.4 anomaly of around 2.45C. This is higher than the peak of every prior El Niño event on record except 2015-16 – where the anomaly reached 2.75C – and 1877-78, when the anomaly sat at around 2.7C, based on a reconstruction of sea surface temperatures using sparse ship data.

The figure below shows the monthly evolution of the five strongest El Niño events on record alongside 2026, as well the current forecast from 14 seasonal forecast models.

Monthly Niño 3.4 anomaly (degrees C) for the five strongest El Niño events on record, for 2026 through August and the 2026-27 forecast across 14 models, each relative to a centred 30-year climatology (ONI convention). Data from NOAA CPC, Copernicus C3S, ECCC and JAMSTEC. Chart by Carbon Brief.

Taken together, the models project a peak monthly anomaly later this year of around 4.1C, with 80% of the 674 individual model runs falling between 3.4C and 4.6C. 

Every single model run peaks above the 2015-16 record. The projected margin over that record, some 1.3C, is larger than the entire gap between the strongest and fifth-strongest El Niño of the past 150 years.

Some caution here is warranted, however. No seasonal forecast system has ever been verified against an event of this size, because none has ever occurred. The models also predicted temperatures slightly warmer than observed this summer, with real-world observations for August coming in around 0.3C below forecasts.

However, all strong El Niño events on record have continued to strengthen well into the winter – and the models are in near-unanimous agreement that this one will, too. If the forecast holds, the current event will peak between November and January at a level far beyond any event previously observed in the instrumental record.

El Nino’s effect on global temperatures typically lags rising ocean temperatures in the Pacific by several months, so most of the impact will be felt in 2027 rather than 2026. 

Carbon Brief’s most recent “state of the climate” quarterly analysis found 2026 on track to be the warmest or second-warmest year on record. The next update in early October will examine what a record El Niño means for 2027.

El Niño: Indonesia fire emissions in 2026 ‘on track’ to match record for this century 11.09.2026 El Niño and La Niña Explainer: How the ‘super El Niño’ will reshape the world’s weather 18.08.2026 El Niño and La Niña Analysis: What are the causes of recent record-high global temperatures? 10.12.2025 Climate pollutants State of the climate: First quarter of 2020 is second warmest on record 20.04.2020 Climate modelling

The post Analysis: ‘Super El Niño’ reaches ‘remarkable’ all-time record appeared first on Carbon Brief.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact

Milagros R. Elia

Program Manager, Climate and Clean Energy Advocacy

Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments

milagros@envirn.org

914.455.1165

Nurses Condemn EPA Repeal of Carbon Pollution Standards for Power Plants

(Washington, DC) – On Sept. 14th 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the repeal of the 2024 Power Plant Regulations. The 2024 Power Plant standards were expected to deliver substantial public health benefits by reducing carbon pollution, fine particulate matter, mercury, and other hazardous pollutants. According to EPA projections, the carbon standards alone could have prevented up to 1,200 premature deaths, 870 hospital and emergency department visits, 1,900 new asthma cases, 360,000 episodes of asthma symptoms, and tens of thousands of missed school and workdays in 2035. These protections were also in place to safeguard drinking water, and provide particularly important benefits for children, pregnant people, and communities disproportionately burdened by power plant pollution.

In response to the proposal, the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments Executive Director Katie Huffling, DNP, RN, CNM, FAAN issued the following statement:

“The EPA’s decision to repeal the 2024 Power Plant standards threatens public health, deepens climate-related health risks, and places an unjust burden on already overexposed communities.” Repealing these protections will not make families safer or healthier. It disregards the scientific evidence and will prolong dependence on polluting fossil-fuel infrastructure while shifting the health and financial costs onto children, older adults, pregnant people, people with chronic illnesses, and communities that have endured decades of disproportionate pollution. Nurses call on federal leaders to restore strong, science-based safeguards and accelerate a just transition to clean, reliable energy that protects health.

“The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is committed to continue working with nurses, health professionals, community partners, and policymakers to defend science-based environmental protections and advance energy policies that place human health, equity, and a livable climate at their center.”

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The Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments is the only national nursing organization focused solely on the intersection of health and the environment. The mission of the Alliance is to support nurses in promoting planetary health and equity globally by educating and leading the nursing profession, advancing research, incorporating planet-safe practice, and influencing policy. http://enviRN.org

 

The post Press Release! Nurses Condemn EPA Repeal of Carbon Pollution Standards for Power Plants appeared first on ANHE.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas backed off the standards it proposed in March, eliminating a non-refundable interconnection fee, halving its financial security requirement and extending energization milestone deadlines.

Nurses at Sharp Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, Calif., will hold an informational picket on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to protest Sharp HealthCare’s broken promises to their patients and community.

Registered nurses at St. Joseph Health College Station Hospital in College Station, Texas, will hold a rally on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Nurses plan to commemorate neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) awareness month and celebrate the dedication that NICU nurses demonstrate to the babies in their care, as well as raise concerns about issues in the St. Joseph NICU.

A Trump-appointed judge said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not convert the funding into “a lump-sum amount subject to EPA’s discretion.” Defendants acted contrary to Congress’ intent and with “no other statutory authority” when they terminated it, she said.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is set for a bigger role at this year’s UN climate summit, as Türkiye’s COP31 presidency seeks backing for a new pledge on the technology’s energy use.

In a statement on Monday, the COP31 hosts said they will launch the Antalya Pledge on AI, which they billed as a “political” commitment on how AI is “designed, procured, powered, deployed, measured and managed” in support of climate action. 

“We must openly discuss AI’s growing energy consumption and it is time for governments to start setting the terms,” COP31 president Murat Kurum said in an emailed statement. “We expect companies to be transparent about their energy use and to power their operations with clean energy”. 

No further details about the pledge have been made available so far, including whether it will include a clean energy commitment or whether governments and companies will be invited to sign on. The COP31 presidency said it would share a draft before the summit opens in Antalya in early November.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell went further in a New York speech on Monday, warning that AI leaders are “on thin ice when it comes to license to operate, and sinking deep underwater when it comes to public support”.

“Energy-guzzling artificial intelligence is driving up planet-heating pollution from coal, oil and gas, while ratcheting up energy costs for households and businesses,” he said, adding that data centre projects are being put on hold due to public opposition from New York to Texas.

Growing energy use and emissions

Concerns about the environmental impacts of AI infrastructure and its impact on rising electricity prices have led to a growing backlash in some communities, especially in the US.

Big Tech’s breakneck race to develop new AI models and build out the energy-hungry infrastructure supporting them has stoked fears over the technology’s growing climate impact. 

Greenhouse gas emissions generated by data centres through their electricity use are set to more than double between 2024 and 2030, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Data centres, which underpin various technologies including AI, are expected to consume more power than all but five countries by the end of the decade. 

• Jun 23, 2026 News UN asks AI companies to reveal full environmental impacts UN chief António Guterres says big AI firms should disclose the emissions, water and energy use of their data centres amid community opposition Read more
• Mar 3, 2026 News Explainer: Will AI data centres make or break the energy transition? As grids struggle to meet soaring electricity demand for AI data-crunching, big tech is under pressure to cover the costs of boosting power supplies – which may be dirty or clean Read more

The AI race is also driving a surge in new fossil gas investment in the United States, where Big Tech giants including Microsoft, OpenAI and Meta have struck up major deals with fossil fuel operators to power their infrastructure. 

In China, the other major global AI force, coal provides around 70% of the electricity powering the country’s data centers, according to an IEA report published last year. 

More space for AI at COPs?

Despite AI’s rapidly growing relevance for the world’s ability to limit global warming, high-level discussions on the climate impact of the technology have been largely absent at UN climate summits.

While the pledge is still being developed and scarce details have been made public so far, the Antalya initiative, alongside sharper rhetoric from Stiell, suggests that might be changing.

Climate Home News understands that the UN climate change body is encouraging AI companies to be present at COPs as the climate summits set the global direction for energy policy and tech firms now have a major stake in it.

Earlier this year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres launched an initiative aimed at holding AI companies accountable for their environmental impacts and repeated a call for all big AI companies to commit to powering every data centre with renewable energy by 2030. 

Align AI with science

Stiell said that tech titans need to start showing why the benefits of AI outweigh its “skyrocketing costs”, by setting credible climate targets, coming clean about their energy use and powering data centres with renewable energy. 

AI proponents claim that, despite its growing energy use, the technology’s widespread application would bring net benefits in the fight against climate change by driving massive energy efficiency gains and optimising renewable energy integration. The IEA estimates that existing AI applications could cut emissions by more than data centres add.  

Fossil fuel expansion threatens COP31 hosts’ credibility, experts warn

But critics argue that it is wrong to compare theoretical gains with real-world emission growth and any gains are outweighed by the widespread adoption of AI tools by fossil fuel companies to extract planet-heating oil and gas faster and more cheaply.

Stiell said the tech industry needs to “respect science and start aligning with global climate efforts – urgently”. 

Alongside the AI pledge, the COP31 presidency has also announced it will launch an ‘AI for Clean Technologies’ Initiative, which will develop a portfolio of AI-enabled clean-technology pilots in priority sectors, including smart energy and green industry. 

This programme aims to demonstrate the responsible use of AI in practice, the COP31 presidency promised.

The post COP31 presidency announces AI pledge as UN climate chief says Big Tech ‘on thin ice’ appeared first on Climate Home News.

Newsom signed several other bills with direct or indirect implications for electric utilities and power infrastructure stakeholders, including Assembly Bill 192 standing up the transmission infrastructure accelerator.

The $3.3-billion project aims to improve downstate power delivery by 2030. It is being developed by New York Transco and the New York Power Authority.

India, a country of nearly 1.5 billion people, has long relied on coal to power its growing economy. But over the last two years, it has seen a remarkable shift: The rapid buildout of renewable energy has halted the growth of coal. 

Read more on E360 →

Climate change is already affecting what farmers can grow, when they can plant, and how much they can harvest. Across the globe, they are navigating drought, unpredictable rainfall, and extreme heat. Meanwhile, public investment in agricultural research is uncertain, global conflicts are contributing to hunger and displacement, and food is becoming more expensive.

“I can’t overstate how intense climate impacts are for young farmers across the country right now,” says Michelle Hughes, Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition, at “Putting Farmers First: How Young Farmers are Shaping the Future of Food,” which Food Tank hosted at Climate Week NYC 2026 in partnership with Whole Foods Market.

“Farming is starting to feel not only hard but borderline impossible for some folks,” says Hughes. 

And the pressures facing farmers extend beyond climate change. Sarah Jones of Jones Farms Organics, a fourth-generation, family-owned farm in Colorado’s San Luis Valley and the region’s first Regenerative Organic Certified grower, described the many roles farmers must take on to keep their businesses operating.

“We’re biologists, environmentalists, mechanics, engineers. We do marketing, sales, social media, we’re distributors, brand designers, customer service…it doesn’t end,” says Jones.

Farmers also face significant financial risks and difficult working conditions. Brita Lundberg, Fourth-Generation Farmer and Communications Manager at Lundberg Family Farms, highlighted the demands of agricultural work and the challenges of maintaining a viable livelihood.

“Farming is hard, it’s risky, and it’s capital-intensive. And still, data from the USDA shows that 84 percent of U.S. farmers take on second jobs to support their livelihoods,” says Lundberg.

For Amalia Colón-Nava, Farmer and Co-Director of Dirtbaby Farm, these economic challenges affect both farm owners and agricultural workers—and they are rooted in a long history of exploitation. 

“Whether you are a farm owner or a farm laborer, there’s a huge gap in how we can pay ourselves…So many farmers are actually not able to sell vegetables for a profit. Our food system is built off of slavery, exploited labor, and that culture still exists,” says Colón-Nava. “Food is a human right; it’s not a privilege.”

For DeVonne Jackson Perez, Co-Founder of Good Ground and Director of Brooklyn Supported Agriculture, conversations about climate resilience must account for farmers’ basic needs and working conditions. 

“We can’t really talk about climate resilience or supporting farmers without using them as if they too are a product,” says Jackson Perez. “Farming is one of the most dangerous careers that you can choose, but many don’t have healthcare.”

Speakers also pointed to gaps between consumer demand and the markets farmers need to adopt more sustainable practices. Jones says many farmers are prepared to transition to organic production but lack the buyers to make that change financially viable.

“We’ve got to get back to community over commodity,” says Jones. “Farmers are ready and willing. I could list 10 farmers that would go organic tomorrow if you give them the market.”

Creating those markets is one of the most important ways retailers can support farmers, says Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Whole Foods Market Chief Merchandising & Marketing Officer and Vice President, Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores Private Brands & Marketing.

“As a retailer, the number-one thing we can do is really create a market and demand…There can’t be supply without demand,” says Gafsi Oblisk, who also emphasizes that transforming the food system requires changes in consumer behavior: “To change the food system at scale, we need to be able to change demand, not just supply…Vote with your wallet.”

Speakers also said that businesses must prioritize farmer input when developing sustainability initiatives.

“The first thing we need to do is listen. We have to put farmers’ voices first,” says Caitlin Leibert, Global Head of Sustainability at Amazon Grocery and Whole Foods Market. “We can’t just say as a retailer we want this…We have to invest and co-create the future we want to see.”

Building on-farm resilience through soil health and transitioning to organic practices takes more than one growing season, and farmers need to know that they will have buyers for their crops after they make the investment. This requires long-term investment, looking beyond immediate purchasing decisions.

“The top thing we can do as retailers is help commit to the supply not just for tomorrow and next month and six months from now, but what are the commitments we can make further out,” says Jason Buechel, Vice President of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and Chief Executive Officer of Whole Foods Market. “Many farmers depend on small, regional, local banks, where their business is considered high risk.”

For Becca Millstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Fishwife, strengthening food systems also means investing in sustainable seafood production and helping consumers understand the role of aquaculture.

“More than half of our seafood globally is produced from aquaculture, but there’s broad misunderstanding of what that means. Aquaculture has long been saddled with a really unfortunate reputation,” says Millstein, but “there are advances being made every single day in aquaculture…In many ways, aquaculture has more resilience than wild fisheries.”

Storytelling plays a major role in creating more sustainable food systems, speakers agreed. Anna Turrell, Global Chief Sustainability Officer at Mars Snacking, called for more storytelling to generate greater visibility for the farmers who supply the food industry.

“[Mars] won’t be here in the future if we don’t start investing in our supply chains differently, and bring the faces in that supply chain to light,” says Turrell. “I’d love to see the farmer faces of our food showing up everywhere in the next five years.”

Ultimately, speakers emphasized that supporting farmers requires action across the food system, from creating reliable markets and providing long-term investment to improving labor conditions and strengthening consumer connections.

“Sometimes when we get in these spaces we often think too lofty and then we don’t do anything… teach somebody, fund an organization, there are little things we can do day to day. The agriculture industry needs everything,” says Jackson Perez.

As retailers, brands, and consumers consider the future of food, the event underscored the importance of putting farmers’ needs at the center of efforts to build a more sustainable and equitable food system.

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New report documents decades of land dispossession, water depletion, Cerrado destruction and conflict as Aperam receives €250 million financing package

21 September, 2026 — A new, in-depth investigation published today exposes the devastating social and environmental costs of Aperam BioEnergia’s monoculture eucalyptus plantations in Minas Gerais, Brazil, which it uses to produce charcoal, biochar and “green steel”. The co-authors of the investigation have issued an urgent call for all investment in the company to be halted.

The report, Dry Streams in an Ocean of Eucalyptus: Aperam BioEnergia’s Green Steel and Carbon Removal Illusion, based on extensive field research and interviews with traditional and Quilombola communities and public officials, reveals that Aperam’s business model—promoted as a climate and sustainability solution—has been imposed through large-scale deforestation, leading to the loss of biodiversity and the depletion of water resources in the Jequitinhonha Valley. The report documents a drastic drop in water tables, drying of springs and rivers and the collapse of traditional agricultural and pastoral livelihoods.

Local communities recount decades of land dispossession, intimidation and health risks linked to pesticide use and air pollution from Aperam’s operations. Many now face food insecurity, economic hardship and a worrying increase in health problems, including cancer. The investigation also highlights the severe shortcomings of voluntary certification schemes and international financiers, such as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), whose recent €250-million financing package is enabling Aperam’s continued expansion despite clear evidence of harm.

“Aperam’s operations are being presented as part of the green transition, but what is being ‘greened’ is a polluting, extractive industrial model.” said Jana Uemura, coordinator of the Global Forest Coalition’s Climate Justice and Forests Campaign and the Biomass Action Network’s Latin America Working Group. “Eucalyptus plantations, charcoal and biochar are being sold as climate solutions, backed by international finance and carbon markets, while communities and ecosystems bear the costs.”

The investigation’s key demand is unequivocal: all financial support, investment and sourcing relationships with Aperam must be suspended immediately. The report calls on the IFC, World Bank Group and all other financiers to cancel contractual arrangements and commit to no future support for Aperam. Certification schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Puro.earth are urged to suspend Aperam’s certifications pending full investigations of community complaints.

“Justice for affected communities and the protection of the Cerrado’s unique biodiversity must take precedence over corporate profit and greenwashing,” the report concludes. It calls for a redirection of investment toward community-led restoration, agroecology and water security initiatives in the Jequitinhonha Valley, and a transition away from all carbon fuel-based energy.

The full report, published by the Global Forest Coalition with support from Biofuelwatch, the EPN’s Biomass Action Network and the Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME) Alliance, is available in English and Portuguese.

Media Contacts: 

Jana Uemera (Eng/Por): jana.uemura@globalforestcoalition.org

Ismail Wolff (Eng): ismail.wolff@globalforestcoalition.org

About the Investigation: This report centers the experiences and demands of the Jequitinhonha Valley’s traditional and Quilombola communities. It exposes the urgent need for a paradigm shift in climate and development finance, away from harmful monocultures and false climate solutions, and toward justice, community rights and ecological restoration.

“Aço verde” construído sobre secas e terras roubadas: sociedade civil pede a suspensão da expansão da Aperam

Novo relatório documenta décadas de expropriação de terras, esgotamento hídrico, destruição do Cerrado e conflitos, enquanto a Aperam recebe um pacote de financiamento de € 250 milhões

21 de setembro de 2026 — Uma nova pesquisa aprofundada, publicada hoje, expõe os custos sociais e ambientais devastadores das plantações de eucalipto em monocultura da Aperam BioEnergia em Minas Gerais, Brasil, utilizadas para produzir carvão vegetal, biochar e “aço verde”. Os coautores da investigação fizeram um apelo urgente para que todo investimento na empresa seja interrompido.

O relatório, intitulado Córregos secos em um oceano de eucalipto: Aço verde e a ilusão da remoção de carbono da Aperam BioEnergia, baseia-se em extensa pesquisa de campo e entrevistas com integrantes de comunidades tradicionais e quilombolas e representantes do poder público. O documento revela que o modelo de negócios da Aperam — promovido como uma solução climática e de sustentabilidade — foi imposto por meio de desmatamento em larga escala, levando à perda de biodiversidade e ao esgotamento dos recursos hídricos no Vale do Jequitinhonha. O relatório documenta uma queda drástica nos níveis do lençol freático, a secagem de nascentes e rios e o colapso dos meios de subsistência tradicionais ligados à agricultura e à pecuária tradicionais.

Comunidades locais relatam décadas de expropriação de terras, intimidação e riscos à saúde, especialmente de mulheres e crianças, associados ao uso de agrotóxicos e à poluição do ar decorrente das operações da Aperam. Muitas pessoas agora enfrentam insegurança alimentar, dificuldades econômicas e um aumento preocupante de problemas de saúde, incluindo casos de câncer. A investigação também destaca as graves falhas dos sistemas de certificação voluntária e dos financiadores internacionais, como a International Finance Corporation (IFC), cujo recente pacote de financiamento de € 250 milhões está viabilizando a continuidade da expansão da Aperam, apesar de evidências claras de danos.

“As operações da Aperam estão sendo apresentadas como parte da transição verde, mas o que está sendo ‘pintado de verde’ é um modelo industrial poluente e extrativista”, disse Janaina Uemura, coordenadora da campanha de Justiça Climática e Florestas da GFC e do Grupo de Trabalho Latinoamericano e do Caribe da Rede de Ação Contra a Biomassa Industrial. “Plantações de eucalipto, carvão vegetal e biochar estão sendo vendidos como soluções climáticas, sustentados pelo financiamento internacional e pelos mercados de carbono, enquanto comunidades e ecossistemas arcam com os custos.”

A principal exigência da investigação é inequívoca: todo apoio financeiro, bem como todos os investimentos e as relações de fornecimento com a Aperam devem ser suspensos imediatamente. O relatório insta a IFC, o Grupo Banco Mundial e todos os demais financiadores a encerrarem seus vínculos contratuais e a se comprometerem a não oferecer apoio futuro à Aperam. Sistemas de certificação, como o Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) e a Puro.earth, são instados a suspender as certificações da Aperam até que as denúncias das comunidades sejam plenamente investigadas.

“A justiça para as comunidades afetadas e a proteção da biodiversidade única do Cerrado devem prevalecer sobre o lucro corporativo e o greenwashing“, conclui o relatório. O documento defende o redirecionamento de investimentos para iniciativas de restauração lideradas pelas comunidades, de agroecologia e de segurança hídrica no Vale do Jequitinhonha, bem como para uma transição para abandonar todas as fontes de energia baseadas em combustíveis de carbono.

O relatório completo, publicado pela Global Forest Coalition com o apoio da Rede de Ação contra a Biomassa (da EPN), da Biofuelwatch e da aliança Hands Off Mother Earth (HOME), está disponível em inglês e português.

Contatos para a imprensa:

Sobre a investigação: Este relatório coloca no centro as experiências e reivindicações das comunidades tradicionais e quilombolas do Vale do Jequitinhonha. Expõe a necessidade urgente de uma mudança de paradigma no financiamento climático e para o desenvolvimento, afastando-se de monoculturas prejudiciais e falsas soluções climáticas e voltando-se para a justiça, os direitos das comunidades e a restauração ecológica

Headline News:

• “Solar Power Is So Cheap That It’s Almost Unbelievable” • Dave Jones, co-founder of the energy research firm Ember, told the Financial Times that 26 years ago solar panels used to run between $5/W and $6/W of capacity. Today, Jones says, solar panels sell for just 12¢/W, a price he says is “offensively cheap” considering the alternatives. [Futurism]

Solar cells (Oregon DOT, CC BY-SA 2.0)

• “China Is Doing About Thirty Times More Agricultural Drone Work Than The US” • Agricultural spray drones are no longer an emerging technology in China, but ordinary farm machinery at extraordinary scale. China entered 2026 with about 309,000 plant-protection drones, and they performed about 203 million hectare-treatments during 2025. [CleanTechnica]
• “Gazelle Develops 18-MW+ Floating Wind Platform” • Gazelle Wind Power has developed and tested a new floating offshore wind platform design for 18-MW+ turbines in extreme offshore conditions. The company said the design is being developed as part of its work with a major Asian utility on a large floating offshore wind development. [reNews]
• “EV Sales At 32% – No, Make That 38%! – By 2030 ” • In July economists at Harvard University were predicting that EVs will account for a fairly healthy 32% of all new vehicle sales in the US by 2030, which is just around the corner. That estimate was since corrected to an even rosier 38%, more than quadruple the 2025 figure of just 8%. [CleanTechnica]
• “Brussels to keep ban on Arctic oil and gas drilling despite Norwegian pressure” • A ban on new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic will remain the European Commission’s official position in a revised strategy Brussels is about to unveil, a Commission spokesperson told Euronews, despite fierce pressure from oil-rich Norway to drop the ban. [Euronews]

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

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