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An environmental campaigner has applied to the High Court for an interim injunction to halt lower-volume fracking at the West Newton-A site in East Yorkshire.

West Newton-A site. Photo: Used with the owner’s consent

The application, by Peter Lomas, is linked to his earlier legal challenge against the Environment Agency (EA) over its permission for the fracking operation.

A court document reveals that Mr Lomas sought an undertaking a fortnight ago from the West Newton-A operator not to start work until his case against the EA had been decided.

But we understand the operator, Rathlin Energy, refused to give the undertaking and indicated that it intended to carry out the work in November 2026.

Earlier this month, we reported that Rathlin Energy said the lower-volume fracking, which aimed to improve the flow of gas and hydrocarbon fluids, was scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.

The first phase of work, the construction of passing places on one of the roads to West Newton-A, was due to start today.

Lawyers for Mr Lomas said he had no option but to apply for an urgent interim injunction given what was described as Rathlin Energy’s “intransigence”.

The High Court was asked to issue an interim injunction prohibiting Rathlin from carrying out the work before the related legal challenge to the EA had been settled.

No date has yet been set for a hearing.

DrillOrDrop invited Rathlin Energy to respond to the injunction application. The company told us (24/9/26) it would not be commenting on the application for an interim injunction.

Seismicity concerns

In his challenge to the EA, Mr Lomas is seeking a judicial review of the organisation’s decision in February 2026 to grant a variation to the West Newton-A environmental permit .

His case centres on his concerns that the lower-volume frack at West Newton-A could risk seismic activity and groundwater contamination.

He also claims that the EA breached its climate responsibilities and failed to take into account Rathlin Energy’s hydraulic fracture plan (HFP) in its decision-making process.

An HFP must be produced by any company planning to carry out fracking. It seeks to assess the risk of seismic activity and show how it would be mitigated and monitored.

The West Newton-A HFP was published about three hours after the EA announced the permit variation. The EA did not discuss the HFP with the North Sea Transition Authority, the industry regulator responsible for seismicity.

Mr Lomas lodged his challenge to the EA with the High Court in May 2026.

The lower-volume frack on the West Newton-A2 well seeks to establish permeability in the Kirkham Abbey formation. Rathlin Energy had said the operation was needed to “create and reinstate natural fractures”.

Liquid would be pumped into the well at pressures high enough to fracture the surrounding rocks. Proppant, such as sand or tiny ceramic beads, would hold open the fractures, allowing any hydrocarbons to flow.

UN chief António Guterres urged countries to break their dependency on fossil fuels at a climate summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, where host nations Türkiye and Australia set the tone for COP31 and vulnerable countries called for more and faster finance to boost resilience in a warming world.

As the world faces extreme climate impacts turbocharged by a “super El Niño” event and fossil fuel prices soar amid conflict in the Middle East, Guterres said reliance on fossil fuels “wreaks havoc”, and urged governments to boost their renewable energy capacity as a way out.

“Doubling down on oil and gas will only lock in vulnerability for decades. Fortunately, we have a way out. Because the crisis is accelerating – but so are the solutions,” he said.

Reiterating a point made in his farewell speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Guterres urged all countries to submit “credible” national roadmaps to end their production and consumption of coal, oil and gas – “with clear timelines”.

“The G20, responsible for 80 percent of global emissions, must lead. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities must apply. But all countries must raise their ambition,” he added.

Germany plans to end use of fossil fuels in energy sector by 2045

At last year’s COP30 climate summit in Belém, a group of some 80 governments led a failed push to develop a global roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. Brazil instead will draft a voluntary report to be presented this year ahead of COP31, incorporating views from a range of countries and organisations.

Governments first agreed to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems at COP28 in Dubai in 2023, but have since been unable to agree at UN climate talks on how to move forward with that commitment, as efforts to do so have been effectively blocked by large fossil fuel-producing countries.

The UN chief urged the world to match the accelerating climate crisis “with accelerating action”, by matching the revolution in clean energy with a revolution in finance and rising impacts with rising protection.

“I ask you all to deliver – then over-deliver,” he said. “We are the first generation with the tools to end the fossil fuel age – and the last who can avert climate catastrophe.”

Nepal flood a warning of global impacts to come, says minister

After being hit by devastating flash floods last month in its Himalayan region that left around 1,500 people dead and 6,000 missing, Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal warned the catastrophe is “not merely a local tragedy but a warning to the world of what might be coming next”.

“The crisis has dragged vulnerable communities back into poverty,” Khanal said, adding that the crisis has “shattered the dream of many who saw hope in our steady development path”. 

Preliminary assessments estimate that losses could reach up to $5 billion – equivalent to 15% of the country’s GDP or a third of its annual budget. “This is not merely a humanitarian emergency, it’s a development emergency dismantling years of progress,” said Khanal.

He called on the international community to “act not only differently but decisively” by delivering on an existing commitment to double adaptation finance and capitalising the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage Fund, which currently has only several hundred million dollars to disburse to countries hit hard by climate impacts. 

Vulnerable countries, he said, need “scaled-up, front-loaded and accessible climate finance that reaches communities before disaster strikes, not after devastation has already occurred”. For countries like Nepal, “adaptation is not optional; it is a lifeline,” he added.

Comment: The response to Nepal’s disaster is a test for global climate institutions

Khanal also urged countries to double down on efforts to keep the 1.5C global warming goal within reach. “This is a matter of survival for mountain and coastal communities,” he said, calling for universal access to early warning systems, affordable technologies tailored to mountain ecosystems, climate information services and resilient infrastructure.

Sharing a stage with Khanal, the prime minister of Pacific island state Tuvalu, Feleti Teo, said the Nepal flash flood is a testament that the “devastating and indiscriminate” impacts from climate change are no longer a matter for forecasts. “They are happening now and no one country will be spared,” he said.

“The process and modality of access to climate financing must be simple and easily accessible. – particularly for small administrations like Tuvalu. We do not have the luxury of capacity and time to navigate through complex and convoluted procedures,” he added.

Türkiye’s president says countries can’t all move at the same pace

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged countries to deliver an “implementation COP” in Antalya, noting that the “devastating floods in Nepal already demonstrate we no longer have time to lose”.

However, he stressed that developing countries cannot be rushed into taking measures outside of their capacity, adding that “in Antalya, we must bring ambition closer to capacity and targets closer to implementation”.

It is “not realistic to expect all countries to move forward all at the same pace”, he added, emphasising that “any proposal that fails to reconcile climate objectives with social and economic realities will be doomed to fail”.

The Turkish COP31 co-presidency has prioritised a voluntary target to increase electricity’s share of final energy consumption to 35% by 2035, up from the current level of 23%. Erdoğan also flagged a proposed target to reduce global waste, which is being championed by his wife.

IEA head: Strait of Hormuz pushing countries towards clean energy

As governments prepare for COP31 – where one of the flagship targets will be to boost electricity’s share of global energy consumption to 35% by 2035 – International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol said the Middle East conflict presents an opportunity not seen in years.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, due to tensions between the US and Iran, has led countries to reassess their energy sources and partners, Birol said. Their response, he added, has been in “a big chunk if not all” cases to pick clean energy as the most secure, affordable and green option.

“In the energy world, we have three choices in front of us: shall I choose the most secure option, the most economic energy option or the cleanest? We have to make choices and tradeoffs. When I look at the world today, for the first time in years, all three objectives hit very close to each other,” he said.

An aerial view shows the largest solar plant in Bangladesh, built on a 350-acre site. The plant began to supply electricity from 25 December 2021. The photo was taken from Borodurgapur village of Mongla upazila in Bagerhat October 26, 2023. (Photo: Mushfiqul Alam/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect) An aerial view shows the largest solar plant in Bangladesh, built on a 350-acre site. The plant began to supply electricity from 25 December 2021. The photo was taken from Borodurgapur village of Mongla upazila in Bagerhat October 26, 2023. (Photo: Mushfiqul Alam/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect)

The IEA chief said an electrification target at COP31, proposed by Turkiye, would send “a very strong and unmistakable signal to investors, financiers, utilities, governments and beyond”. 

“This, in turn, will not only make the world much more secure, and offer a more affordable option to consumers, but at the same time it will bring emissions down, which would be a major outcome and major good news,” he said.

UN backs push to upgrade grids slowing clean power uptake in Africa and SE Asia

His words were borne out by Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who said the closure of the Strait of Hormuz had made the bloc bitterly aware of the effects and the additional costs of its dependence on imported fossil fuels. 

She added that Europe has assets in the form of electricity produced from home-grown renewables and nuclear. “This clean electricity gives us independence, energy security, and it is affordable,” she said. Europe already gets 70% of its electricity from clean energies, “but more has to be done”, she added, including better integrating clean power into the energy system. 

Europe needs to boost clean energy storage and flexibility, and accelerate grid connections, in order to reach its goal of doubling the share of electricity by 2040, Von der Leyen said. 

“With this, Europe could cut its fossil fuel import bill by 260 billion euros a year and invest it in the clean transition,” she added.

Ursula von Der Leyen, President of the European Commission, addresses the High-level Meeting on Climate Action and the Just Transition at the United Nations in New York, September 23, 2026 (UN Photo/Laura Jarriel) Ursula von Der Leyen, President of the European Commission, addresses the High-level Meeting on Climate Action and the Just Transition at the United Nations in New York, September 23, 2026 (UN Photo/Laura Jarriel) Australian PM promotes Pacific climate resilience

Anthony Albanese, Australia’s Prime Minister, whose country is co-hosting the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye, offered firm support to the Pacific region which will host pre-COP discussions next month in Fiji. He called on countries to contribute to the new Pacific Resilience Facility (PRF), a regional climate financing mechanism intended to provide money for community climate action.

Australia has contributed $100 million towards the fund’s goal of reaching a capitalisation of $1.5 billion. So far the PRF has raised $180 million against an interim goal of $500 million by COP31.

“It is a fact that those countries which are least responsible for the rise in emissions and the change in temperatures, such as our Pacific Island family, are those who are most affected by climate change,” he said. 

He noted that for island nations such as Tuvalu and Kiribati, “it is literally an existential threat”. “So we must act, and we must act as a matter of urgency,” he added. 

Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr. told the summit that the PRF will allow finance “to go directly to the communities that need it the most”, adding that “speed and agility are essential” for Pacific islands to adapt to extreme climate impacts. The low-lying Marshall Islands, for example, said it had taken 10 years to plan, fund and build a sea wall to protect its people from rising waters – time it does not have.

At regional summit, Pacific islands ask for COP31 support for clean energy and finance

Albanese added that Australia is seeking a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2029-30, and if elected, aims to “elevate the importance of climate security, particularly in the Pacific, but more broadly as well”.

He stressed that while the cost of not acting would be “too high”, there are also economic – as well as environmental – benefits from tackling global warming.

“The truth is that it makes good macroeconomic policy to shift to a renewable-led clean energy revolution,” he said, adding that it also helps families. Some 540,000 Australian households have taken up subsidies to install solar panels with battery storage in the past year, he noted, slashing the cost of their power.

UN launches country platforms to support mineral-rich nations 

More than two years after a UN panel of experts called for justice and equity to underpin the development of the mineral supply chains needed for the energy transition, the UN is starting to follow up with concrete action.

On Wednesday, UN chief António Guterres announced that six countries – Guinea, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe – will be the first to receive dedicated support to turn their mineral wealth into engines for sustainable industrialisation, job creation and revenue generation so that it “drives local development, with added value remaining there”.

The country support mechanism, launched at the UN Climate Summit, will identify what individual recipient countries need to improve mineral governance, boost value addition and protect environmental and human rights and respond with coordinated technical assistance and capacity building from across the UN system. 

Zambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mulambo Haimbe said the initiative will support the country’s ambition “not simply to produce more, but to create greater value at home through investment, value addition, industrialisation and jobs”. 

Booming demand for minerals such as copper, lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earths that are needed to build the equipment the world needs to move away from fossil fuels offer real development opportunities for the countries that hold them. But communities living near extraction sites often shoulder most of the costs while seeing few of the benefits.

The UN panel’s recommendations set out a vision for more just and sustainable mineral value chains. But implementation has been slow to follow. 

China keeps Indonesia’s battery dream afloat but future less certain

China’s deputy UN representative Sun Lei told the climate summit on Wednesday that critical minerals governance is a key issue for the country, which holds a firm grip on the mining and processing of most critical minerals. Last year at COP30 in Belém, China was one of the countries that blocked a mention of the social and environmental risk linked to energy transition minerals.

“All states must strengthen cooperation to build a governance system on critical minerals that is fair, reasonable, open, inclusive, clean and openly beneficial with win-win results,” he said.

Suneeta Kaimal, president and CEO of the Natural Resource Governance Institute, welcomed the announcement of the country platforms, adding that to succeed must be driven by local concerns. 

The new support mechanism “could enable countries to lead on the design of strategies, safeguards and policies that will allow them to shift from rule-takers to rule-shapers and unlock prosperity for all their people”, she said. 

UK minister defends climate multilateralism

After hosting a meeting of foreign ministers on Wednesday to discuss climate change as an issue of national security, Britain’s foreign minister Ed Miliband put up a spirited defence of global efforts to tackle climate change and slammed what he called “the defeatists”.

Those, he said, are people who maintain that climate negotiations have been going on for 30-40 years, and nothing has changed, so there’s no point in continuing. “The defeatists, I think, actually are now a bigger problem than the deniers and the delayers” and they should be told they are “wrong”, Miliband said. 

He noted that at the time of the failed Copenhagen COP in 2009 the world was headed for warming of 4C or more, while now the prediction has been reduced to around 2.5C. This, while still “very bad”, is proof that multilateralism has worked, he said.

“At a time when it is more under question than it has been for generations, I actually think that the climate efforts that we are making together and the will that I see from countries across the world to tackle this problem should give us confidence and optimism about the future,” he argued.

The post UN Climate Summit: UN chief says world has tools to end fossil fuel age appeared first on Climate Home News.

This isn’t your typical girls’ weekend.  Not that you can tell from the accommodations—a charming farmhouse in Montana’s picturesque Bitterroot Valley—or the wine bottles on the kitchen...

Manifestantes pedem justiça climática na Nasdaq

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Em uma decisão descaradamente fora de contexto, a Sigma Lithium foi convidada a tocar o sino de encerramento da Nasdaq pela segunda vez, por ocasião da Semana do Clima de Nova York, em “reconhecimento à sua liderança ambiental e social na industrialização e mineração de minerais críticos”. A cerimônia de toque do sino ocorreu enquanto comunidades indígenas, quilombolas, e afrodescendentes afirmam que a empresa está transformando suas terras em uma zona de sacrifício para a transição energética. As licenças da mina foram suspensas no último ano devido a preocupações com segurança, poluição e violações de direitos.

Nesta semana, diplomatas, funcionários das Nações Unidas, ONGs e comunidades afetadas pelas mudanças climáticas se reúnem na cidade de Nova York com o objetivo de conectar ideias, decisões e parcerias para enfrentar a crise climática e buscar soluções.

As empresas de mineração, cujas operações contribuem com 11% das emissões globais de gases de efeito estufa e poluem o ar, a água e o solo, estão competindo para se posicionar como parte da solução.

O contraste entre os comunicados à imprensa da Sigma Lithium, repletos de autoelogios sobre a Semana do Clima de Nova York, e as vozes dos líderes das comunidades indígenas e tradicionais traz à tona questões urgentes sobre qual liderança leva a soluções duradouras, à medida que enfrentamos a crise urgente das mudanças climáticas. Ativistas planejam protestar contra a participação da Sigma Lithium na cerimônia de toque do sino na tarde desta sexta-feira, nos escritórios da Nasdaq, para exigir que a justiça climática comece pelos direitos dos povos indígenas e pelos direitos humanos.

Comunidades se manifestam contra os impactos da Sigma

Desde 2023, a Sigma Lithium opera uma mina de lítio chamada Grota do Cirilo, no Vale do Jequitinhonha, no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil.

As comunidades indígenas, quilombolas e afrodescendentes têm sofrido os impactos das operações de mineração. Entre os povos indígenas afetados pela mina estão os Aranã, os Pankararu e os Pataxó. O Vale do Jequitinhonha também possui uma das maiores densidades de comunidades afrodescendentes do Brasil, segundo o governo brasileiro.

Há forte oposição à mina por parte das comunidades indígenas e quilombolas, que não deram seu Consentimento Livre, Prévio e Informado (CLPI) para o projeto, apesar da legislação brasileira exigir o CLPI para ambos os grupos. As comunidades locais afirmam “que a promessa de energia limpa trouxe poeira, barulho incessante e doenças”.

Novas reportagens no Brasil documentaram que famílias nas proximidades da mina têm poeira entrando em suas casas, proveniente do local da mina e de suas pilhas de resíduos, e que as explosões realizadas pela empresa causam danos e rachaduras em suas residências. Esses impactos são sentidos de forma aguda nas comunidades vizinhas, que estão extremamente próximas da mina. Em um caso, os resíduos da mina pairam sobre a escola local.

Uma reportagem publicada nesta semana revelou que as internações de crianças por doenças respiratórias aumentaram 628% e 350% nas cidades mais próximas à mina (Araçuaí e Itinga), valores particularmente superiores aos aumentos regionais (221%), estaduais (157%) e nacionais (102%) registrados no mesmo período.

O “greenwashing” da Sigma não faz sentido

A SIGMA tem feito diversas alegações sobre a sustentabilidade das práticas da empresa e tenta se posicionar como uma solução “verde” para as mudanças climáticas. A empresa afirma que suas operações têm “zero barragens de rejeitos” e adotam uma “estratégia de zero rejeitos,”. Isso não é verdade.

Os rejeitos são os resíduos da mina que sobram após o processamento do lítio. A Earthworks documentou pessoalmente suas instalações de armazenamento de rejeitos em várias ocasiões. A empresa continua a empilhar resíduos de mineração próximo a comunidades e rios, embora afirme que esses resíduos acabam sendo removidos do local. As comunidades continuam arcando com os impactos.

Além disso, nenhuma empresa no mundo realiza atividades de mineração sem produzir resíduos. Um relatório divulgado pela Earthworks este ano afirma categoricamente que não há operações conhecidas em nenhum lugar do mundo que tenham eliminado os rejeitos.

Desafios jurídicos crescentes

Em várias ocasiões, as autoridades brasileiras instauraram processos contra a empresa, o que resultou em multas ou na suspensão das operações.

• Em janeiro de 2026, o Ministério do Trabalho do Brasil fechou as pilhas de rejeitos e resíduos da mina, alegando um risco “grave e iminente” para os trabalhadores e a comunidade local, de acordo com documentos analisados pela Reuters. Um inspetor do trabalho relatou uma “ruptura parcial” de uma das pilhas próxima à escola na pequena cidade de Poço Dantas. A Sigma supostamente continuou a utilizar as pilhas de resíduos e foi multada pelo governo brasileiro. A empresa recebeu permissão para retomar o uso das instalações em fevereiro.

• Em maio, um juiz decidiu a favor de uma ação civil pública movida pelo Ministério Público de Minas Gerais contra a SIGMA, com base em anos de investigações e pesquisas. A ação alegava que as comunidades vizinhas enfrentavam poluição por poeira e ruído, que elas estavam extremamente próximas da infraestrutura de mineração e que as explosões das operações de mineração estavam causando danos às residências. Inicialmente, a Sigma foi condenada a pagar quase US$ 10 milhões em indenização. No entanto, a empresa recorreu da decisão e obteve vitória em instância superior.
• Em julho, a Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente (FEAM), órgão regulador ambiental do Brasil, ordenou a suspensão das operações em duas cavas e revogou três licenças ambientais da SIGMA. O órgão emitiu 16 autuações. Uma visita de campo realizada pela agência constatou que uma das pilhas de estéril havia se rompido. A FEAM ordenou que a SIGMA suspendesse as operações. A SIGMA negou algumas das constatações da FEAM, mas não todas, concordou em pagar US$ 540.000 em multas e em assinar um termo de ação corretiva. As operações foram retomadas em agosto.
• Em setembro, um juiz ordenou a suspensão da licença ambiental da Sigma, alegando que uma comunidade quilombola na área de impacto da mina não foi levada em consideração no processo de licenciamento e não deu seu consentimento livre, prévio e informado para o projeto. A SIGMA não suspendeu as operações e continua suas atividades de mineração, alegando que não recebeu uma ordem judicial. No entanto, baseado na decisão do juiz, a FEAM voltou suspender as licenças da empresa e publicou a notificação no diário oficial do estado no dia 24 de setembro.

As acusações contra a Sigma não se limitam aos tribunais. Em outubro de 2025, o Observatório de Mineração publicou uma reportagem exclusiva em que o cofundador da Sigma, Calvyn Gardner, ex-marido da atual CEO Ana Cabral, afirmou que trabalhadores da empresa de mineração relataram para ele “preocupações urgentes” sobre a segurança das operações em Minas Gerais. Ele alegou que a empresa não estava seguindo seu plano de lavra e destacou os riscos associados ao possível desabamento das paredes das cavas da mina.

Uma exigência urgente de justiça climática

Os verdadeiros líderes climáticos defendem os direitos dos povos indígenas, os direitos humanos e os direitos dos trabalhadores. Eles protegem o meio ambiente e garantem um futuro saudável para as comunidades locais. Isso não é possível com a mineração poluente. A Sigma Lithium é um exemplo de como uma empresa pode usar a retórica da sustentabilidade para tentar ocultar os danos que causa. Os líderes indígenas e tradicionais que se manifestam para defender suas comunidades contra os danos são exemplos para todos no movimento climático.

Na sexta-feira, os manifestantes exigirão que a Sigma corrija sua conduta, respeite os direitos dos povos indígenas e das comunidades tradicionais e pare de usar o “greenwashing” para disfarçar suas operações.

The post A mineração suja da Sigma não vai salvar nosso clima appeared first on Earthworks.

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Protesters to Call for Justice at the Nasdaq

In a brazenly out-of-touch move, Sigma Lithium rung the closing Nasdaq bell yesterday during NY Climate week in “recognition of their environmental and social leadership in critical minerals industrialization and mining.” The ceremonial bell-ringing took place as Indigenous and Afro-Descendant communities say the company is turning their lands into a sacrifice zone for the energy transition. The mine has had licenses suspended in the last year due to concerns about safety, pollution, and rights violations.

This week diplomats, United Nations staff, NGOs, and climate-impacted communities descend on New York City with the goal of connecting ideas, decisions and partnerships to address the climate crisis and look for solutions. 

Mining companies, whose operations contribute 11% to global greenhouse gas emissions and pollute the air, water and soil, are vying to position themselves as part of the solution.

The contrast between Sigma Lithium’s self-congratulatory NYC Climate Week press release and the voices of Indigenous and traditional community leaders bring to light urgent questions about whose leadership leads to lasting solutions as we face the urgent crisis of climate change.

Activists plan to protest Sigma Lithium’s participation in the bell ringing ceremony on Friday afternoon at the Nasdaq offices to demand that climate justice start with Indigenous Peoples’ rights and human rights.

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Communities Speak Out Against Sigma’s Impacts

Sigma Lithium has operated a lithium mine, called the Grota do Cirilo, in the Jequitinhonha Valley in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil since 2023. 

Indigenous and Afro-Descendent communities have felt the impacts of the mining operations. The Indigenous people impacted by the mine include the Aranã, Pankararu, and Pataxó  People. The Jequitinhonha Valley also has one of the largest densities of Afro-descendent communities in Brazil, according to the Brazilian government. 

There is strong opposition to the mine from Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities who have not given their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for the project, despite Brazilian regulation requiring FPIC for both groups of people. Local communities say “that the promise of clean energy has brought dust, incessant noise, and illness.” 

New reporting in Brazil has documented households around the mine where dust blows into their homes from the mine site and its waste piles, and where the blasting from the company damages and cracks to their in houses. These impacts are felt acutely in neighboring communities, which are extremely close to the mine. In one case, the mine waste looms over the local school.

Reporting published this week found that infant hospitalizations for respiratory illness increased 628% and 350% in the towns closest to the mine (Araçuaí and Itinga), which were notably higher than the regional (221%), state (157%) and national (102%) increases for the same time period. 

Sigma’s Greenwashing Doesn’t Add Up

SIGMA has made many claims about the sustainability of the company’s practices and tries to position itself as a “green” solution to climate change. They say their operations have “Zero tailing dams” and use a “Zero Tailings strategy,” This is not true. 

Tailings are the mine’s waste that is left over after processing for lithium.  Earthworks has documented their tailings storage facilities in person on multiple occasions. The company continues to pile mine waste next to communities and rivers, even though it claims that waste will eventually be sent off site. Communities are still left with the impacts. 

Beyond that, no company in the world mines without producing waste. A report released by Earthworks this year categorically states that there are no known operations anywhere in the world that have eliminated tailings. 

Mounting Legal Challenges

On multiple occasions, the Brazilian authorities have brought charges against the company that have resulted in fines or the suspension of operations.

• In January 2026, Brazil’s Labor Ministry shut down the mine’s tailings and waste piles, citing a “grave and imminent” risk to workers and the local community, according to documents seen by Reuters. A labor inspector reported a “partial rupture” of one of the piles near the school in the small town of Poço Dantas. Sigma allegedly continued to use the waste piles and was fined by the Brazilian government. The company was given permission to resume use of the facilities again in February. 

• In May a judge found in favor of a public civil lawsuit brought by the Public Prosecutor’s office in Minas Gerais against SIGMA based on years of investigations and research. The suit alleged surrounding communities faced dust and noise pollution, that communities were extremely close to mining infrastructure and that blasting from mining operations were damaging homes. Sigma was initially ordered to pay almost $10M USD in compensation. However they appealed the judgement and won in a higher court. 

• In July, the Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente [State Environmental Foundation] (FEAM), Brazil’s environmental regulatory agency, ordered the suspension of operations in two mine pits and revoked three of SIGMA’s environmental licenses. The agency issued 16 citations. A field visit by the agency found that one of the waste rock piles had failed. The FEAM ordered Sigma stop operations. Sigma denied some of FEAM’s findings, but not all, agreed to pay US$540,000 in fines and to sign a corrective action agreement. Operations resumed in August. 

• In September, a judge ordered the suspension of Sigma’s environmental license stating an Afro-Descendant community in the area of impact of the mine was not considered in the permitting and did not give its Free, Prior and Informed consent for the project. SIGMA has not suspended operations and continues its mining activities, stating they haven’t received a court order. However, based on the judge’s ruling, the FEAM again suspended the company’s licenses and published the notification state register on September 24th. 

The allegations against Sigma don’t stop at the courts. In October of 2025, the Observatorio de Mineracao published an exclusive exposé where Sigma co-founder Calvyn Gardner, the ex-husband of the current CEO Ana Cabral, said employees of the mining company approached him and reported “urgent concerns” about the safety of operations in Minas Gerais. He claimed the company was not following its mining plan and highlighted risks associated with the possible collapse of pit walls. 

An Urgent Need for Climate Justice

Real climate leaders stand up for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, human rights and workers’ rights. They safeguard the environment and ensure a healthy future for local communities. This cannot happen with dirty mining. Sigma Lithium is an example of how a corporation can use the language of sustainability to attempt to hide the damage it does. Indigenous and traditional leaders who are speaking up to defend their communities from harm are examples for everyone in the climate movement. 

On Friday, protesters will call on Sigma to clean up its act, respect the rights of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, and stop greenwashing their operations. 

The post Sigma’s Dirty Mining Won’t Save Our Climate appeared first on Earthworks.

SUWA Files Lawsuit, Mining Claims Begin as Backlash Grows Over Attack on National Monuments

SUWA and Partners Sue Over Monument Reductions
On September 2, SUWA and longtime partners Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) jointly filed litigation in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC against Trump’s illegal reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments (Earthjustice is representing several other conservation groups in the case). We have asked the court to reopen our previous lawsuit against President Trump’s 2017 monument rollbacks (which was put on hold following President Biden’s restorations) and have updated the case to challenge both sets of illegal proclamations. Two additional coalitions also filed to reopen their litigation defending the monuments, and we expect Tribal Nations to file their own litigation soon.

First Mining Claims Filed on Lands Cut from Bears Ears
Lands cut from both national monuments became subject to mining claims on September 11 (60 days after Trump slashed them by 90%). By noon of that day, 16 new claims were filed on lands previously protected as part of Bears Ears National Monument, and another seven have been filed since. The 23 new claims are in three general areas: Lockhart Basin; Cheese and Raisins Hills near the old, reburied Easy Peasy Mine; and near Natural Bridges National Monument (see our press release). As of today, there have been no claims filed in Grand Staircase-Escalante.

SUWA is committed to defending both landscapes against new mining activity within the monuments’ original boundaries. Stay tuned for future updates.

Members of Congress Sign Letters Opposing Trump’s Actions
Earlier this month, 71 members of the U.S. House of Representatives signed onto Rep. Jared Huffman’s (D-CA-02) letter opposing the illegal reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears. A similar letter was signed by 37 senators in August, led by Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).

The letters argue that the Trump administration’s removal of national monument protections from nearly three million acres of public land threatens irreplaceable cultural, historical, ecological, and recreational resources and undermines the Antiquities Act. They also raise serious concerns about the lack of consultation with Tribal Nations and the termination of the Bears Ears Commission (composed of five Tribal Nations), which works collaboratively with federal agencies to manage and steward Bears Ears. 

New Poll Shows Two-Thirds of Utah Voters Support Restoration of Monuments
According to a recent poll conducted by public opinion research firm New Bridge Strategy, two-thirds of Utah voters say greater protections should be restored to all of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Additionally, 73% support the ability of presidents to protect public lands as national monuments, and 82% believe it’s important for Native American Tribes to have a strong role in managing public lands containing sacred or culturally significant sites. 

The survey is consistent with results from the firm’s 2024 poll, which revealed overwhelming support for both monuments. Yet Utah’s elected officials remain so completely out of touch with their constituents that they stood behind President Trump and applauded as he slashed the monuments’ boundaries by 90%.

Grand Staircase-Escalante Turns 30!
Amid the turmoil and uncertainty caused by Trump’s actions, it’s important that we pause to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Its original designation by President Bill Clinton on September 18, 1996 was the culmination of decades of grassroots action to protect this magnificent landscape from drilling, coal mining, and other threats. The first national monument to be managed by the Bureau of Land Management, it soon became world-renowned for its remarkable paleontological discoveries, stunning scenery, and diverse natural ecosystems. Though the entrance signs have been dismantled by the Trump administration, love for “the science monument” remains strong, and so does our resolve to see its protections fully restored.

Photo © Mark Teague

Deadline Alert: Submit Your Comments in Support of Quiet, Roadless Forests!

As part of its systematic dismantling of America’s public lands, the Trump administration is proposing to rescind or revise two separate rules that affect the health and safety of national forest lands nationwide. In Utah, this includes the important watersheds of the Manti-La Sal, Dixie, Fishlake, Ashley, and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule determines where off-road vehicles (ORVs) can travel across national forests and grasslands. The administration’s proposed revision places a heavy thumb on the scale to prioritize ORV use at the expense of all other uses and values, including the protection of wildlife, cultural sites, healthy streams, and the solitude of wild places. The deadline for submitting public comments is TODAY, Wednesday, September 23. Please tell the Forest Service to keep the Travel Management Rule intact!

A separate proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule puts nearly 45 million acres of roadless public land nationwide (including roughly 4 million acres of Forest Service land in Utah) at greater risk of logging, roadbuilding, mining, and other industrial development. The comment deadline for this one is Tuesday, October 6. Please tell the Forest Service to preserve the Roadless Rule!

Photo © Tim Peterson

Support Continues to Grow for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act

The latest cosponsors of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (HR 2467/S 1193) are Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI-1), Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT-At Large), Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL-2), and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA-2). If any of these legislators represent you, please thank them for their support! The full list of cosponsors in the 119th Congress can be found here.

America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act aims to permanently protect over 8 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Utah as federally designated wilderness. Congressional support for this visionary legislation provides a powerful counterweight to the political forces seeking to develop and privatize public lands in Utah. If your representative and/or senators have not signed onto the bill, please ask them to cosponsor today!

Photo © Ray Bloxham/SUWA

What We’ve Been Reading

We wanted to share with you some interesting perspectives on politics and public lands the SUWA staff has been reading (and listening to) lately.

• What Are We Doing to Our World of Wonder? – A New York Times Op-Ed on the Trump administration’s defanging of the Endangered Species Act by author and SUWA Board Member Emerita Terry Tempest Williams.
  
  
• What’s the Matter with Utah? How a state trapped by its own history became Congress’ most aggressive threat to public lands—and suddenly out of step with a changing conservative West – A Re:Public piece by freelance journalist Christopher Solomon.
  
  
• The quiet process that protects Utah’s heritage is under threat – A Salt Lake Tribune Op-Ed by Brandy Strand and Tina Hart, leaders of Preservation Utah and the Utah Professional Archaeological Council.
  
  
• On Common Ground: An American Inheritance – A podcast episode on the Trump administration’s public land giveaways, hosted by Bill Hedden (former executive director of the Grand Canyon Trust) and John Leshy (former Interior Department Solicitor).

The post September 2026 Redrock Report appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

This article What the climate movement can learn from organized labor was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

Climate activists engaged in nonviolent direct action are used to the rinse and repeat of arrest: handcuffs, short trip to jail, a misdemeanor charge and then release to friends for a post-action pizza dinner. Show up at court a few weeks later for a brief arraignment and wait for the case to be dismissed. Low drama.

That’s changed under Trump. From the Declare Emergency activists charged with felonies (for applying washable paint to the protective case around a Degas sculpture) to the Extinction Rebellion activists under investigation by an FBI terrorism task force (for undisclosed reasons), activists can no longer depend on walking away unscathed from direct actions. Multiple states have passed anti-protest laws since Trump was elected, increasing penalties imposed on activists. Grassroots action has a higher cost now. 

Simultaneously, with the gutting of the Inflation Reduction Act and its attendant tax credits for clean energy investment, the federal path to climate action is blocked. And local wins, while important, cannot surmount the incredible rollbacks happening at the federal level, as Sunrise Movement Executive Director Aru Shiney-Ajay recently pointed out. 

Indeed, the U.S. climate movement is in deep trouble. If all that weren’t enough, the climate crisis is no longer top of mind for many on the left, especially with the rising authoritarian threat and the focus on affordability. With civil disobedience demanding greater risk, traditional policy advocacy for climate action at the federal level closed off and public attention turned elsewhere, what tactics do we in the climate movement have left?

What’s left is deep engagement with the labor movement — its members and its tactics. 

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Organized labor has a broad base, a track record of major wins and the power to shut down the economy. And make no mistake: Economic leverage is a necessary ingredient in the struggle to bring down companies as profitable as those in the fossil fuel industry. 

Climate activists have relied heavily on tactics of protest and persuasion (see Gene Sharp’s categories), underinvesting in tactics of economic noncooperation. While the environmental movement has a history of consumer boycotts, there have been fewer instances of work stoppages or rent strikes. The climate groups that do engage in symbolic work and school stoppages (most famously, Fridays for the Future), have mostly been confined to students and are largely to make a political statement rather than a strategic attempt to gain concrete concessions from a specific target. 

Strategically aligning workers with a rapid energy transition not only broadens the coalition needed to win durable policy victories, but builds power with a movement versed in strikes, walkouts, slowdowns and other forms of economic disruption. (Not to mention a bevy of tools like community benefit agreements and co-enforcement to promote follow-through on corporate environmental promises.)

Labor-climate alliances go back decades (see Blue Green Alliance, Climate Jobs National Resource Center and Labor Network for Sustainability), and unions have long advocated for a just transition that supports workers employed in polluting industries. But in the current political environment, we need these relationships to be stronger than ever.  

One major opportunity for the climate movement is the May Day Strong coalition, which brings labor and community groups together to organize mass strikes and make big demands for systemic change. The coalition’s demands don’t yet include climate, but the climate movement can still organize with them to learn nonparticipation tactics and build solidarity toward a broad base that sees climate, anti-authoritarianism and affordability as one united fight. 

Lessons from labor 

Think about the situation at your job. Workplaces are pretty authoritarian: the leader doesn’t care much for the input of the people on the shop floor, and what the leader says goes. If someone gets hurt, let the government step in to help them. As unions teach us, for a group of workers to extract real concessions from a profit-maximizing boss requires building enough power among workers to shut the workplace down (or at least threaten to do so). 

The same dynamic is true of the fossil fuel regime and the general public. The fact is that fossil fuel companies operate with little accountability to the public they endanger through their greed, harming the many for the enrichment of the few. By thinking of them as essentially authoritarian, we can focus on how to weaken their pillars of support so as to bring about their collapse (per Gene Sharp). In the face of fossil fuel oligarchs who operate without checks and balances, a worker-inclusive climate movement capable of strategic noncooperation offers the most viable path to transformative change in the current political landscape. 

Pillars to target might include shareholders, frontline workers, the regulatory landscape, physical infrastructure and institutional investors. Some of this can be done in direct partnership with unions and workers (which I’ll explore more in another piece). Concentrating on a specific choke point like port logistics or oil refining can paralyze supply chains, amplifying our impact. Sectoral strikes within these industries are also powerful, making building common cause with their workers paramount. Strikes by public-sector workers like teachers also carry a heavy punch (though they are only legal in about a dozen states and typically only when a contract has expired). 

Identifying the demand, as well as the target, is key to such acts of noncooperation. Strikes targeting companies can include demands for corporate investment in public infrastructure, on-the-job retraining, environmental audits or electrification of the supply chain. Strikes by municipal workers can include demands to divest pensions from fossil fuel companies, electrify public transit, retrofit publicly owned properties, pass heat safety mandates or clarify protocols for workers responding to climate disasters. Some of this is already happening through existing climate-labor alliances. Winning more campaigns like these would weaken the fossil fuel regime’s pillars of support by targeting the physical infrastructure, financial systems and legal regulations that enable it to continue wrecking the planet.

In addition to weakening the pillars of support, other indicators of a campaign’s success include increasing popular engagement and enhancing the capacity of the movement to escalate further (by bringing in more organizers, developing replicable tactics, etc.). The tactic of economic noncooperation can deliver all three.

But if we are serious about making a real dent in emissions, we need to target the federal government. The fossil fuel industry is so profitable and so powerful that it will likely require a major policy intervention to curb its rapacious behavior. The Inflation Reduction Act was a step in the right direction, but our movement was unprepared to exert the leverage needed to protect it from an unfriendly administration. That kind of leverage comes from bringing the economy to a standstill. 

Almost all of us are workers (and customers, renters, borrowers, etc.), and all of us rely on a functioning planet to live. So what would happen if we simultaneously stopped? Didn’t show up at work for a few days, and didn’t buy anything? This would take massive preparation and coordination of course, but the impact would grind the economy to a halt. No bus drivers, no teachers, no bank tellers, nothing being built or sold. This is what is known as a social strike –— a mass action by an entire population.

Carbon emissions might briefly drop, but the impact of a strike reaches beyond a single day. The United Auto Workers’ use of the “rolling strike” to win big concessions from the nation’s three largest automakers shows the power a movement wields when it can credibly threaten to strike anywhere, at any time, in enormous numbers. Just as runaway capitalism caused the climate crisis, it has also constructed an economy that would be hobbled by mass work stoppages and consumer boycotts. 

This is a tall order, to be sure. Even the labor movement’s use of work stoppages has declined over the past 40 to 50 years due to national policy change, employer opposition campaigns, the collapse of union membership and deindustrialization. But recent years have seen an upsurge of interest in unions, increased organizing and heightened class consciousness — suggesting a renewed opening for organizing workers and showcasing their power. 

Previous Coverage

The People’s Climate March was a convergence of stories

And the climate movement has turned out en masse in the past; by some estimates, the 2014 People’s Climate March turned out 400,000 people. Imagine the number that will turn out after a historic El Niño cycle and four years of federal incompetence. Now imagine if that number of people — rather than flying to New York City and marching — all stayed home for a week. No shopping, no selling, no driving, no working. 

Social strikes are rare and tough to pull off, but we saw a stirring example of their power in Minnesota this year. Roughly 25 percent of voters in the state either participated in the day-long strike or had a loved one who did. 

For community members and workers across industries to participate in a nationwide social strike would take years of organizing. That’s why we need to start planning now. 

The power of relationships

To engage broader swaths of the population, we need to build a bigger tent. Here the labor movement provides valuable wisdom. A helpful distinction that organizers often make is between our base and our allies. Our base shares our values but not necessarily every demand, while our allies share a specific demand but not necessarily all our values. 

The climate movement’s base is made up of environmental activists, while our allies come from a wide variety of backgrounds including faith communities, student groups, human rights activists, lawyers, Indigenous groups, politicians, scientists, renewable energy companies and more. Anyone may have kids in public schools that are struggling with rising utility costs; they may rent an apartment in a complex with crumbling infrastructure; they may be part of a religious community that emphasizes responsibility for creation; they may be active with a political party that values outdoor recreation and fiscal responsibility. 

These identities and memberships are valuable when we recognize that we do not need to agree on every issue in order to share some common self-interest and cooperate on a specific campaign. What enables us to continue to take coordinated action with our allies is a commitment to continued relationship building rather than shutting each other down for divergencies in viewpoints. Here climate can take a page from Saul Alinsky, who advocated for sidestepping ideological landmines and focusing on concrete issues that make a difference to real peoples’ lives. 

In the current political climate, organizing based on shared self-interest is the only way forward. Families are struggling to pay the bills, and calls to deprioritize climate messaging in favor of an affordability frame are mounting. (Even Democrats are engaged in “climate hushing.”) We need a coalition broad enough to fight for both a living wage and a livable planet. Relational organizing based in self-interest is the way to build that. In his book “People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal,” Marshall Ganz explains that “relationships grow out of the realization of mutual benefit, the creation of shared value, and the commitment to a shared future.” Organizing to save our planet checks all three boxes. 

In a labor campaign, relational organizing relies on the identification of organic leaders, training the leaders to recruit other workers, the workers agreeing on issues and then engaging in increasingly challenging structure tests — smaller actions that build organization and faith in each other. The bonds built between the workers through these tests are the basis for future organizing. In her book “No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age,” Jane McAlevey spoke to the interaction between risky actions and building strong relationships. “[F]or workers to win substantial gains, the strike weapon is essential. … Transformational experiences come through high-risk collective action,” she wrote. Those transformational experiences tighten the bonds holding the group together and facilitate political education.

Previous Coverage

The data center fight is going global

Relationship building is also important for climate groups. Organizations like the Sunrise Movement or Fridays for the Future rely heavily on peer-to-peer organizing and one-on-one conversations. Incoming activists are given real responsibilities and opportunities to guide campaigns. And campaigns against specific pipelines or other pieces of fossil fuel infrastructure tap into preexisting community networks (like neighborhood groups, Indigenous communities and faith congregations), growing stronger by building alignment around a common demand. 

What the climate movement needs now is to expand those networks to include communities that we may not see as natural partners. These diverse coalitions are prominent in local struggles against data centers that engage disparate groups such as farmers, parents, IT professionals, local businesses, sports clubs and more. We need to make sure they include workers across sectors, too. 

The fulcrum

The ramp-up to May Day 2028 offers a prime opportunity for the climate movement to build powerful relationships with labor groups, while at the same time engaging in structure tests toward a social strike making climate demands upon the federal government.

After the United Auto Workers, or UAW, won their successful September 2023 sit-down strike (winning wage increases, job security and the inclusion of electric vehicle plants into existing contracts), they began building for more. The union called for locals across different sectors and unions to strategically align their contracts to expire on April 30, 2028, so workers can strike on May Day, the international worker’s day (rather than run the risk of an unauthorized “wildcat” strike). When different unions align their contracts in this way, they have more leverage than if one union acted alone. The May Day 2028 demands are not yet set, and the UAW’s goal is broad: “to create a crisis for the billionaire class to win more for all of us.”

Given low union density, even 2028 contract alignments by the UAW (and possibly the American Federation of Teachers and other unions) would have limited impact without community support. Even if some workers couldn’t walk off the job in a general strike (such as those covered by a current contract, precariously employed or unable to afford taking time off), they could still participate by not buying anything, calling in sick, engaging in a slowdown, working to rule, showing up to picket lines or rallies while off work, supporting striking workers with donations or sharing strike demands on social media. 

That’s the idea behind May Day Strong — a labor-community coalition that deploys economic noncooperation to demand taxing the rich, protecting the vote, reining in ICE and expanding democracy. May Day Strong explicitly organizes community members who do not belong to unions, thereby building a broader community-labor coalition. On May Day 2026, they coordinated one of the most widespread May 1 actions in U.S. history. Right now, they’re focused on solidarity schools and local actions, like support for an Indiana community that lost power during a series of storms due to the local utility company’s alleged malfeasance. Ultimately, they are ramping up to a nationwide action on May Day 2028. 

Demonstrators with May Day Strong march into downtown Chicago under the banner “Workers Over Billionaires” on May 1, 2026. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The coalition includes many climate groups, like Climate Defenders, Extinction Rebellion, the Climate Museum, the Sunrise Movement, and more. But the coalition’s affordability agenda contains not a single mention of climate change. Given the presence of climate organizations in the coalition, that could change, depending on the power that climate-focused coalition members bring to the table. 

Regardless, May Day Strong represents an opportunity for the climate movement to engage in deep relationship building, both with union and nonunion workers, and to build strike-ready capacity. It offers a chance for the climate movement to stand in solidarity with unions and with working people, in a show of good faith. If the climate movement shows up for organized labor in 2028 — and the year and a half of organizing that precedes it — strong relationships will be built.

That means participating in structure tests so the strike muscle is strong and practiced when the time comes to use it. Climate activists should commit to deeper engagement with May Day Strong, attending trainings, turning out for May Day and Labor Day actions and advocating for the inclusion of climate demands in the platform. Climate activists should also show up for workers anywhere they are on the picket line, finding common cause against the billionaire elite who threaten us all. 

None of this is to suggest that the climate movement should stop organizing for local climate policies. Local decarbonization and climate resiliency remain key battlegrounds. But in the face of overt hostility to national climate policies that encourage job growth while protecting our planet, we must also expand our tactics.  

Noncooperation has been underleveraged in the climate movement, and we now have a chance to learn the tactic from organized labor while expanding our base. The time is ripe for these efforts. Broad coalitions are being built to oppose the authoritarian takeover, but the climate movement has found itself on the periphery. Despite the urgency of threats to our democracy, we cannot overlook the escalating threat to our planet. Engaging more deeply with May Day Strong allows the climate movement to drive home how the pillaging of our planet goes hand in hand with efforts to squash dissent and dismantle democracy. The climate movement cannot afford to wait until other threats are resolved. When the next “natural” disaster inevitably comes, the climate movement needs to be strike ready. 

Where we go from here

By using May Day 2028 as a structure test, the climate movement can build capacity for a later date of climate noncooperation. Possible demands might include asking the president to declare a climate emergency or pass an executive order reinstating certain Inflation Reduction Act provisions. The important thing is to make a clear demand that can feasibly be granted by the specific target; in Minnesota, it was simple: “ICE out.” 

Significantly, this tactic could be effective regardless of the party in power. The concepts of the pillars of support and Erica Chenoweth’s rule of 3.5 percent (the principle that movements have historically succeeded when they engage 3.5 percent of the population in sustained nonviolent action), both come from the literature on civil resistance to authoritarianism, so they do not depend on a functioning democracy. Furthermore, both parties rely on the economy functioning normally and would face significant public pressure if essential workers like teachers and janitors stayed home. Economic noncooperation — including, but not limited to strikes — has the benefit of being legal (for workers not covered by a contract with a no-strike clause). And if the climate movement keeps showing up for our allies in labor, we signal to all presidential candidates in 2028 that we will not be hushed. 

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Even in this time of movement winter, climate activists don’t have the luxury of despair. With heightened danger from climate chaos and increased political hostility towards climate activists, the stakes have never been higher for our movement and our planet. 

But there is opportunity here, too. 

With the upsurge of interest in unions, increased organizing, the narrative focus on affordability, historic polarization and heightened class consciousness, the public is ready to be organized as never before. By organizing workers across sectors and engaging in economic noncooperation, we weaken the political and financial pillars of support for the fossil fuel regime, thereby hastening its eventual collapse. That moment can’t come soon enough.

This article What the climate movement can learn from organized labor was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

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When Jason Zabokrtsky first paddled Minnesota’s Boundary Waters in 1997, he was stunned by a vast wilderness. “It was powerful to see that there were still places like this in the world,” says...

A black bear visited Ethan Tapper’s orchard in the foothills of Vermont’s Green Mountains this spring. It grabbed a young pear tree, bit down, and ripped the trunk in half. Days after Tapper cut...

The Deep Geothermal Roadmap consultative session has now begun, and the Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition is meeting and working with representatives of industry, government, and Indigenous groups to develop a strategy for launching geothermal energy in Canada.

The Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition, with the Cascade Institute acting as Secretariat, is developing this first-ever roadmap for geothermal development in Canada with funding support from Natural Resources Canada.

The Coalition seeks to create the conditions for Canada to develop geothermal projects at home and compete in a rapidly growing global market. To realize this, the Coalition will conduct an in-depth analysis of the most pressing challenges and opportunities. To do this, four working groups will address the following areas:

• Technology: Working group members will provide an overview of technology available to optimize geothermal energy extraction, and identify priorities for R&D, including drilling innovation, surface technologies, and reservoir characterization.
• Finance: This working group will assess how to improve the bankability of projects, reducing financial risks for both private and public investors. The working group will assess existing Canadian financing structures and risk-sharing mechanisms as well as successful international examples.
• Communities: This working group will identify how geothermal projects can earn social support and deliver direct-use benefits for Canadian communities. It will lead Indigenous engagement, co-ownership, and benefit-sharing approaches, and address environmental risks—including water use and induced seismicity—that affect social license.
• Competitiveness: Participants in this working group will identify the market segments and regional strengths Canadian companies should prioritize, including opportunities for Indigenous collaboration. It will also address intellectual property considerations and assess Canada’s regulatory readiness for geothermal development.

The Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition is grateful to all the industry experts, company leaders, geothermal advocates, and Indigenous leaders who have generously volunteered their time to help shape this document, and shape the future of geothermal in Canada.

Alongside this project, the Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition will be working with outside organizations to undertake:

• A Global Market Assessment that will estimate the total emerging geothermal market. This market is rapidly expanding as firms and nations rush to electrify the supply of clean, reliable power needed to electrify existing industries and support new industries, such as AI.
• A Canadian Deployment Study will assess the role of geothermal energy in Canada’s energy future. By simulating how geothermal is adopted in Canada’s energy systems, we can understand how it can help to reduce energy prices, boost GDP and productivity, and mitigate climate change.
• A Supply Chain Analysis will assess Canada’s readiness to lead in geothermal development and expertise. The study will develop a detailed inventory of Canada’s globally competitive oil and gas sector to identify where Canada is best positioned to leverage those strengths to lead in rapidly growing geothermal markets.

“This Roadmap will be a geothermal strategy—built for Canada, by Canadians,” said Emily Smejkal, Policy Lead with the Cascade Institute. “It will centre Canadian expertise and challenges, with participation from industry, government, and Indigenous Peoples.”

The Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition aims to deliver the full roadmap by the end of 2027.

The Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition, launched in 2025, includes industry, Indigenous organizations, communities, academia, government, and other stakeholders. The Canadian Deep Geothermal Coalition, with the Cascade Institute acting as Secretariat, will lead the development of the roadmap.

For more information on the Roadmap or Cascade’s work in support of it or to arrange interviews, please contact Jax Jacobsen at jax@cascadeinstitute.org.

The post Working groups begin drafting Deep Geothermal Roadmap appeared first on Cascade Institute.

Announcing our New Mexico premiere!

 

Dear friends,

After learning this weekend that burn, scar took home the “Best Documentary Feature” award at the Kansas City International Film Festival, we’re back with even more good news– burn, scar will have its New Mexico premiere at the Santa Fe International Film Festival on October 15th!

Tickets will go on sale 9/25 here; get yours before they’re gone!

We’ll be releasing a trailer for the film & announcing more local screenings in the next couple of weeks as well– stay tuned!

With deep appreciation and anticipation,

Hillary + the burn, scar team

The UN has rallied behind plans to accelerate investment in electricity infrastructure in Africa and Southeast Asia, boosting efforts to tackle one of the biggest bottlenecks holding back the shift to clean energy.

UN boss António Guterres launched the Global Grids Accelerator on the sidelines of the UN Climate Summit in New York on Wednesday. The initiative aims to turn government plans to expand and modernise grids into investment-ready projects and bring together the expertise, finance and support needed to build them.

Guterres said the accelerator will help countries build “the arteries of the energy transition” to expand energy access, strengthen energy security and power growth in developing countries.

The initiative will not create a new financing institution, the UN said, and no additional funding to boost grid upgrades was announced. Instead, it will act as a broker by bringing together UN agencies, development banks, investors and utilities around grid priorities identified by governments.

Renewable energy deployment is happening at record speed but the infrastructure required to move clean electricity from where it is generated to consumers is not keeping pace. As a result, record amounts of green electricity that cannot be absorbed by the grid are being wasted.

In addition, more than 2,500 GW of renewable projects – nearly twice the electricity generation capacity of the US – are currently stuck in queues worldwide, waiting to connect to the grid, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

• Aug 5, 2026 Clean Energy Frontier Southeast Asia’s fragile grids threaten billions in clean energy investment Renewables developers need reliable electricity infrastructure and stable policies to help the region meet climate goals and surging demand for power Read more
• Sep 22, 2026 News COP31 electrification pledge leaves out clean power commitment Campaigners and experts say the goal’s effectiveness in reducing emissions may be limited unless countries agree to meet it using only clean energy Read more
• Sep 21, 2026 News COP31 presidency announces AI pledge as UN climate chief says Big Tech ‘on thin ice’ Turkish minister Murat Kurum said AI companies should be transparent about their energy use and power their data centres with clean energy Read more

Grid bottlenecks

To meet global climate goals and cut emissions from fossil fuels, electricity demand needs to grow orders of magnitude faster in the next decade than it did in the last. The COP31 presidency has called on governments to endorse a pledge to raise electricity’s share of final energy consumption from 23% today to 35% by 2035.

Grids are essential to support this surge in electricity demand as sectors such as transport, heating and cooling electrify.

The lack of adequate infrastructure to transport electricity can have a major negative impact on economic development by delaying new power generation, slowing down efforts to expand access to electricity and hampering industrial growth.

In contrast, strong grids can help countries connect their renewable energy potential to surging power demand, strengthen energy security and support new industries and job creation.

Electricity pylons in Kibuye, Rwanda (Photo by Luke Dray/Getty Images)

Meeting national climate goals requires adding or refurbishing more than 80 million kilometres of grids by 2040 – equivalent to roughly the size of today’s entire global network, according to the IEA. Technologies can also help increase the capacity of existing grid infrastructure. The watchdog estimates that annual grid investments need to increase by around 50% by 2030 to meet growing electricity demand.

The IEA has warned that the mismatch between the time it takes to build new power grids – 5 to 15 years – and the much faster buildout of renewable projects, EV charging infrastructure or data centres, makes upgrading grids an urgent task to prevent slowing down the energy transition.

Matching expertise and finance to projects

At COP29 in 2024, more than 60 countries committed to collectively build more than 25 million kilometres of additional grid infrastructure by 2030.

But a key barrier is turning long-term and often complex plans to overhaul electricity infrastructure into viable projects that can be matched to funding.

The accelerator aims to bring together expertise from across the UN system to support countries navigate this fragmented landscape and access the financing they need.

In Africa, the accelerator will focus on delivering national priorities to expand grid infrastructure and regional interconnections to expand access to reliable and affordable electricity. It will build on existing initiatives such as Mission 300, which aims to connect 300 million Africans to electricity by 2030.

In Southeast Asia, the accelerator will support initiatives such as the ASEAN Power Grid, which aims to connect different countries’ electricity networks and enable cross-border power trading to meet growing power demand and boost energy security.

Across the region, inadequate grids are threatening billions of dollars in clean energy investment. The lack of grid capacity is part of the reason about 50% to 60% of renewable energy projects in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were cancelled or stalled between 2021 and 2025.

Alexander De Croo, the administrator of UNDP, said making grids projects investable must be a priority, noting that grids require a big upfront investment but deliver “a stable return over the long-term”.

The post UN backs push to upgrade grids slowing clean power uptake in Africa and SE Asia appeared first on Climate Home News.

The Interior department is blocking 133 National Park Service agreements with outside partners, holding up $25.9 million in funding for parks. These blocked agreements are available to view in a new interactive map from the Center for Western Priorities. Each agreement on the map lists the park or office that requested it, the partner that would have done the work, the dollar amount, and the National Park Service’s own written statement of what disapproval means for that site.

Interior disapproved 140 agreements on August 7 at 61 parks, offices, and programs in all seven National Park Service regions, as the Washington Post reported earlier this month. A handful have since been appealed, and 133 remain disapproved. The work they would have funded includes fire preparedness, hazardous tree removal, archaeological surveys, endangered species recovery, trail crews, and seasonal staffing.

Parks and their partners had already secured the money through congressional appropriations, existing federal programs, and internal funding. Interior’s review was the final step before the agreements could be signed and the money released. Interior told the Washington Post it had disapproved agreements with groups “actively working against the best interests of the American people and the priorities of this administration.” NPS staff reported they received no explanation beyond a note in the records reading “Disapproved by DOI.”

“Every one of these projects had its funding secured, and parks were counting on the work getting done. Blocking these agreements did not save a dollar. It pushed the work down the road and likely made it even more costly in the future,” said Kate Groetzinger, Center for Western Priorities communications director. “At Joshua Tree, for example, national park staff wrote that without approval for their projects, wildfires there will be larger and cost more to fight.”

Interior plans National Park Service overhaul

The Interior department’s reorganization of the National Park Service could begin rolling out in phases before the end of the year, according to internal draft documents viewed by Politico and previously reported on by the Washington Sun. The plan would reorganize parks into “hubs,” with senior officials overseeing construction, visitor services, cultural resources, and science for surrounding “spoke” parks. Leaked documents released by Wes Siler‘s Newsletter earlier this week show it would eliminate the agency’s seven regional directors and roughly 1,100 management positions. The draft documents say the changes will not require layoffs “at least in the short term.”

Quick hits Two decades of travel management decisions on verge of reversal

Grist | Mountain Journal | More Than Just Parks [map]

Two pilots killed in helicopter crash while fighting Yosemite wildfire

New York Times | Wildfire Today | The Guardian | Fox Weather | ABC30

Inside the long and deliberate collapse of America’s public land funding

Outdoor Life

Nevada is suing over Colorado River regulations. There could be impacts for Colorado

Colorado Sun

Scientists link fossil fuel producers to the West’s worsening water shortages

Yale Climate Connections

US judge declines to block transfer of wildlife refuge land to SpaceX

The Guardian | Border Report

Opinion: It’s time to engage

RE:PUBLIC

Poll shows majority of Arizonans are against eliminating national monument lands

KTAR

Quote of the day

The budgets that are being put forward, along with the DOGEing that happened to our public land employees — that is being done to break the agencies. These aren’t normal cuts. These are drastic cuts.”

—Land Tawney, co-chair of American Hunters & Anglers, Outdoor Life

Picture This
@nationalparkservice

It’s fall y’all!

The leaves are changing, temperatures are cooling (not for everyone, we know), and somewhere in the distance, you can already hear the faint, unmistakable strains of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” being defrosted from its annual cryogenic chamber.

Wait. Hold up. Give fall its due! As of today, in fact. It’s the official first day of fall, otherwise known as the autumnal equinox, the yearly occasion when humanity briefly remembers that the Earth is, in fact, tilted.

Fall is a great time to experience our national parks. The trees put on a spectacular display of color, the air gets crisp, and Fat Bear Week kicks off, giving us the rare opportunity to celebrate bears for doing what bears do best: eating an alarming amount of food and preparing for winter.

Not a fan of fall? That’s okay. Just three months until winter.

NPS Photos

Featured photo: Disapproved National Park Service agreements interactive map, Center for Western Priorities

The post New map tracks $25.9 million in NPS projects blocked by Trump administration appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

NC Governor Stein must stop the backroom scheming and lead a moratorium on data centers

NC WARN is calling a flagrant foul against corporate polluters – and state officials – for their use of persistent secrecy and deception in the targeting of communities across North Carolina for noxious data centers and fracked-gas pipelines.

Across the state, data center developers and Duke Energy continue using various tools of secrecy and influence to gain support from local leaders for unwanted projects before the public learns of the plans. Even after basic disclosure, the full extent of negative community impacts remains hidden by those operating in the shadows. 

In a letter sent today, NC WARN repeats our June 25 call for Governor Josh Stein to stop Duke Energy from recruiting data centers and to lead a moratorium on new ones. It’s clear that his silence indicates the odious, backroom deal-making continues – and almost surely includes state officials and tax money. 

NEW POWER PLANTS TOO

We also told Stein today that many communities targeted for data centers will also be saddled with new power plants built next to the energy-hogging data centers, thus forcing them to bear the significant health burdens of fossil fuel power generation.

Stein must immediately stop Duke Energy from continuing to recruit data centers, which the climate-wrecking corporation uses to justify the largest planned fossil fuel expansion in the US, causing power bills and climate pollution to soar for years. The Governor must also demand a statewide moratorium on new data centers – as called for by a state regulator’s expert in June.

Data center developments have faced well-deserved backlash from communities across the state and nation due to their massive power and water usage, air, water and noise pollution, economic burdens on the public and low job production, among the many factors. Nationally, concerns mount about AI’s role enhancing government-corporate surveillance and war-making.

One of the emerging deceptions is that data centers would pay for new power generation built by Duke Energy. Indications are that Duke leaders are scheming to quietly rebate any upfront costs paid by data center owners, thus forcing even more rate hikes onto other monopoly-captive customers.  

North Carolinians are being cheated, and our Governor must demand that it stop.  

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Now in its 38th year, NC WARN is building people power in the climate and energy justice movement to persuade or require Charlotte-based Duke Energy – one of the world’s largest climate polluters – to make a quick transition to renewable, affordable power generation and energy efficiency in order to avert climate tipping points and ongoing rate hikes.

The post Flagrant Foul Called Against Polluters and State Officials Pushing Secretive Data Centers, Pipelines – and Power Plants — NC WARN News Release appeared first on NC WARN.

This summer, America’s national debt crossed the $40 trillion mark—a grim milestone that put an exclamation point on the abject failure of DOGE, Elon Musk’s effort to reshape the federal government. This week, Tyler Hassen, the former oil executive who ran DOGE’s operation inside the Interior department, published a memoir of revisionist history titled Inside DOGE in which he tries to rehabilitate his and Musk’s image. But DOGE’s record is permanently written in scars across American landscapes and etched on the headstones of hundreds of thousands of children.

Hassen, who now runs a cleaning supply company that has pivoted to building AI data center infrastructure, concedes in the Wall Street Journal that DOGE never dented the national debt. “Did we achieve it? Of course not,” he writes, before dismissing critics as quibbling over the definition of savings and calling for a permanent DOGE housed in Congress. He cites a $215 billion savings tracker; POLITICO examined $32.7 billion of DOGE’s claimed contract savings and could verify only $1.4 billion.

The memoir does not mention that the National Park Service has lost roughly 4,000 permanent employees since DOGE’s arrival, about 24 percent of its permanent workforce; or that the U.S. Geological Survey fell from 8,400 employees to 6,800. Hassen defends the layoffs on the grounds that firing people is simply how capitalism operates. “It isn’t personal. It isn’t cruel,” he writes. Records obtained by E&E News show Interior spent $156.5 million on administrative leave between Trump’s second inauguration and the end of 2025, paying employees to stay home for months. That figure covers only the Office of the Secretary and excludes every Interior bureau.

Hassen at the White House, New York Post on X.com

Hassen closes his WSJ op-ed by invoking his five-year-old daughter and the debt she stands to inherit. He should sit her down and explain the rest of it: how his buyouts left taxpayers paying employees to sit at home and do nothing instead of protecting our public lands; that the federal government spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave in a single year, six times what it spent in 2023; that the debt passed $40 trillion on August 18, which made the number printed on his own book jacket obsolete five weeks before it shipped; and that he admits in print that none of it worked, and then asks for a chance to do it again.

Hassen should also explain the part that never shows up on a savings tracker. Independent modeling found DOGE’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development led to at least 750,000 deaths in the first year alone, most of them children. Yet Hassen complained to the Washington Post that the media treated “every reduction as a moral offense,” as if hundreds of thousands of dead children are an acceptable price to pay for imaginary savings.

Across America’s public lands, thousands of park rangers are gone. Hydrologists who measure what’s left in the Colorado River are gone. Scientists who protect imperiled species are gone. Tyler Hassen got paid for eleven months, then got a book deal, then got a job building data centers. Everyone else got the bill. He calls this moral and patriotic. Millions of Americans would choose a different word.

For more information, visit westernpriorities.org. Sign up for Look West to get daily public lands and energy news sent to your inbox, or subscribe to our podcast, The Landscape.

The post DOGE memoir skips the part where children died and taxpayers got ripped off appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) today introduced the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act — legislation to stop artificial intelligence (AI) oligarchs from building machines humans cannot control and to pause advanced AI development until we have put in place rigorous federal testing and oversight to ensure AI does not harm humanity.

“When you are racing towards a cliff, you don’t just ease up on the gas pedal. You hit the brakes. When the future of humanity is at stake, we cannot let a handful of Big Tech CEOs write their own rules,” Sanders said. “Scientists have been clear: AI is an existential threat to humanity. It must be treated as such. This legislation will permanently ban the development of artificial superintelligence and would put in place an immediate pause on advanced AI development until we have clear safety rules in place — developed by the most knowledgeable scientists in our country. Congress must act now before it is too late.”

“Experts are warning that AI superintelligence, wielded by the wrong humans or by rogue AI, could kill countless numbers of people. But Donald Trump says he wants to encourage it. Something has to change,” Casar said. “Our bill bans the development of artificial superintelligence and pushes for international agreements so that no one, anywhere, builds AI too powerful for humans to control. Furthermore, our bill would immediately halt other dangerous AI capabilities, such as the capacity to develop biochemical weapons, or the capacity for AI to develop new AI instead of humans.”

Over the past few months, we have learned that AI models can circumvent restrictions to hack into computers. We have learned they can create never-before-seen viruses. And we have learned they can automate research to build smarter AI. Even as the AI companies claim they recognize these dangers and want to slow down, they are racing ahead — investing hundreds of billions of dollars into a technology that nobody can fully predict or control. That is unacceptable. The Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act will protect humanity by:

• Banning Artificial Superintelligence. No person or entity may develop or deploy Artificial Superintelligence — an AI that exceeds human cognitive performance and capabilities across most domains, or has sufficient capabilities to destroy or disempower humanity, including by overthrowing the federal government.
• Pausing Advanced AI development until a new, federal AI regulatory body is up and running and has established clear rules and model review processes to ensure safe and secure development and deployment of AI.
• Establishing a new cabinet-level federal Department of Artificial Intelligence to safeguard the public from the dangers of artificial intelligence, including by enforcing a prohibition on artificial superintelligence. This department will be advised by the most knowledgeable scientists in our country to:
  • Monitor frontier AI systems at all stages of the lifecycle for dangerous capabilities.
  • Supervise the removal of dangerous capabilities like subverting shutdown commands or conducting unauthorized cyberattacks.
  • Supervise the destruction of artificial superintelligence.
• Setting penalties for any person or entity that attempts to violate or circumvent the pauses and prohibitions laid out in this bill. Entities shall be subject to the corporate death penalty, and persons shall be subject to not more than 20 years in prison, which is similar to existing penalties related to unlawfully developing nuclear weapons.
• Working to ban superintelligence around the world by setting the international policy of the United States to pursue international agreements, allied coordination, and policies such as export controls to prevent the development of artificial superintelligence anywhere in the world.

Read the bill text here.

Read a one-page summary here.

Read a section-by-section summary here.

The morning began just before sunrise with competing Great Horned Owls calling back and forth across Oliver Reservoir in the far southwest of the Nebraska panhandle. It was the first chilly fall-like...

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Wes Moore took positive steps to protect Marylanders from the harms of data centers with his executive order (EO) released today. In a press conference announcing the EO, the Governor spelled out five principles guiding the state’s criteria for considering data center projects, barred Maryland employees from entering into nondisclosure agreements with data center developers, and called on the General Assembly to repeal the sales and use tax exemption for data centers. However, the EO fails to establish a statewide moratorium on data center development, something county and municipal leaders have been seeking for months. It also contains no explicit clean energy requirements for data centers even as the global climate unravels. 

With 80 percent of Marylanders – including residents across red and blue regions – now living under some kind of temporary local ban or moratorium on data centers, leaders and activists across the state have been hoping Moore or the General Assembly would establish rigorous state-level guidance and leadership on this critical issue. At the top of that wish list is a multi-year state-level pause on new data center permits to allow true reform policies to be developed and take hold. Moore even told Punchbowl News last week that he would sign a moratorium bill from the General Assembly if it reached his desk in 2027.

Governor Moore’s executive order falls silent on this issue. Instead, his EO establishes the Maryland Data Center Accountability Task Force that must consider whether a data center project meets five principles: ratepayer and grid protections; economic benefits for Marylanders, including local hiring and union jobs; the preservation of community input, including no state preemption of local decisions; language around environmental protections, but no requirements for clean energy; and transparency and accountability, including the establishment of a public dashboard to track proposed projects and the commitments made by data center companies. Several of the outlined principles begin to address on-site pollution, rising energy bills associated with data center infrastructure and demand, and community impacts, but the principles are vague and leave the agencies with little direction and significant discretion. 

Also, with climate change impacts escalating across Maryland and the world, Governor Moore in his executive order, fails to require all new energy required from future data centers come from 100 percent clean power, a top priority of virtually every environmental group in the state. The EO directs the Task Force to look at the State’s climate commitments, but they are just one factor to be considered; the EO does not mandate adherence to the state’s climate goals or require data centers to run on clean energy. 

Brittany Baker, Maryland Director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN), issued the following statement:

“Governor Moore’s executive order takes several meaningful steps forward and the legislature will have to finish the task. Maryland communities confronting data center development speak in the language of bans and moratoriums. A statewide multi-year pause on data center development is the most logical next step.

“Given the deepening climate crisis, Gov. Moore and the General Assembly must explicitly require all new data centers run on 100% clean energy. Period. Full stop.

“A multi-year statewide pause on new data center approvals is needed until strong, enforceable protections for ratepayers, water, air, land, and the climate are fully in place. With scientists warning that the window to prevent the worst impacts of climate change is rapidly narrowing, Maryland should not lock itself into a new wave of massive energy demand and fossil-fuel infrastructure before those safeguards exist.”

CCAN is supportive of policy proposals to ensure that data centers pay for infrastructure they incentivize the incumbent utility to build, procure their own clean energy resources, ban nondisclosure agreements, eliminate by-right development, and close regulatory loopholes that allow diesel generation to escape compliance with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. 

CCAN is now calling on Marylanders to sign the petition for a statewide moratorium on new data center development. In addition, the group will be hosting “People Over Data Centers”- Maryland Action Summit on November 7 in Baltimore alongside Nature Forward. 

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Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) is the first grassroots organization dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the impacts and solutions associated with global warming in the Chesapeake Bay region. Founded in 2002, CCAN has been at the center of the fight for clean energy and wise climate policy in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. 

The post Gov. Moore’s Data Center Executive Order Takes Positive Steps But Fails to Embrace Moratorium and Clean Energy Mandate, Leaves Communities Vulnerable appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

A United Nations initiative to ensure everyone on earth is protected by a multi-hazard early warning system (MHEWS) “has made real progress” but “too many people are still left exposed,” according to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

Since Guterres launched the Early Warning Systems for All goal in 2022, the number of countries reporting that they have an MHEWS has increased from 113 to 136, the UN announced on Wednesday. Around 60 nations are still not covered 15 months ahead of the UN’s 2027 deadline.

“We must close the remaining gaps, reach every country, and ensure that by the end of 2027, every person on earth is protected”, outgoing UN chief Guterres said.

The UN said the largest gaps in coverage are mainly among the world’s least developed countries, small island developing states and fragile and conflict-affected nations. These countries are also among those hardest hit by climate change.

Guterres said that early warning systems “save lives, protect livelihoods and shield communities from disaster”, highlighting the Colombian Red Cross’s response to drought in June as an example.

At an event on the initiative in New York on Monday, Huw Beynon from the UN Disaster Risk Reduction Office said that the systems had helped during floods in Kenya last year and when recent cyclones hit Madagascar.

Jagan Chapagain, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said in a statement that “reaching more people with early warnings is a success worth celebrating”.

Simple warnings not enough

The Early Warning Systems for All initiative supports about 160 countries and 31 countries have developed national roadmaps to install early warning systems. But Beynon said that, while most countries have a MHEWS, most also report limited capacity. “So you might have a warning disseminated but it’s not leading to the right action,” he said.

Speaking alongside Beynon, Nepali climate negotiator Manjeet Dhakal gave a recent example of this. He said Nepali authorities had sent text messages to 600,000 people – including him – who were in, or had recently been in, an area where flooding was likely.

Residents walk along a muddy road following flash floods on August 27, 2026 in Trishuli, Nepal. (Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

The flood, caused by a glacial rock-ice collapse, swept through the valley at huge speed, with a wave at least 30 metres above the river, killing thousands. But the messages did not “articulate the magnitude of this disaster”, he said, adding “these are humans who have to craft that message and that scale of disaster has never [previously] occurred”. The Straits Times has reported that these messages did not say how fast or big the flood would be and were sent too late for many.

When heavy rainfall led to floods in the Spanish city of Valencia in 2024, some text messages with warnings were only sent out after flooding had started and did not give residents clear instructions of how to act, such as moving to higher floors and not driving. Many Valencians drowned in their cars or in the underground garages of their apartment blocks, according to official reports.

Remaining barriers

​Rohini Kohli, the UN Development Programme’s head of climate adaptation policy, told Monday’s New York event that a challenge for MHEWS in developing countries is a lack of foundational data.

This can include equipment to measure physical factors like rainfall, river levels and soil moisture or human factors like where peoples homes or power lines are located. The UN’s Systematic Observations Financing Facility is trying to bridge this “critical gap”, she said.

Another barrier, Kohli said, is that acting on early warnings is often the responsibility of local rather than national authorities and they need the capacity to respond in the right way. “Like most adaptation, local leadership has to be at the centre for design and delivery,” she said.

• Sep 23, 2026 Politics The response to Nepal’s disaster is a test for global climate institutions Nepal’s recent flash flood represents a shared emergency the world over, as more and more communities become victims to a climate crisis they did not create Read more
• Sep 22, 2026 Finance As loss and damage fund stalls, Nepal crowdfunds flood relief While the fund’s board continues to mull its request for $20 million, Nepal has raised nearly $90 million from individuals around the world Read more
• Sep 22, 2026 Energy UN chief urges countries to adopt fossil fuel transition plans with timelines In his last speech to the UN General Assembly, António Guterres for the first time called on every nation to deliver a plan to phase out coal, oil and gas while protecting workers Read more

The IFRC’s Chapagain said that as “warnings alone are not enough”, authorities should “invest in trusted local actors so that communities can turn information into action and become agents of their own resilience, not simply recipients of alerts. Early action is what makes early warnings work.”

Kohli added that a lack of finance was also a problem for developing countries. She cited the UN’s adaptation gap report, which found that developing countries will need well over $300 billion a year by 2035 to adapt to climate change while they are currently receiving less than a tenth of that figure.

In 2022, the World Meteorological Organisation estimated that meeting the early warning systems for all goal would require a total of $1.5 billion.

The post Despite “real progress”, third of countries still lack early warning systems appeared first on Climate Home News.