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Believe it or not, the United States used to be the cycling capital of the world. So how did we end up in the hellscape we’re in today?

In the most hotly anticipated crossover event since the Avengers joined forces with the Marvel Cinematic Universe — at least to niche urbanist YouTube nerds! — beloved content creators Climate Town and Not Just Bikes have finally teamed up.

With their powers combined, the two channels created the ultimate 30-minute explainer on how so much of America spiraled not just into car dependency, but into out-and-out hostility towards people on two wheels and any infrastructure that supports them.

But the story isn’t just about how our nation “morphed into a series of car countries with a country problem,” as Williams puts it. It’s also about anti-bike lane bias from some cyclists themselves, bizarre backlash from neighbors who literally compare new lanes to 9/11 and (gasp!) even a little hope for the future.

As always, bonus points if you spot the Streetsblog USA cameo.

Watch this video on YouTube.

• We’ve written a lot about how Tesla’s self-proclaimed “self-driving mode” still requires human attention. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is now questioning how a human driver can take control of a Cybercab with no pedals and no steering wheel. (Wall Street Journal)
• Transit officials are calling on Congress to restore transit funding that was cut by the recent continuing resolution for transportation. (Passenger Transport)
• The Trump administration is letting truckers drive 16 hours per day instead of the previous limit of 14. (Reuters)
• In big cities like Chicago and San Francisco, micromobility ridership is coming close to matching transit’s. (Government Technology)
• San Francisco residents who vote against a ballot initiative to slightly raise property taxes to fund Muni would likely see their property values drop as a result. (New York Post)
• A arbitrator awarded $40 million to the family of a woman who was run over and killed after being forced out of an Uber on a Los Angeles freeway. (ABC News)
• An Omaha pizzeria’s walk-in cooler broke, but the owner chose to blame its closure on streetcar construction. (WOWT)
• A dozen Pittsburgh bus routes will be detoured during construction of improvements to Smithfield Street. (Trib Live)
• Dallas is considering whether to let sidewalks be painted any which color, or combination thereof, in the face of a state directive banning “political signage” like rainbows. (KERA)
• If you like listening to baseball on the radio, as God intended, you’re in luck — Congress passed a bill to prevent automakers from removing AM radios from new vehicles (Jalopnik; Radio World). In all seriousness, though, AM radio remains essential for older people and those in rural areas with poor cellphone reception and internet access to hear about emergencies.
• Twenty years later, Seattle residents still fondly remember the original acronym for the light rail line that didn’t become the South Lake Union Trolley. (Axios)

A version of this article appeared on Street Stack and is republished with permission.

Recently, a righteous anger has been building inside me.

Longtime readers know I spent 8 years working in advertising before I became an urban planner. Turns out a liberal arts degree in cultural anthropology is suitable training for discovering what makes people tick, and exploiting it. For about one of those years, I aspired to be the sort of ad man who could sell ice in the winter and fire in hell. For the next seven, I increasingly felt that I was working grueling hours doing something dirty.

Today, I hate ads. I think they contribute nothing to society. I think the marketing industry has convinced a large swath of often quite smart, and occasionally genuinely creative people to grease the wheels of capital.

Let me make my bias clear from the start. I hate ads on TV; I hate them on my phone. But I really hate them in public places.

At the beginning of summer, I decided to use my AirPods and phone less during commutes. I try to be phone down, head up, ears and eyes open, to be more present in public spaces. For the first half of my commute, the results have been transformative. Bird chirps and snippets of conversation flow into my still-waking-up brain. I notice more without a podcast or song in my ear, and sometimes I create fully formed thoughts (gasp).

But then, I step into the subway, and it all goes to shit. Not because of the noise, or the dirt, or the crazies, but because of stuff like this:

Being somewhat off my phone has made me realize how much the subway is now like being physically inside a phone. I nearly crashed out one day sitting across from an endlessly looping Airbnb ad of a guy dancing across seven screens, aping the social media aesthetic I was explicitly trying to give my brain a break from.

Watch this video on YouTube.

But being forced to look at this slop has also revealed a shift — a shift I wanted to consider in its context.

About 130 years ago, the awkwardly named Associated Bill Posters Association adopted the “billboard” as the industry gold standard, consolidating itinerant flyers, hand-painted signs, and wheatpastes into a well-maintained stand that lived in a specific outdoor location. People have been complaining ever since. In a 1924 issue of Architectural Review, a writer noted that

There is no hour of waking life in which we are not besought, incited, or commanded to buy something of somebody. Our morning paper is full of it; our walk to the nearest car bristles with it; the transfer which we take blazons it … When the shades of night fall, a portentous heraldry of trade leaps in living fire from the darkness, exhorting us to drink Boozer’s Whisky or perish in our shame.

Reading Laura Baker’s excellent brief history of outdoor advertising,one learns that members of the Automobile Club of America organized billboard-removal drives to destroy ads on rural roads and civic groups like the City Club of Chicago lobbied for bans on ads on residential streets.

This ban, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1917, established a city’s right to restrict the location of advertising — but not, as many reformers wanted, the right to regulate the content of ads based on aesthetics. The groundwork was set for outdoor advertising’s explosion in the mid-20th century. From then until recently, advertising reflected and shaped a mass culture of middle-class households with General Electric appliances in the kitchen and Nabisco in the cupboards. 

With a broad audience, advertisers could conceptualize their trade as a sort of public service informing people about better lifestyles and products. This was also when the industry adopted the language of fine art, where ad-men became “art-directors” or “copy-writers” and ad companies segmented themselves into “art” departments and invented awards for “creativity.”

Outdoor advertising became popular art with aesthetic value. The poster was more powerful than the painting because many more people saw it, and in the increasing blankness of the industrial cityscape, it might be the only color and reading material on the average worker’s commute.

The marketers claimed to entertain and inform broad swaths of people. The critics said they were polluting the common spaces of the citizenry and tempting them with cigarettes and gambling.

What unified both proponents and critics of outdoor ads was a concern with “the masses.” Advertisers used to rely on a few, imprecise channels — radio, TV, and most imprecise of all, billboards — that tapped into a strong monoculture.

But today the monoculture is splintered, and we are a collection of niche interests sharing space temporarily in a subway. Ad “campaigns” are all about “targeting” and “precision” (the language of marketing borrows heavily from the language of war). In this era of Instagram ads algorithmically tailored to appeal to a few thousand viewers of a certain nail art channel, an outdoor ad has the precision of a 1000 pound bomb. 

And yet, outdoor ads seem to be multiplying. New York has long subsidized public transit with advertising. The MTA brought in $180 million from ads across its properties in 2025, up from $136 million in 2019. With Outfront, the MTA’s media partner, it has developed and installed a series of new formats, from illuminated billboards to digital displays running looping video.

Many of these formats copy the aesthetic we’ve seen on our phones and feeds for years: Quick cuts, in-your-face visuals, bright colors, scrolling text.

It’s also worth considering not just the format but the content of these ads, which are increasingly about tech or lifestyle products that are aimed at an infinitesimal number of subway riders — engineers at Google, hiring managers at financial institutions, wellness consumers of a specific peptide stack — but are nevertheless seen by thousands of people to whom they have no relevance.

This is a paradigm shift. Ads that were widely seen used to strive for mass appeal. Anyone could fall down at work and need to call Celino & Barnes. Now, ads that may still be seen by thousands are fine being relevant to only a small number of viewers. See if you belong in any of the audience segments Outfront Media promises to reach through its subway advertising. If you don’t, you’ll see the ads anyway. 

Using a subway ad to sell an AI trading agent to an “executive commuter” is like killing an ant with a shotgun. For anyone who’s not the intended target, the sense of disorientation and confusion might be part of the point. I have, after all, gotten so mad that I’ve written an entire post and shared pictures of ads with my subscribers. This is what those in the biz call “organic reach” — a funny term to use for the deeply inorganic process of creating mass marketing.

When I worked in advertising, we used to talk about the “bizarreness effect,” the psychological principle that strange or nonsensical things become distinctive because they present a problem for our brain to solve. A coworker once used this sentence as an example. “Dogs are not like other animals. Compared to tea kettles, they are much more red.”

Many subway ads now have the same effect. They are impossible to understand but somehow also impossible to ignore. How Outfront can claim the below is beyond me. I’m sorry, Cait, but you are a loser.

This is all pitched as a neccecity to maintain good service.

“Ad revenue is an incredibly important source of revenue for the MTA outside our farebox. Revenue sources like this are what help us keep fares low for customers, or those increases low year-over-year,” Mary John, the MTA’s director of commercial ventures, said in an interview with Gothamist. This is not all that different from the original concept of TV or radio ads as something we tolerate because it pays for what we actually want — we bring you the Knicks game or the hard-hitting journalism of Walter Cronkite every night for free, and in exchange you watch the Marlboro Man smoke for thirty seconds.

CBS used to be free, once you got a TV anyway. You paid for it with your attention. Now I pay through the nose to stream the Knicks, and guess what, there are still ads. We’re all paying twice, and when I ride the subway I feel like I’m paying thrice.

I’m an urban planner; I know $3 is far below the true cost of riding, and the MTA desperately needs more money to maintain and upgrade the world’s oldest subway system. And yet I feel cheated. I pay the ever-increasing fares; my taxes fund the MTA, and through my (tiny) 401k and mutual fund holdings, I’ve purchased its bonds. On the rare occasion I take a cab home, I now give it even more money through Congestion Pricing.

All this to an agency that (meaningful strides aside) is still riddled with financial inefficiencies. And yet I have to sit trapped in a subway car that feels built to annoy me.

I’m clearly not alone in my angst. The comedians Harris Alterman and Dave Ross have been pasting parody tech ads across stations. A few of them are almost too subtle. 

A study in Poland actually considered how much Warsaw residents would collectively pay not to see outdoor ads, and found it was between five and nine million euros a year depending on the size of reductions. Recently, I came across a parody(?) video for a “tunnel vision” device that could block out subway ads in your peripheral vision. The video’s creator, Jack Klein, also created a mountable screen that blocks out digital ads in train cars.

But I haven’t seen actions proposed for making any of this more bearable. Like the AI apocalypse or climate change, we seem resigned to a future where the subway rots our brains.

At the very least, I would love the MTA to set limits on motion and brightness in its ads consistent with growing science showing short-form video is harmful to our attention spans and cognitive abilities. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind banning digital displays altogether for anything other than transit info.

But what needs to change most is the idea that advertising is a sacred source of revenue for the MTA. $180 million dollars is a lot of money, but it’s a tiny fraction of the budget for an agency whose projects cost billions.

Smarter people than me have proposed new revenue or cost-saving measures for the agency. We could rely less on outside consultants, sell more air rights over stations, or increase the payroll mobility tax. Space given to ads could be used to expand the MTA’s excellent public art programs, which are increasingly drowned out by slop. 

History is littered with people who hated ads and lost. “In modern life…contemplation is almost a lost faculty.” Wrote the president of the Chicago Art Institute… in 1912.

But never forget: the subway is funded by you and me. A pleasant commute is not too much to ask for. And if nothing happens, I guess I’ll just put my AirPods back in.

Visual identity Logotype Available here. Colors Font types Headers font: Expletus Sans Body font: Open Sans

On September 16, 1982, Lebanese Phalange forces, led and protected by Israeli troops, entered Sabra and Shatila, where thousands of Palestinian refugees were located southwest of Beirut and slaughtered perhaps…

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 17 SEPTEMBER 2026 SLF-2007-060 The Sakhalin Papers L: The Exit — Shell Walks Away, Moscow Rewrites the Ownership and Sakhalin II Enters a New Era On 28 February 2022, Shell announced that it would leave Sakhalin II. Within weeks its directors had resigned from the venture and its managerial and technical personnel were being withdrawn. Then the legal structure itself changed. A Russian presidential decree transferred the project’s licences, rights and obligations from the Bermuda-incorporated Sakhalin Energy Investment Company into a newly created Russian company. Shell declined to join it. The Japanese shareholders stayed. More than four years later, Shell still records an interest in the old Bermuda company — and the financial and legal consequences of the exit remain the subject of litigation in Moscow.

1. Four days that changed Shell’s Russian strategy

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

Four days later, on 28 February, Shell plc announced that its Board intended to withdraw from its joint ventures with Gazprom and related Russian entities.

The announcement specifically included:

Shell’s 27.5% minus one share interest in Sakhalin II;

its 50% interest in Salym Petroleum Development;

the Gydan Energy venture;

and its involvement in Nord Stream 2.

Shell said the decision had been taken in response to the invasion and that it would work through the commercial and energy-supply consequences while complying with sanctions. (Shell)

This was the beginning of the end of Shell’s direct participation in Sakhalin II.

It was not yet the end of its legal interest.

2. Sakhalin II had been one of Shell’s most important Russian assets

At the time Shell announced its withdrawal, Sakhalin II was not a marginal investment.

It was a large integrated oil and gas development containing offshore production platforms, pipelines running the length of Sakhalin Island, an oil-export terminal and Russia’s first LNG plant.

Before the 2022 upheaval, ownership of the operating company was:

Gazprom — 50% plus one share

Shell — 27.5% minus one share

Mitsui — 12.5%

Mitsubishi — 10%

Shell had spent decades helping develop the project and remained a major technical participant even after Gazprom had acquired control in 2007. (Yahoo Finance)

The decision to leave therefore represented much more than the disposal of a passive financial holding.

It meant unwinding one of Shell’s longest and most technically significant relationships in Russia.

3. Shell widened the withdrawal eight days later

On 8 March 2022, Shell announced a broader phased withdrawal from Russian hydrocarbons.

The company said it intended to withdraw from Russian crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and LNG and would close its Russian service-station, aviation-fuel and lubricants operations.

The announcement came after Shell had faced criticism for purchasing a cargo of Russian crude oil after the invasion. Shell acknowledged that the purchase had been a mistake and said it would stop spot purchases of Russian crude. (Shell)

For Sakhalin II, however, the central problem was more complicated.

A petrol station can be sold.

A minority interest in a strategically important Russian LNG project governed by a production-sharing agreement is considerably harder to unwind.

4. Shell began withdrawing the people as well as the capital

Shell’s subsequent SEC filings provide unusually clear evidence of what happened inside the project.

The company states that, from 1 April 2022, it had lost significant influence over Sakhalin II.

Why?

Because Shell’s executive directors resigned and its managerial and technical personnel were withdrawn.

From that date, Shell stopped accounting for Sakhalin Energy as an associate under the equity method and instead treated the investment as a financial asset measured at fair value. (SEC)

Contemporaneous Bloomberg reporting independently recorded Shell withdrawing dozens of employees assigned to Sakhalin II during April. (Bloomberg)

The documentary sequence is therefore clear:

the Board announced the exit;

the directors left;

technical and managerial personnel were withdrawn;

and Shell formally concluded that it no longer exercised significant influence over the venture.

5. The financial hit arrived immediately

Shell’s first-quarter 2022 reporting recorded an impairment charge of:

US$1.614 billion

against the Sakhalin II investment.

Shell explained that the recoverable amount had been estimated principally by reference to risk-adjusted dividends declared from Sakhalin Energy’s 2021 results. (SEC)

This was not Shell’s total Russia-related charge.

Its 2022 annual accounts later recorded net pre-tax charges of US$4.170 billion associated with withdrawal from Russian oil and gas activities, including Sakhalin II, Nord Stream 2, Salym, Gydan and other Russian exposures.

The Sakhalin II impairment was one component of that larger total. (Shell)

That distinction matters.

The US$4.17 billion figure should not be presented as a Sakhalin II loss.

The authenticated accounting record attributes US$1.614 billion specifically to Sakhalin II.

6. Shell still received a dividend

Exit did not mean that every financial connection ceased immediately.

Reuters reported in July 2022 that Shell had received approximately US$165 million in April relating to Sakhalin Energy’s 2021 profits.

Shell explained that the dividend could be received because Sakhalin Energy Investment Company was incorporated in Bermuda. (euronews)

The payment illustrates the strange transitional position.

Shell had announced that it was leaving.

Its directors and personnel were being withdrawn.

The investment had been impaired.

Yet the existing corporate structure had not disappeared, and historical financial entitlements were still being processed.

That would change dramatically on 30 June.

7. Shell first tried to find a buyer

Before the Russian government changed the ownership structure, Shell was attempting a more conventional commercial exit.

Reuters reported on 26 May 2022 that Shell was in discussions with a consortium of Indian energy companies, including ONGC Videsh and GAIL, concerning a possible purchase of its 27.5% interest.

The same discussions reportedly included Shell’s long-term LNG and crude-oil arrangements connected with Sakhalin II.

Reuters stressed that any sale would require Moscow’s approval and that there was no certainty the negotiations would produce a transaction. (Business Standard)

This chronology is important.

Shell’s stated intention was to dispose of its interest.

It had begun looking for purchasers.

Then the Russian state changed the structure under which the project itself operated.

8. Presidential Decree No. 416

On 30 June 2022, President Vladimir Putin signed Decree No. 416, formally titled:

“On the application of special economic measures in the fuel and energy sector in connection with the unfriendly actions of certain foreign states and international organisations.”

The decree is an authenticated Russian legal instrument published through the official legal-information system. (Pravo Publication)

Its consequences for Sakhalin II were fundamental.

The rights and obligations of the existing Bermuda-incorporated Sakhalin Energy Investment Company were to be transferred to a newly created Russian limited liability company.

The project assets were to pass into Russian state ownership and be made available to the new entity.

Gazprom’s participation would continue.

The other shareholders would be required to decide whether they wished to participate in the new Russian company. (Yahoo Finance)

This was no longer a conventional corporate divestment process.

The state had rewritten the structure through which ownership and operation would continue.

9. Foreign shareholders had to apply to remain

Under the decree, the foreign shareholders were given a defined period in which to request equivalent interests in the replacement Russian entity.

The Russian government would then decide whether those requests should be approved.

If a foreign shareholder did not participate — or was not permitted to participate — the corresponding interest could be sold, with proceeds placed into a special account subject to the mechanisms established by the decree.

The decree also permitted claims for alleged damage connected with implementation of the production-sharing agreement to affect what might ultimately be paid. (Yahoo Finance)

That mechanism would eventually become extremely important for Shell.

Its consequences are still visible in Shell’s accounts and current Russian litigation.

10. What the decree did — and did not — establish

The nature of this document needs careful description.

Decree No. 416 was an executive act of the Russian presidency.

It was not a judgment issued after litigation between Shell and the Russian state.

The decree did not constitute a court finding that Shell had breached the Sakhalin II production-sharing agreement.

It did not determine damages against Shell.

It established a new legal structure and a mechanism for dealing with foreign shareholder interests.

Later Russian litigation would raise separate allegations about Shell’s conduct.

Those allegations should not be retrospectively treated as findings contained in the 2022 decree.

11. Shell’s chief executive said it was unlikely to join

On 28 July 2022, then chief executive Ben van Beurden publicly addressed the new structure.

He said it was “highly unlikely” that Shell would become a member of the Russian legal entity created to replace the old operator.

He said joining the new company would be inconsistent with Shell’s stated intention to leave Russia. (Interfax)

That position was later confirmed.

Shell did not take an interest in the replacement Russian operator.

The Japanese shareholders made a different decision.

12. Mitsui and Mitsubishi stayed

The contrast is significant.

Japan depended heavily on imported LNG, and Sakhalin II was an important source.

Mitsui and Mitsubishi therefore chose to seek equivalent stakes in the new Russian entity.

At the end of August 2022, the Russian government approved:

Mitsui’s 12.5% interest

and

Mitsubishi’s 10% interest

in the replacement operator. (Investing.com UK)

Reuters reported that the Japanese government had encouraged continued participation because of Sakhalin II’s importance to Japan’s energy security. (The Japan Times)

Three foreign shareholders had therefore faced essentially the same new structure.

Two chose continuity.

Shell chose exit.

13. The new operator was established

The replacement company, Sakhalin Energy LLC, was registered in Russia in August 2022 and took over operation of Sakhalin II.

Contemporaneous reporting records that customers also began receiving replacement LNG contracts from the new company.

Japanese utilities continued negotiating or renewing arrangements for Sakhalin II cargoes. (Investing.com)

Operationally, the project therefore continued.

Shell’s departure did not mean Sakhalin II ceased producing oil and LNG.

What changed was Shell’s relationship with it.

14. Shell’s LNG supply stopped

The separation became more tangible in the third quarter of 2022.

Shell’s annual accounts state that it still held two long-term LNG purchase contracts with Russian entities, but that a counterparty under one of those contracts stopped delivering cargoes during the third quarter.

Shell CFO Sinead Gorman subsequently confirmed that the affected contract concerned Sakhalin II. (Shell)

Thus by late 2022 Shell had lost not only management influence and participation in the new operating company.

It had also stopped receiving LNG under the relevant Sakhalin arrangement.

15. Shell objected to the transfer

Shell’s later public reporting makes another important point.

Although Shell declined to join the new Russian entity, that did not mean it accepted the extinguishment of every legal right associated with its original investment.

Its subsequent reporting stated that it objected to the transfer and reserved its rights.

This is reflected particularly clearly in Shell’s later description of the old company.

As recently as its 2025 Form 20-F, filed in March 2026, Shell stated that it still holds a 27.5% minus one share interest in Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd, the Bermuda entity.

Shell added that this entity “purportedly no longer holds any licences, rights and obligations in Sakhalin-2.” (SEC)

That wording is legally significant.

Shell’s old corporate interest did not simply vanish from its records.

What disappeared was the old company’s effective control of the Sakhalin II project.

16. A corporate shell after the operating assets moved

This creates an unusual corporate position.

Before June 2022:

Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd held the relevant project rights and operated Sakhalin II.

After the Russian decree:

those rights and obligations were transferred, under Russian law, to Sakhalin Energy LLC.

Shell declined to become a shareholder of that replacement Russian company.

Yet Shell continues to record ownership of its shares in the Bermuda-incorporated predecessor.

This distinction is essential to understanding later disputes.

Shell did not simply sell its original shares to Gazprom.

The operating project moved into a new legal vehicle.

Shell remained outside it.

17. The legal afterlife: Russia later sued Shell

The story did not end in 2022.

On 2 October 2024, Russia’s Prosecutor General filed proceedings in the Moscow Arbitration Court against eight Shell-group entities, including Shell plc and Shell Energy Europe Limited.

The case is identified in public legal databases as:

Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Russian Federation v Shell plc and others

Case No. A40-241354/2024. (ПРАВО.Ru)

Shell’s authenticated annual reporting describes what the Russian prosecutor is seeking.

According to Shell, the prosecutor alleges that Shell unlawfully abandoned support for Sakhalin Energy Investment Company.

The prosecutor also seeks approximately €1.5 billion from Shell Energy Europe for alleged unpaid gas deliveries during 2022.

And the claim seeks access to approximately 94 billion roubles said to have been reserved for Shell as compensation for its Sakhalin interest, so that those funds can be offset against part of the alleged debt. (SEC)

These are allegations in pending litigation.

They are not established findings of liability.

18. The proceedings remain unresolved in Shell’s latest annual report

The Moscow proceedings have been conducted behind closed doors, with participants citing confidential and commercially sensitive information.

Public reporting recorded repeated adjournments during 2025. (Interfax.ru)

Most importantly, Shell’s 2025 Annual Report and Accounts, published on 12 March 2026, still described the proceedings as ongoing.

Shell stated that it could not reliably estimate either the magnitude or timing of any potential obligation and said there remained substantial uncertainty regarding the eventual outcome. (Shell)

That is the most recent authenticated Shell position located for this instalment.

Accordingly, this archive does not treat the Russian prosecutor’s case as resolved.

19. The accounting record tells the story almost clinically

Corporate accounts often reveal major historical ruptures in remarkably unemotional language.

In Shell’s case the sequence appears as a set of accounting events:

February 2022: intention to exit.

First quarter 2022: US$1.614 billion Sakhalin II impairment.

1 April 2022: significant influence lost after directors resigned and staff withdrew.

Second quarter: dividend received and value reassessed.

30 June: Russian presidential decree transfers project rights to a new entity.

Third quarter: Sakhalin-linked LNG cargo deliveries cease.

Year end: Shell remains holder of an interest in the old Bermuda vehicle but no longer participates in the replacement operator. (Shell)

Behind those accounting entries lay the end of nearly three decades of Shell involvement in one of Russia’s most important international energy developments.

Documentary Findings

Established: Shell announced on 28 February 2022 that it intended to exit its 27.5%-minus-one-share Sakhalin II interest following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Shell)

Established: Shell recorded a US$1.614 billion impairment against the Sakhalin II investment in the first quarter of 2022. (SEC)

Established: Shell concluded that it lost significant influence over Sakhalin II from 1 April 2022 following resignation of its executive directors and withdrawal of managerial and technical staff. (SEC)

Established: Shell was actively exploring a commercial sale of its Sakhalin interest before the Russian ownership structure was changed. (Business Standard)

Established: Russian Presidential Decree No. 416 of 30 June 2022 created a new Russian structure to which Sakhalin II rights and obligations were transferred. (Pravo Publication)

Established: Shell chose not to become a shareholder in the replacement Russian entity, while Mitsui and Mitsubishi elected to remain and received approval for equivalent interests. (euronews)

Established: Sakhalin-linked LNG deliveries to Shell stopped during the third quarter of 2022. (Interfax)

Established: Shell continues to record ownership of a 27.5%-minus-one-share interest in the original Bermuda-incorporated Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, while stating that the entity purportedly no longer holds the project licences, rights and obligations. (SEC)

Established: Russian prosecutors subsequently brought proceedings against Shell entities arising in part from the 2022 exit and alleged unpaid gas deliveries. Shell’s March 2026 annual report states that those proceedings remain ongoing. (Shell)

Not established: Decree No. 416 did not constitute a judicial finding that Shell had breached the production-sharing agreement.

Not established: The Russian prosecutor’s later allegations have not been treated in this file as proven facts.

Not established: The documentary record examined here does not establish that Shell voluntarily sold its Sakhalin II interest to Gazprom in 2022.

Commentary

The most important feature of the 2022 Sakhalin exit is that there was no single moment when Shell simply handed over the keys.

The break occurred in stages.

First came the political decision to leave.

Then the directors resigned.

Then the technical and managerial presence was withdrawn.

Then the investment was impaired.

Shell tried to find a buyer.

Then Moscow replaced the project’s legal structure.

Shell declined to enter the replacement company.

Then its LNG supply disappeared.

And years later the old Bermuda company — still partly owned by Shell — remained on Shell’s books while holding, in Shell’s formulation, no effective Sakhalin II licences or operating rights.

That is not the pattern of an ordinary divestment.

Nor should it automatically be described as a simple confiscation without explaining the underlying legal mechanics.

The primary documents show something more complex:

Shell announced that it wanted to leave before the Russian restructuring occurred.

Russia then dictated the structure under which ownership would continue.

Shell refused to participate in that structure.

The financial value attached to the abandoned interest was subsequently determined within the Russian system rather than through a negotiated Shell sale.

Those distinctions matter because they explain why the consequences were still unresolved years later.

The Sakhalin story had begun as one of Shell’s great technical ambitions.

It became an environmental controversy.

Then a struggle over Russian control.

Then a mature LNG business.

Finally, in 2022, war and sanctions ended Shell’s operational participation.

But even that was not quite the end.

A company can leave a country more quickly than it can unwind decades of contracts, ownership structures and legal rights.

The Sakhalin papers make that unusually clear.

Source Record

The principal authenticated Shell announcement is “Shell intends to exit equity partnerships held with Gazprom entities,” 28 February 2022, confirming Shell’s intention to leave its 27.5% Sakhalin II interest and its other Gazprom-linked ventures. (Shell)

Shell — intention to exit Gazprom partnerships, 28 February 2022

Shell’s 2022 Form 20-F and interim SEC filings provide the principal accounting record: the US$1.614 billion Sakhalin II impairment, loss of significant influence from 1 April, resignation of directors, withdrawal of managerial and technical staff and subsequent treatment of the investment. (Shell)

Shell Form 20-F 2022

The principal Russian legal record is Presidential Decree No. 416 of 30 June 2022, officially published by the Russian legal-information system. (Pravo Publication)

Russian Presidential Decree No. 416 — official publication record

Contemporaneous Reuters reporting records the mechanics of the decree, including creation of the new company and the process governing foreign shareholder participation. (Yahoo Finance)

Reuters — Russia will replace Sakhalin-2 project operator with new firm, 30 June 2022

Reuters also documented Shell’s attempt to find an Indian buyer before the restructuring. (Business Standard)

Reuters — Shell in talks with Indian consortium over Sakhalin II stake, May 2022

Contemporaneous reporting records the decisions by Mitsui and Mitsubishi to remain in the replacement Russian company. (euronews)

Shell’s latest authenticated position is contained in the Shell Annual Report and Accounts 2025, published 12 March 2026. It states that Shell still holds its interest in the Bermuda-incorporated predecessor company and records the continuing Moscow litigation arising from the Sakhalin exit and alleged 2022 gas debts. (SEC)

Shell Annual Report and Accounts 2025

The related Russian court proceedings are identified publicly as Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Russian Federation v Shell plc and others, Case No. A40-241354/2024. (Jus Mundi)

Archive disclaimer: This instalment distinguishes Russian executive measures, Shell corporate decisions and later litigation. Allegations made by the Russian prosecutor are identified as allegations and are not treated as judicially established facts. Figures relating to Shell’s Russian withdrawal are separated from the specific Sakhalin II impairment. The article does not characterise the 2022 presidential decree as a court judgment.

Site-wide disclaimer applies.

Next instalment The Sakhalin Papers LI: The Billion-Rouble Exit Price — Novatek, Gazprom and the US$1 Billion Shell Still Could Not Simply Collect

In April 2023, the Russian government valued the unclaimed 27.5% interest in the replacement Sakhalin Energy company at:

94.8 billion roubles

and approved Novatek as the purchaser. (Interfax)

Shell’s response was revealing.

Its CFO said:

“No payments have been made and we retain our legal rights.” (Interfax)

Then the proposed buyer changed.

In March 2024, the Russian government cancelled the Novatek arrangement and approved a Gazprom-owned company as purchaser — for the same 94.8 billion roubles. (Interfax)

And the money did not simply arrive in Shell’s London bank account.

It became entangled with Russia’s special-account regime and eventually with the €1.5 billion claim now being pursued against Shell in Moscow.

The next file follows the money:

Who decided what Shell’s Sakhalin stake was worth, where did the 94.8 billion roubles go, and why — years after Shell announced its departure — does the company still describe the legal and financial outcome as uncertain?

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES: 17 SEPTEMBER 2026 was first posted on September 17, 2026 at 10:03 pm.
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New polling has revealed that 85% of regional Hunter residents have experienced an extreme weather event in the past five years, and 80% say these events are driving up their cost of living.

Annie Fox, staff attorney at Clean Air Council, speaks at the rally.

“We know data centers are coming, we know the people of Philly are unprotected, and we demand that Council take one step to adding protection with a moratorium NOW.”

PHILADELPHIA – More than 200 Philadelphians gathered Monday outside City Hall to launch the No Data Centers in Philly campaign, calling on City Council to pass a citywide data center moratorium. 

VIEW PHOTOS // WATCH LIVESTREAM

Two potential data center sites have been identified in Southwest Philadelphia and the Northeast, but Philadelphia does not currently have any rules on how communities should be protected. 

Philly’s push for a moratorium is part of a growing national response: More than 500 communities nationwide have passed data center moratoriums or bans. If passed, Philadelphia would be the largest city in the country to pass a data center moratorium. A local petition calling for a moratorium has gathered more than 2,300 signatures.

Data centers increase electric bills, pollution, water waste, and power surveillance and AI technologies. A recent poll found 76% of Pennsylvania voters oppose data center construction in their communities.

Groups in attendance supporting the call for a moratorium represented physicians, moms, veterans, pastors, children, neighborhood groups, environmental groups, racial justice groups, and more, including: Moms for Clean Air Force, Food and Water Watch, About Face Veterans Philly, Alliance for a Just Philadelphia, Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance, Reclaim Philadelphia, March on Harrisburg, Save Chinatown, No Arena in the Heart of Our City, Peace Justice Sustainability Now, HERE 4 Climate Justice, Sunrise Philly, Camp Sojourner, the Organizing Center, Philly Thrive, Black Alliance for Peace, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Amistad Law Project, 215 People’s Alliance, Brewerytown Sharswood Neighborhood Coalition, Earth Quaker Action Team, Clean Air Council, Library Freedom Project, and more.

Sonya Sanders, resident of Grays Ferry and board president of Philly Thrive, said:
“People in my neighborhood are still sick and suffering from the pollution of the oil refinery that went on for generations. I lost my beloved husband, Big Ray, to cancer because in my eyes, the pollution killed him. And now Big Tech wants to come in here and do it all over again. They want to get rich off our backs, profiting off Black and brown people again. Thinking about my friends who are struggling with cancer and breathing disorders, and in memory of my husband Big Ray, we’re saying: press pause. Put the people at the table. We need to put people before profit. We need a moratorium now.”

Nikki Grant, co-executive director of Amistad Law Project, said:
“Data centers are the physical place where the AI tools that surveil us live. We know that the safest communities have an abundance of resources like quality education, affordable housing, healthcare, including mental healthcare, and clean air and green spaces. Unfortunately, instead of making deep investments in the things that keep us safe, Black and brown and working class communities in Philadelphia get police, prison, detention and deportation. If we want to stop the overpolicing of Black neighborhoods, we must stop the massive expansion of hyperscale data centers nationwide, and that fight starts here at home. That’s why we demand a moratorium now.”

Dr. Daniel Wolk, family physician and geriatrician at Bryn Mawr Family Practice and Residency Program and member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, said:
“Peoples’ health depends on the health of their environment. We are now in the midst of a race by big tech companies, fossil gas producers and their billionaire leaders to build data centers as fast and as big as possible, regardless of their impact on public health, driven by the need for profit. Data centers, powered by fossil gas, pollute our air with toxic nitrogen oxides and tiny particles called PM2.5, increasing rates of asthma in our children, and deaths from heart disease, stroke, dementia, and respiratory disease in our elders. Guided by the first principle in the Hippocratic oath: ‘First, do no harm,’ we call on City Council to enact a moratorium now on data center development in Philadelphia.”

Annie Fox, staff attorney with Clean Air Council, said:
“We know that new dirty fossil fuel power generation and extra fracking needed to feed these behemoths will multiply air pollution linked to asthma, heart disease, and even premature death, most endangering our children, our elders, and people who already have health struggles. There’s also so much that we don’t know, and we can’t race ahead until we do. What regulations are right to protect the people of Philadelphia and our environment? We need that moratorium to give the city government time to figure that out. The city shouldn’t trample our health in a contrived race to attract huge data centers that benefit large corporations, not us. More than 500 communities have passed data center moratoriums, let’s make Philadelphia next.” 

Shawmar Pitts, managing co-director of Philly Thrive, said:
“Big Tech could build a data center in Philly right now, today, if they wanted to, because we don’t have a moratorium. We don’t have protection for the people. Big Tech gets a tax break, and then we gotta pay their taxes, their electric bill, their water bill, and sacrifice our health. Slowly dying in Grays Ferry from the refinery poison was normal to us. So we know the playbook already and it’s not happening again. We wanna see City Council stand with the people and be on the right side of the history, making sure we benefit economically and we put the health of the people first. Do it with a moratorium now.”

Austin Cole, national co-coordinator of the Black Alliance for Peace, said:
“These are not neutral buildings. Data centers help expand surveillance while our PECO bills go up and we get air, water, and noise pollution. They concentrate power and control in unaccountable companies led by tech oligarchs and unaccountable police, ICE, and federal agencies who surveil our communities, harass our families, and prey on our neighbors. A hyperscale data center in any neighborhood in our city is a threat to all Philadelphians, especially working class, Black, Brown, immigrant, and poor residents. We know data centers are coming, we know the people of Philly are unprotected, and we demand that Council take one step to adding protection with a moratorium NOW.”

Senia Lopez, resident of Northeast Philadelphia and organizer with 215 People’s Alliance, said:
“Northeast Philadelphia is often forgotten by our elected officials, but developers and Big Tech companies have not forgotten us. Big Tech is targeting Philadelphia for data centers, including a potential site two miles from my home. They see our neighborhoods as places where they can build, expand, and make money. But right now, Philadelphia has no clear rules to ensure that the people affected by these decisions have a say. A moratorium would give Philadelphia time to create protections and establish a process in which residents have real power over what gets built in our neighborhoods.”

###

No Data Centers in Philly is a campaign to put Philly first. We’re calling for a citywide data center moratorium, binding standards to protect our affordability, health, jobs, data, and quality of life, and a transparent public process that ensures Philadelphians decide what gets built in our communities. We believe that what gets built in our city must strengthen the neighborhoods and people that make Philly, Philly – not sacrifice us.

In a recent letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a broad coalition of Tribes and environmental groups expressed concern over the Bureau of Reclamation’s position on California’s authority over the Central Valley Project and the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan. 

The letter points to the Bureau’s recent assertion that the State Water Resources Control Board has no right to impose certain regulations on the operation of the Central Valley Project or to question decisions related to the impacts of Shasta Dam or Reservoir operations on endangered fish populations. Restore the Delta, Tribes, and other organizations warn that these actions could have significant consequences for communities, fish, and wildlife throughout the Bay-Delta watershed.

Citing California’s strong record of successfully challenging unlawful federal actions in court, the letter’s authors urge Attorney General Bonta to speak out against the Bureau’s federal overreach, saying these actions represent a troubling attempt to undermine California regulators while contributing to ongoing harm to the natural resources and communities that depend on them.

Read more about the coalition’s response to the Bureau of Reclamation’s letter here. 

STATEMENTS FROM COALITION MEMBERS:

Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians:

“Reclamation’s latest threats to undermine California’s authority over water management are about far more than jurisdiction—they are about who gets a voice in decisions that determine the future of our rivers, our fisheries, and our Tribal communities. Too often, Tribes have been excluded in these decisions and our communities have suffered.

When state and federal governments operate massive water projects on California’s rivers, those operations have profound consequences for Tribal Nations. The State Water Board’s authority to protect water quality and beneficial uses—including Tribal cultural uses—cannot be dismissed when inconvenient for a federal agency. Tribal cultural uses, fisheries, healthy waterways, and the survival of our communities are not secondary interests, and our Tribal Sovereignty cannot be treated as collateral damage in a jurisdictional fight.

The federal government must stop treating California’s water protections as an obstacle to be circumvented and start treating Tribes as sovereign governments whose rights, interests, and knowledge must be part of the decision-making process.”

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, Executive Director, Restore the Delta:

“In the face of our changing climate, it is critical that we manage our water systems in a manner that is equitable and protective of ecosystems and communities. The recent actions by the Bureau threaten the State’s autonomy and ability to manage our water resources, threatening downstream tribes, communities, economies, and an increasingly fragile Delta ecosystem. We urge the Attorney General to take these threats seriously, and stand firm against authoritative actions that threaten California’s most precious resource, water.”

Eric Buescher, Managing Attorney, San Francisco Baykeeper:

“The Bureau’s most recent threats continue a pattern of action by the Trump Administration to ignore the State of California’s authority and obligation to protect the State’s natural resources and people,” said Eric Buescher, Managing Attorney at San Francisco Baykeeper. “Governor Newsom has stood up to unlawful and harmful federal overreach on so many fronts, but not on San Francisco Bay-Delta water. It is time for his administration to stop accommodating Trump in this area. Failing to do so harms Tribes, fish, communities, and ecosystems. There is no Newsom-Trump deal on this front that will benefit California.”

It’s the 15th anniversary of Occupy Wall Street. In our latest, we talk with scholar Michael Gould-Wartofsky (@mgouldwartofsky.bsky.social) about the conditions that led to the emergence of Occupy, the two…

Open access notables

Projected amplification of global warming by warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions, Abernethy et al., Environmental Research Letters

Warming-induced emissions (WIE) of greenhouse gases from natural sources are a large amplifying feedback that most climate models do not yet represent. This absence risks systematic underestimation of projected future warming and overestimation of remaining carbon budgets. To assess the potential magnitude of these feedbacks, we derived relationships between global temperature and WIE rates from process-based model estimates across three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP4-6.0. The warming-induced methane emission rate from permafrost, wetlands, freshwaters, and wildfire combined increases with temperature at an estimated 97 ± 6 Tg CH4 yr−1 °C−1 across all three scenarios, while the warming-induced carbon dioxide emission rate from permafrost and wildfire combined increases at 7 ± 1 Pg CO2 yr−1 °C−1 in SSP2-4.5 and SSP4-6.0. Using the MAGICC climate model, we projected that WIE could add 0.2 °C–0.4 °C of warming by 2100 across scenarios, split roughly equally between carbon dioxide and methane, amplifying post-2020 anthropogenic warming by 20%–30%. Combined emission sensitivity and climate response 1σ uncertainties are ±0.2 °C on the added warming and ±10%–30% on the warming amplification.

Interpreting Ensembles of Climate Projections for Impact Studies, Chandler & Brierley, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change

To study the potential impacts of future changes in the earth's climate, projections of these changes are required. These are usually produced using complex computer models, and are subject to many uncertainties which are often sampled using collections (“ensembles”) of model simulations. However, the sampling in any individual ensemble is incomplete and often unrepresentative. This creates challenges for users of the projections, especially when it is important to understand the range of potential impacts that can reasonably be expected. Other challenges include the presence of systematic discrepancies between the model outputs and observations of the real climate system; and the fact that it is often infeasible to work with all members of an ensemble so that an appropriate subset must be chosen. Various approaches have been suggested for addressing each of these issues: a critical review is provided here, to allow an informed choice depending on the requirements of a given application.

The emergence of climate migration research as an academic field, Kohutova et al., Frontiers in Climat

This study examines how research on climate migration has developed from a dispersed topic of academic interest into a distinct academic field. Although the links between environment and human mobility have been studied for over a century, less attention has been paid to how knowledge has been structured and institutionalized around this topic. To address this gap, the article examines how climate migration scholarship has grown, organized its scholarly community, and gained recognition from external actors. Drawing on theories of field formation, we analyse four dimensions of academic fields: differentiation from other research areas, epistemic and social coherence among scholars, their social infrastructure and legitimacy-building. The study uses a mixed-methods approach combining bibliometric analysis, document and policy review, and expert interviews. The findings show that the formation of climate migration as a research field was a cumulative process. Policy attention brought resources for more research, while a shared understanding that climate migration is driven by multiple interacting factors, not climate alone, gave scholars common ground to organize around. Expanding citations and co-authorships networks then gave the field its structure over time. However, the field formation remains uneven. The networks are geographically uneven, research is being published across hundreds of journals, and theoretical frameworks are underdeveloped. Overall, the article shows how new research topics consolidate as academic fields and argues that the label of ‘research field' is not merely descriptive because it impacts visibility, resources, and epistemic authority.

Future warming enhances rates of population increase of arthropod crop pests globally, Molina et al., Ecography

We compiled a dataset on the thermal biology of arthropod crop pests and fitted TPCs to examine the projected shifts in performance under historic and future climates relative to their thermal niches, which were examined through modelling the latitudinal variation of their population-level thermal limits. Our findings highlight that most arthropod crop pests are projected to increase their thermal potential for population growth under warming by 2050, with temperate populations retaining room to grow but tropical populations increasingly exposed to heat stress. These findings can be explained by the asymmetric variation of thermal niche limits for these intrinsic rates of population increase, since we found that lower thermal limits declined with latitude, while upper thermal limits remained constant.

From this week's government/NGO section:

Communicating about Climate and Clean Energy in an Age of Affordability, Andrea Everett, Heatmap and Embold Research

Each phase of research built on the previous one, starting with a large national survey to uncover the core values, priorities, and beliefs of three broad segments of the electorate with different views of climate change. These groups were labelled as Skeptics, Persuadables, and Persuadeds. For climate and clean energy communicators, the electorate is best understood as three distinct audiences. Persuadeds already believe in the 11 urgency of climate action and clean energy. What they lack is the conviction that their own actions matter, so the core tasks are to give them concrete, achievable things to do and to help them see that their efforts matter. Persuadables are open but unconvinced, and on the central issue of clean energy affordability they demand proof they can see close to home, rather than broad statistics or slogans. Skeptics, meanwhile, may be reachable through appeals to their values of personal freedom and energy independence, supplemented by evidence on cost and reliability, but with so few trusted messengers to make the case, clean energy remains a tough sell.

What are the top social media platforms used by each of Global Warming’s Six Americas?, Ettinger et al., Yale University and George Mason University

In Fall 2025, as part of a biannual Climate Change in the American Mind survey, the authors asked a nationally representative sample of Americans (n = 1,146) how often they visit 14 different social media platforms. They were also asked how often they hear about global warming on social media. Across Global Warming’s Six Americas, the most commonly visited social media platforms are YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The Alarmed hear about global warming on social media more often than other segments of the Six Americas. 94 articles in 53 journals by 625 contributing authors

Physical science of climate change, effects

Contrasting SST modes explain decadal intensification of Pacific Walker Circulation, Li et al., Atmospheric Research 10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.109338

Projected amplification of global warming by warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions, Abernethy et al., Environmental Research Letters Open Access 10.1088/1748-9326/ae9e24

Substantial contribution of land-atmosphere interactions to the intensification of compound drought and heatwave events under rising CO2, Xing et al., Global and Planetary Change 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2026.105722

Warming of the subpolar North Pacific accelerated by sea ice retreat and wind changes, Ge et al., npj Climate and Atmospheric Science Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41612-026-01541-2

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Transient overturning changes cause an upper-ocean nutrient decline in a warming climate, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-52200-0 13 cites.

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Observations of climate change, effects

Extreme Dry and Humid Heat Seasons Are Changing Asymmetrically, Ivanovich et al., AGU Advances Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026av002516

Global drought shows no detectable recent acceleration under climate warming, Xu et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03954-6

In situ observations reveal continental-scale warming, oxygen decline, and eutrophication in U.S. estuaries, Reinl et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03934-w

Rapid increase of climate extremes reveals new areas of concern in Amazonia, Barlow et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03975-1

State of Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2025: A Review, Marengo et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70581

Warming accelerates drought–flood oscillations and stratifies socioeconomic exposure, Qi et al., PNAS Nexus Open Access pdf 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag283

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Cyclone Gabrielle as a Design Storm for Northeastern Aotearoa New Zealand Under Anthropogenic Warming, Earth s Future, 10.1029/2024ef004772 22 cites.

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Instrumentation & observational methods of climate change, effects

A global hourly ISIMIP3 climate forcing dataset for impact modeling, Bechtold et al., Earth system science data Open Access pdf 10.5194/essd-18-6637-2026

Interpreting Ensembles of Climate Projections for Impact Studies, Chandler & Brierley, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change Open Access pdf 10.1002/wcc.70088

Introduction to the Concept of Regional Frameworks for Climate Services (RFCS), Golding et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Open Access pdf 10.1175/bams-d-25-0207.1

Regularized Fingerprinting with Linearly Optimal Weight Matrix in Detection and Attribution of Climate Change, Li & Li, Journal of Climate pdf 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0740.1

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
What is a heat wave: A survey and literature synthesis of heat wave definitions across the United States, PLOS Climate, 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000468 18 cites.

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Modeling, simulation & projection of climate change, effects

Central Asian Future Dynamics of Coldwave and Cold Spell Under Changing Climate, Ledari et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70585

Evaluating Changes in Convective Environments Over Subtropical South America Under Forced and Natural Climate Variability, Chakraborty et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access 10.1029/2026gl125330

Global shifts in mountain wave turbulence within high resolution climate models, Smith et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics Open Access 10.5194/wcd-7-1733-2026

High-resolution projections of summer compound humid-heat extremes and GDP exposure in Eastern China, Yang et al., Atmospheric Research 10.1016/j.atmosres.2026.109341

Impacts of Different Anthropogenic Forcings on Tropical Cyclone Frequency in Large Ensemble Climate Model Simulations, Henry et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-25-0442.1

Projected Changes in Wind Hazards From Extreme Extratropical Cyclones in the Northeastern U.S., Valle et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres 10.1029/2026jd046823

Projecting Compound Wind-Rainfall Hazards From Tropical Cyclones in China Under Climate Change, Xu et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026ef008431

Projecting Spatial Synchrony and Socioeconomic Risk of Heatwaves and Extreme Precipitation in the future, Li et al., Weather and Climate Extremes Open Access 10.1016/j.wace.2026.100958

The Future of Atmospheric Heatwaves in Chile Projected by a Regional Climate Model, Petit-Laurent et al., International Journal of Climatology 10.1002/joc.70567

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Strong regional trends in extreme weather over the next two decades under high- and low-emissions pathways, Nature Geoscience, 10.1038/s41561-024-01511-4 53 cites.

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Advancement of climate & climate effects modeling, simulation & projection

A global hourly ISIMIP3 climate forcing dataset for impact modeling, Bechtold et al., Earth system science data Open Access pdf 10.5194/essd-18-6637-2026

Current model capabilities and future predictive pathways of wildfires under a changing climate, Whaley et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-04013-w

Deciphering the Link Between Modeling Errors and the North Atlantic Surface Warming Pattern Projected by CMIP5 and CMIP6 Models, Douville et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl122158

Improving soil temperature simulation accuracy in Arctic permafrost regions by incorporation surface organic layer in CLM5.0, Liu et al., Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Open Access 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111476

Interpreting Ensembles of Climate Projections for Impact Studies, Chandler & Brierley, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change Open Access pdf 10.1002/wcc.70088

Km-scale regional coupled system in the Northwest European shelf for weather and climate applications: RCS-UKC4, Berthou et al., Geoscientific model development Open Access 10.5194/gmd-19-8535-2026

The added value of Med-CORDEX coupled high-resolution regional climate models in representing sea surface temperature and marine heatwaves in the Mediterranean Sea, Rovere et al., Ocean science Open Access pdf 10.5194/os-22-2725-2026

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Artificial intelligence for climate prediction of extremes: State of the art, challenges, and future perspectives, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change, 10.1002/wcc.914 115 cites.

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Cryosphere & climate change

Illusory early-warning signals of Greenland Ice Sheet destabilization, Robel et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2623190123

On thin glacial ice: New Austrian Glacier Inventory shows accelerating glacier shrinkage and 31 % area loss within two decades, Hartl et al., cryosphere Open Access 10.5194/tc-20-5157-2026

Projecting the evolution of the Northern Patagonian Icefield until the year 2200, Schaefer et al., cryosphere Open Access pdf 10.5194/tc-20-5115-2026

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet Over the Next Three Centuries From an ISMIP6 Model Ensemble, Earth s Future, 10.1029/2024ef004561 73 cites.

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Paleoclimate & paleogeochemistry

Recognition of two potential warming events in the Paleocene terrestrial record of North America and associated mammalian responses, Secord et al., PNAS Nexus Open Access pdf 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgag289

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Opposing Changes in Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall Variability Produced by Orbital and Anthropogenic Forcing, Geophysical Research Letters, 10.1029/2024gl109897 8 cites.

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Biology & climate change, related geochemistry

Biome classification across global vegetation models reveals consistent biome shifts under future climate change, Scheiter et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-23-6409-2026

Broad-scale shift in dominance of arbuscular mycorrhizal trees along the Japanese archipelago associated with tree diseases and climate warming, Schaefer et al., Nature Communications Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41467-026-77711-w

Distribution and Habitat Suitability of Artemisia annua in China Under Climate Change Scenarios, Zhang et al., Ecology and Evolution Open Access 10.1002/ece3.74236

Evolution of flowering phenology over 44 years of climate change, Deurs et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2613665123

Experimental evidence of a biological soil crust degradation climate warming amplification feedback, Smith et al., Communications Earth & Environment Open Access pdf 10.1038/s43247-026-03874-5

Long-Term Warming Reduces Bacterial Diversity and Functional Potential in Temperate Forest Soil, Liu et al., Global Change Biology Open Access pdf 10.1111/gcb.71104

Seasonally asymmetric warming reshapes grassland stability across timescales, Lu et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Open Access 10.1073/pnas.2608466123

The projected risk of plant invasions on the peri-Antarctic islands under climate change, Vorstenbosch et al., Ecography Open Access pdf 10.1002/ecog.08195

When warming stops lengthening the growing season: Insights from two decades of forest phenology in Central Europe, Nasiri et al., Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111457

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Global change and premature hatching of aquatic embryos, Global Change Biology, 10.1111/gcb.17488 22 cites.

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GHG sources & sinks, flux, related geochemistry

Assessment of Spatial Downscaling Used in Global Greenhouse Gas Emission Estimates, Sun et al., Earth s Future Open Access 10.1029/2026ef008225

Forest Floor Protection: The Critical Defense Against Post-Harvest Soil Carbon Loss, Wallace et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026jg009694

From abandoned fishponds to mature mangroves: the integrated CO2 balance of two contrasting coastal wetland landscapes, Wang et al., Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Open Access 10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111469

High-Resolution Dynamical Downscaling Refines the Time of Emergence of Sea Level Rise in the Northwestern Pacific, Kang et al., Earth s Future Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026ef008543

Imaging deep carbon stocks with complex electrical conductivity, Orozco et al., Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.5194/bg-23-6287-2026

Inefficient consumption of natural gas drives methane emissions from a megacity, Zhao et al., Atmospheric chemistry and physics Open Access pdf 10.5194/acp-26-12911-2026

Methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills in Tehran: Field measurements and modeling of a NASA-identified global super-emitter, Hassanabadi et al., Atmospheric Environment 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2026.122355

Projected amplification of global warming by warming-induced greenhouse gas emissions, Abernethy et al., Environmental Research Letters Open Access 10.1088/1748-9326/ae9e24

Spatial-Temporal Distribution Dynamics of Carbon Storage of Dominant Species in a Subtropical Evergreen Broad-Leaved Forest and Its Influencing Factors, Duan et al., Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.1029/2025jg008947

White Carbon: Bringing Managed Salterns Into Coastal Carbon Accounting, He, Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026jg010199

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Global riverine land-to-ocean carbon export constrained by observations and multi-model assessment, Nature Geoscience, 10.1038/s41561-024-01524-z 96 cites.

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CO2 capture, sequestration science & engineering

CCS deployment policy choices under regional heterogeneity: Economy-wide impacts and spillovers in China, Xiao et al., Energy Policy Open Access pdf 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115616

Deterministic Cost Estimation Approaches for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage: A Review, Mohajeri & Azadbakht, Greenhouse Gases Science and Technology Open Access pdf 10.1002/ghg.70043

Marine carbon removal at a crossroads, Macreadie et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02740-8

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Enhancing electrochemical carbon dioxide capture with supercapacitors, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-52219-3 61 cites.

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Decarbonization

A 250-kilowatt system for co-production of hydrogen and fresh water from seawater, Jiang et al., Nature Energy 10.1038/s41560-026-02130-6

Accelerating renewable energy transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Latin America, Moyo & Oree, Energy Sustainable Development/Energy for sustainable development Open Access 10.1016/j.esd.2026.102137

Critical gaps remain in carbon accounting at mine sites, Mervine et al., Carbon Management Open Access pdf 10.1080/17583004.2026.2730003

Photovoltaic deployment strategies for net-zero commercial buildings in India: A climate-zoned benchmarking approach, Azeem & Thomas, Energy Sustainable Development/Energy for sustainable development Open Access 10.1016/j.esd.2026.102135

Physical and Biogeochemical Ocean Response to Potential Offshore Wind Development Along the U.S. West Coast, Jacox et al., Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl123676

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Permeability partitioning through the brittle-to-ductile transition and its implications for supercritical geothermal reservoirs, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-52092-0 29 cites.

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Geoengineering climate

Impact of stratospheric aerosol injection on rangeland productivity and animal production in Africa, Ho et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1869700

Land Radiative Management Increases Heat Stress in Some Humid Regions, Cheng & McColl, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl125630

Pathway-dependent responses of temperature extremes under solar radiation modification over Northern Africa, Sian et al., Frontiers in Earth Science Open Access 10.3389/feart.2026.1884589

Aerosols

Impacts of Anthropogenic Aerosol-Forced North Atlantic SST Variability on the Simulated Historical Global Warming, Rashid, Geophysical Research Letters Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gl124086

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Surface albedo regulates aerosol direct climate effect, Nature Communications, 10.1038/s41467-024-52255-z 28 cites.

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Climate change communications & cognition

Patient knowledge and views on the health impacts of climate change in primary care: a cross-sectional survey study, Stewart et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1930073

Shifting configurations of nationalism, populism, and conservatism: far-right environmental discourse on agriculture, climate, and energy, Lambrechts & Cleen, Environmental Politics 10.1080/09644016.2026.2728447

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Tackling the academic air travel dependency. An analysis of the (in)consistency between academics’ travel behaviour and their attitudes, Global Environmental Change, 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102908 27 cites.

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Agronomy, animal husbundry, food production & climate change

Evaluating climate-driven agricultural suitability models for adaptation planning: stakeholder insights from British Columbia, Vakhshoori et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1928659

Exploring Behavioral and Social Dynamics in Crop Insurance Adoption amid Climate Change: Evidence from Paddy Farmers in Tamil Nadu, India, Thiyaharajan et al., Weather Climate and Society 10.1175/wcas-d-25-0063.1

Future warming enhances rates of population increase of arthropod crop pests globally, Molina et al., Ecography Open Access pdf 10.1002/ecog.08568

Impact of stratospheric aerosol injection on rangeland productivity and animal production in Africa, Ho et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1869700

Local climate variability indicators show differentiated socioecological impacts and opportunities for agroforestry-based adaptation in the Colombian Andean-Amazon, Ángel-Sánchez et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1881072

Minimizing climate change adaptation trade-offs in African rangelands, Clark et al., Nature Sustainability Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41893-026-01938-0

New labour and agricultural damages improve climate cost estimates, Moore et al., Nature Climate Change 10.1038/s41558-026-02749-z

Participatory assessment of agricultural value chain dynamics and market opportunities for smallholder farmers in climate-vulnerable coastal Bangladesh, Kabir et al., Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-71038-8

Rethinking climate vulnerability in livestock systems: evidence from exposure, adaptation, and within-system heterogeneity in West Africa, Adéchian et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1868024

Sustainable grazing management supports climate change mitigation in a mediterranean pasture, Ishaq et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1917508

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Climate change exacerbates the environmental impacts of agriculture, Science, 10.1126/science.adn3747 524 cites.

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Hydrology, hydrometeorology & climate change

Extreme Dry and Humid Heat Seasons Are Changing Asymmetrically, Ivanovich et al., AGU Advances Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026av002516

Intensified Warm-Season Nighttime Precipitation over Large Tibetan Plateau Lakes: Evidence from Satellite Observations, Yang et al., Advances in Climate Change Research Open Access 10.1016/j.accre.2026.09.006

Water governance under pressure: neoliberal structures and collaborative freshwater management in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom, Tariq et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1840817

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Evaluation of precipitation extremes in ERA5 reanalysis driven regional climate simulations over the CORDEX-Australasia domain, Weather and Climate Extremes, 10.1016/j.wace.2024.100676 17 cites.

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Climate change economics

Green energy and the shadow economy: implications for environmental sustainability in G7 countries, Uddin et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1871821

Guaranteed income as an anticipatory action for climate change and disaster preparedness in the US, Prandoni et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1838033

Rethinking overseas expansion: climate risk and Chinese corporations’ cross-border mergers and acquisitions, Guo & Wu, Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access pdf 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1896051

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
The role of green financial sector initiatives in the low-carbon transition: A theory of change, Global Environmental Change, 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102915 30 cites.

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Climate change mitigation public policy research

Carbon mitigation governance strategies in Morocco, China, and Norway, Nefzi & Bouzidi, Discover Sustainability Open Access 10.1007/s43621-026-04602-x

Framing the transition: How consultants shape public energy governance in Sweden, Reindl et al., Energy Research & Social Science Open Access 10.1016/j.erss.2026.104959

Strategic pathways for decarbonization: a data-driven typology to strengthen climate policy, Bento et al., Figshare Open Access 10.6084/m9.figshare.33600992.v1

Tripartite evolutionary game analysis of emission reduction in EU road freight transport under ETD and ETS2 policies, Cai et al., Frontiers in Environmental Science Open Access 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1921416

Varieties of decarbonization: Comparing state narratives of Germany, India, and Mexico, Zambianchi et al., Energy Policy Open Access 10.1016/j.enpol.2026.115598

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
The impact of electricity market reform on renewable energy production, Energy Policy, 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114306 35 cites.

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Climate change adaptation & adaptation public policy research

Assessing landslide probability changes under climate change scenarios as a basis for adaptation strategies, Chu et al., Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment 10.1007/s10064-026-05309-z

Compound and heterogeneous relationships between climate extremes and global net migration, Petrova et al., Nature Climate Change Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41558-026-02752-4

Knowledge co-production and co-dissemination for climate change adaptation: insights based on Chokwe district, Mozambique, Jonas et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1935074

On race, racism and racialization: reflections on climate mobility, Baldwin, Climate and Development 10.1080/17565529.2026.2729553

The emergence of climate migration research as an academic field, Kohutova et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1825882

Weather extremes in migration dynamics: evidence from the Philippines, Innocenti & Randelli, Scientific Reports Open Access pdf 10.1038/s41598-026-67411-2

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
What is limiting how we imagine climate change adaptation?, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 10.1016/j.cosust.2024.101476 45 cites.

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Climate change impacts on human health

Balancing urban green space benefits and vector-borne disease risk under climate change: Critical decision-making for 21st century public health, Ferguson et al., PLOS Climate Open Access pdf 10.1371/journal.pclm.0001016

Impact of Climate Warming on All-Causes Mortality in China: The Role of Non-Optimal Temperature Exposure and Multi-Scenario Projections to 2050, He et al., GeoHealth Open Access pdf 10.1029/2026gh001897

Intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa under climate change and socioeconomic scenarios, Peisker et al., Global Environmental Change Open Access pdf 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2026.103224

Patient knowledge and views on the health impacts of climate change in primary care: a cross-sectional survey study, Stewart et al., Frontiers in Climate Open Access pdf 10.3389/fclim.2026.1930073

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Spatio-temporal characteristics of Heat stress over Nigeria using evaluated ERA5-HEAT reanalysis data, Weather and Climate Extremes, 10.1016/j.wace.2024.100704 24 cites.

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Climate change impacts on human culture

Climate Change and Outdoor Sport in Chile: A Review of Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation, Carrasco, Weather Climate and Society 10.1175/wcas-d-25-0217.1

Other

A strengthening yet less extreme Atlantic–European jet during winter, Brönnimann et al., Nature Geoscience Open Access 10.1038/s41561-026-02069-z

Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season: An Above-Normal Season despite Strong El Niño Conditions, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 10.1175/bams-d-23-0305.1 15 cites.

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Informed opinion, nudges & major initiatives
Most cited from this section, published 2 years ago:
Disaster effects of climate change in High Mountain Asia: State of art and scientific challenges, Advances in Climate Change Research, 10.1016/j.accre.2024.06.003 75 cites.

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

Indiana Renewables and the Residential Real Estate Market, Faulk et al., Purdue Extension Community Development and The Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University

This brief summarizes the findings of two larger reports examining how proximity to commercial wind turbines or large solar projects affect house values in Indiana. Using data from 2004 to 2024, the authors provide state-specific estimates to inform state and local officials and residents. They found no statistically significant negative effects on residential property values associated with proximity to large wind or utility-scale solar projects in Indiana.

Sustainability in Action 2026. The new rules of business resilience, Sweep and Cap Gemini

Climate disruption is costing companies now and the data cannot keep up. 94% of businesses report climate-related financial losses over the past two years, but 79% say their data is not sufficient to inform strategy. Fragmented data is the biggest thing standing between leaders and climate action Top barriers to sustainability data infrastructure, as reported by senior leaders: 34% limited system integration; 34% scaling across geographies; 31% incomplete Scope 3 or supplier data. These data may be behind, but the returns are already here. Share of leaders reporting measurable ROI today, by area: 43% from better procurement and supply chain efficiency; 52% from reduced regulatory and compliance costs; 41% from improved risk management.

Consumer Attitudes on Corporate Climate Action: Insights for Today’s Business Environment, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Maslansky + Partners, and Potential Energy

The business landscape around climate action has shifted dramatically. But not in the ways heated policy debates might suggest. An in-depth analysis of consumer attitudes via a survey of 2,000 voters across the U.S. reflecting a representative range of political affiliations, ages, and incomes supports a different conclusion. It reveals something surprising for some: despite increased political polarization and a challenging regulatory environment, the business case for climate action has continued holding strong. What’s more, the authors suggest that corporate retreat from environmental commitments carries more reputational and financial risk than maintaining a clear, consistent stance. And perhaps most surprisingly, even those skeptical of climate policy remain open to the business case. Across party lines, strong majorities believe that climate action is smart business and would support companies that invest in clean energy and limit climate pollution.

What are the top social media platforms used by each of Global Warming’s Six Americas?, Ettinger et al., Yale University and George Mason University

In Fall 2025, as part of a biannual Climate Change in the American Mind survey, the authors asked a nationally representative sample of Americans (n = 1,146) how often they visit 14 different social media platforms. They were also asked how often they hear about global warming on social media. Across Global Warming’s Six Americas, the most commonly visited social media platforms are YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. The Alarmed hear about global warming on social media more often than other segments of the Six Americas.

California IOU Grid Capacity to Fully Serve Local Load with Distributed Solar+Storage Systems during Summer Peak/Net Peak Hours https://www.kevala.com/resources/grid-capacity-to-serve-local-load, Kevala, The Coalition for Community Solar Access

The authors estimate the amount and geographic concentration of large investor-owned utility (IOU) distribution-connected load in California that could be served by fully exporting front-of-the-meter distributed solar+storage resources, such as community solar+storage, or storage-only resources during summer peak and net peak demand hours without back-feeding onto the sub-transmission or transmission system. Specifically, the authors estimate the total load and corresponding number of 5-MW systems, each discharging at full capacity for 4 hours, that could be interconnected to the distribution grid and operated from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. from June through September, with the discharged electricity being fully absorbed by local load behind each substation.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative: An Initiative of Eastern States of the United States, Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc., Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc

The participating states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) released a report tracking the investment of proceeds generated from RGGI’s regional CO2 allowance auctions. The report tracks investments of RGGI proceeds in 2024 and summarizes how these investments promote ratepayer affordability, drive pollution reduction, and deliver additional benefits across the region. The RGGI states have individual discretion over how to invest proceeds according to state specific goals. Accordingly, states direct funds to a wide variety of programs, touching all aspects of the energy sector. In 2024, $856 million in RGGI proceeds were invested in programs including energy efficiency, clean and renewable energy, beneficial electrification, greenhouse gas abatement, and direct bill assistance. Over their lifetime, these 2024 investments are projected to provide participating households and businesses with $2.6 billion in energy bill savings and avoid the emission of 4.4 million short tons of CO2. The largest share of the investments was directed to energy efficiency, with 46% of the 2024 total. Other categories receiving significant investments include direct bill assistance, clean and renewable energy programs, beneficial electrification, and greenhouse gas abatement and climate adaptation programs.

Communicating about Climate and Clean Energy in an Age of Affordability, Andrea Everett, Heatmap and Embold Research

Each phase of research built on the previous one, starting with a large national survey to uncover the core values, priorities, and beliefs of three broad segments of the electorate with different views of climate change. These groups were labelled as Skeptics, Persuadables, and Persuadeds. For climate and clean energy communicators, the electorate is best understood as three distinct audiences. Persuadeds already believe in the 11 urgency of climate action and clean energy. What they lack is the conviction that their own actions matter, so the core tasks are to give them concrete, achievable things to do and to help them see that their efforts matter. Persuadables are open but unconvinced, and on the central issue of clean energy affordability they demand proof they can see close to home, rather than broad statistics or slogans. Skeptics, meanwhile, may be reachable through appeals to their values of personal freedom and energy independence, supplemented by evidence on cost and reliability, but with so few trusted messengers to make the case, clean energy remains a tough sell.

Ahead of the Deal: How the United States Can Build an Energy Project Pipeline in Emerging Markets, Katie Auth, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The author argues that global U.S. electricity investment initiatives keep falling short for the same reason. Regardless of the divergent objectives and political rationales that drove each administration’s efforts, they all tried to mobilize private capital into energy projects using the same strategy: supporting individual deals at the very latest stages of project development. This works relatively well in mature economies, but not in the many emerging markets where few projects ever reach that point. The approach simply does not fit the reality of what is needed in the energy sectors of most emerging markets today. And it has left the primary implementer of U.S. development finance, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), with too few good projects in which to put its capital. To build a diversified pipeline of high-quality energy projects that feeds the DFC’s portfolio for years to come, achieves U.S. strategic goals, and expands commercial opportunities for American firms and technologies, U.S. development finance must pivot in three key ways including incentivize strategic, early-stage risk, delegate origination to external partners, and focus assistance on grid systems and procurement.

West-wide Transmission Study: 10-Year Horizon Report, Western Transmission Expansion Coalition

The 10-year Horizon Study offers a holistic, integrated evaluation of Western interregional transmission needs, with a focus on identifying transmission gaps and filling them with actionable projects. In performing the assessment, drivers of the growing need for transmission over the approaching 10 years became clear. Western Transmission Expansion Coalition's (WestTEC) forecasts show Western peak electric demand increasing by 30% in the next decade. This increase is more than three times greater than what the West experienced over the last decade. Nameplate generation capacity is anticipated to increase by 76% in the next decade, more than twice the historical rate. Plans to procure intermittent resources by several Western entities will increase reliance on transmission to manage supply variability. By 2035 the Western grid will increasingly depend on the geographic diversity of load and generation to maintain reliability, which drives high-volume power flows across and between regions. Extreme events requiring transfers between entities occur during summer and winter peaks, cold snaps, and periods of high generation output. This highlights how diversity strengthens the system but requires transmission capacity to do so.

The Cost of Heat: Managing Pennsylvania’s Thermal Transition, Kristin George Bagdanov and Kevin Carbonnier, Building Decarbonization Coalition

The authors call for a managed gas transition: a coordinated, regulator-led strategy to limit unnecessary gas investment, retire portions of the gas system where cost-effective alternatives exist, and protect customers and workers during the shift to cleaner heating and cooling. This managed gas transition is one part of a broader thermal transition: the long-term shift toward cleaner, more affordable, and better-coordinated systems for delivering heat. The analysis that follows traces how Act 11 accelerated gas system spending, how those costs affect customer bills, and why neighborhood.

The Impact of Climate and Environmental Change on Brain Health, Ikiz et al., International Neuro Climate Working Group

The authors synthesize the current scientific evidence on how climate related environmental exposures affect neurological health, mental health, cognition, neurodevelopment, and healthy brain aging. In addition to presenting the Neuro Climate Framework, the authors identify priority directions for future research through the Neuro Climate Research Agenda and outlines stakeholder-specific recommendations through the Neuro Climate Action Roadmap, providing practical guidance for researchers, policymakers, healthcare professionals, educators, communities, individuals, and international organizations.

2026 NYC Heat-Related Mortality Report, Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Heat contributes to the deaths of approximately 500 New Yorkers, on average, each year during the warm season of May through September. Inequities by race and income persist in the people and neighborhoods most impacted. Deaths across all races, however, were more common at home, underscoring the importance of access to and affordability of home cooling to prevent death. The authors report estimated trends in heat-exacerbated deaths for the current and past several decades (1974-2023) in 10-year rolling time windows to provide more stable estimates than previous 5-year aggregation and align with the 10-year period used to describe the temperature-risk relationship in the report. For heat-stress deaths, counts and the annual average for the past ten years (2016-2025) are reported.

Disaster Risk: Improvements Needed to Enhance FEMA’s National Risk Index, Currie et al., United States Government Accountability Office

The authors found that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) partially followed leading practices for risk assessment and information quality during the development, operation, and maintenance of the National Risk Index (NRI). The authors made three recommendations, including that FEMA provide information to users on how to apply NRI results effectively and systematically solicit, collect, and incorporate user feedback to inform NRI improvements.

Winter 2026 Arctic Events: A System Performance Review, Clark et al., Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corporation

This system performance review focuses on understanding what occurred during the Winter 2026 Arctic Cold Period. The authors also highlight cold weather preparation improvements made prior to the Winter 2026 Arctic Cold Period that supported reliable operation of the Bulk-Power System during the period. The authors engaged with numerous electric and natural gas entities across the eastern half of the United States3 and Texas to gather the information necessary to provide an overview of the performance of the Bulk-Power System and natural gas system during the Winter 2026 Arctic Cold Period. The authors' analysis shows that the Winter 2026 Arctic Cold Period was fundamentally an endurance challenge (sustained reliable operation during extended periods of system stress) that stretched electric and natural gas systems for several days, revealing how extended cold snaps amplify risks across generator performance, fuel supply chains, load forecasting, interregional energy transfers, and system operators. Electric entities reported multi-day reliability challenges driven by equipment cold weather limitations, deferred maintenance, and constrained fuel availability, while natural gas systems faced infrastructure constraints, production obstacles, and logistical barriers that affected upstream deliveries and non-fuel consumables.

Wetlands for Climate Partnership Report (California), Pietri et al., The Nature Conservancy et al

California has lost more than 90% of its historic wetlands, prompting major state investments through initiatives such as AB 1757, CARB’s Scoping Plan, Pathways to 30x30, and Proposition 4. Drawing on workshops, agency discussions, and practitioner engagement conducted from 2024 to 2026, the authors present current progress, persistent barriers, and key opportunities to accelerate wetland restoration and management needed to achieve California’s climate, resilience, and biodiversity goals.

Spending and Safety Outcomes in U.S. Gas Distribution Systems: An Assessment of DIMP & PHMSA’s Call to Action, Seavey et al., The Future of Heat Initiative

Over the past 15 years, two federal initiatives — the Gas Distribution Integrity Management Program rule and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's Call to Action — have fundamentally reshaped how U.S. gas utilities invest in safety, one by promoting integrity management and the other by encouraging accelerated replacement of certain pipelines. The authors presents the first comprehensive evaluation of these initiatives. They found that utility safety spending has been significantly misallocated: since 2011, capital spending is up 200% and customer delivery charges have nearly doubled, yet measured safety outcomes have not improved commensurately. The analysis traces this divergence to regulatory frameworks that often fail to ensure that capital investments are guided by rigorous risk assessment and systematic evaluation of alternative risk-mitigation strategies. The authors urge state and federal regulators, utilities, and other interested parties to take action to improve outcomes for the public.

A fossil-free Australia: An ambitious Paris-aligned phase-out of coal, gas and oil from the national energy system, Houlie et al., Climate Analytics

The authors show that Australia can meet its climate goals and reach net zero emissions by phasing out fossil fuels. The authors modelled a new Fossil Fuel Phase-out (FFPO) scenario, a Paris-aligned pathway for Australia informed by the latest global evidence. This scenarios' results are then compared to the Australian government's current policies - the Current Policy Projections (CPP) scenario. A fossil fuel phase-out for Australia to meet its climate commitments and to play its role in global efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C is urgent. The authors show this is possible in all sectors, present policies the government needs to adopt, and highlight what the government is not doing - or needs to be doing more of. The government needs to start this phase-out now.

Global Snapshot of Climate-related School Disruptions in 2025, Ji et al., United Nations Children's Fund

Globally, at least 171 million students – from pre-primary to upper secondary education – experienced school disruptions due to climate events in 2025. Climate-related school disruptions in 2025 could cost affected students at least US$200 billion in lifetime earnings through lost learning and widening education inequities. At least 1 in 10 students had their schooling disrupted due to climate-related hazards in 2025. 75 per cent of the 171 million affected students are in low- and lower middle-income countries. Schools in 106 countries or territories were affected by climate hazards, with 40 countries experiencing multiple instances of school disruptions.

Methane Made in America, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law

The authors provide a user-friendly ranking of the Top 10 oil and gas sites in three basins, Appalachia, Permian, and Haynesville, as seen by one of the most sophisticated methane-detection satellites in the world. The authors define the Top 10 sites as those with the highest average methane emission rate observed from January 1,?2025, to June 1,?2026, by the Tanager-1 satellite, excluding sources with two or fewer detected plumes. Where possible, the authors also identify the “potentially responsible operator” of each site and give information on the site’s public health effects.

Ratepayer Impacts of Arizona Public Service’s Gas Resources, McGarvey et al., Sierra Club and Synapse Energy Economics

Natural gas purchases to fuel Arizona Public Service (APS) power plants currently account for 5% of residential bills. Gas prices can be affected by external factors including global geopolitical events and domestic extreme weather events. Therefore, APS’s reliance on gas resources exposes ratepayers to fuel price volatility risk. Gas price spikes could increase average residential customer bills by over $9 per month. Data centers are driving up electricity demand in Arizona. Since its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan, APS has increased its' planned additions for 2030 by 4.6 GW to meet increased demand. APS is responding by increasing its' reliance on gas. APS plans to increase nameplate capacity of natural gas from 5.1 GW in 2023 to 7.8 GW in 2030, a 48% increase. Gas could make up 32% of the company's generation mix, compared to 19% in 2023. This will lock customers into increased bills for many years and increase ratepayer exposure to gas price risks. About New Research

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This article Being a dissident is a capacity, not a calling was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

This article was originally published on The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook.

We tend to imagine the dissident as a particular kind of person, one who’s born unafraid, temperamentally a rebel, built from some sterner material than the rest of us. It’s a comforting story, and it’s comforting in a way that quietly lets us off the hook. If dissidents are simply made differently, then their courage is admirable but not instructive. We can applaud it, but we are excused from it.

The great gift of Gal Beckerman’s “How to Be a Dissident” is that it dismantles that story, gently and completely. Beckerman — a staff writer at The Atlantic who has spent a career studying how change actually begins — went looking for what dissidents across history and around the globe have in common. What he found is not a personality type. It’s a set of practices. Dissidence, in his telling, is not a calling reserved for the few. It’s a human capacity, and capacities can be cultivated.

The book is organized as 10 imperatives — among them Be Pessimistic, Be Funny, Be Reckless, and Be Immortal — and under each, Beckerman gathers figures who could not seem more unlike one another: Socrates and Ai Weiwei, thinkers like Hannah Arendt and Iris Murdoch, the famous and the nearly forgotten. It is part intellectual history, part biography, part field manual. Its through-line is a journey every reader can recognize: the solitary moment of seeing a truth clearly, the frightening decision to say it out loud, and the long question of what that act leaves behind.

Some of the imperatives are bracing precisely because they cut against what we expect. “Be Pessimistic,” as I read it, is no counsel of despair — it’s the insistence that the dissident does not need optimism’s permission to act. You don’t have to believe you’ll win in order to refuse to comply. “Be Funny” recovers humor as a serious instrument, the thing that punctures the false solemnity on which authoritarian power depends. These are not slogans. They are, genuinely, instructions.

But the book’s most empowering move is subtler than any single chapter. It’s Beckerman’s steady attention to the fact that most of the people in these pages were, for most of their lives, conformists. They were not waiting for the barricades. They held jobs, kept their heads down, made the small daily accommodations everyone makes. And then something — a death, a lie too large to swallow, a knock on a neighbor’s door — moved them across a line they hadn’t planned to cross. Dissidence, Beckerman shows, usually begins not with heroism but with a refusal: a single moment when a person decides that they will not, this time, betray what they know to be true.

That reframing matters, because it relocates courage. Courage is no longer the possession of the extraordinary. It’s a decision available, in principle, to anyone, including the version of each of us who has spent years being reasonable, being careful, being quiet.

Nowhere is this clearer than in the book’s account of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo — the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo — and it is, for me, the heart of the book.

They weren’t activists. They were ordinary Argentine women whose children had been “disappeared” by the military junta in the late 1970s — seized, tortured, killed and erased, while a terrified country was instructed to notice nothing. Public assembly was forbidden. So the mothers did something almost absurdly modest: they went to the plaza in front of the presidential palace, and because the police told them they couldn’t stand still there, they walked. They walked in a slow circle, week after week, wearing white headscarves made from their children’s cloth diapers, some embroidered with a missing child’s name.

That was the whole of it, at first — a handful of women walking in a circle. It looked like nothing. It was, in fact, one of the bravest acts in the modern history of the hemisphere. The junta could disappear individuals in the dark; it could not so easily explain away mothers grieving in broad daylight, in the most public square in the country, refusing to leave. The Madres made the regime’s central lie — that nothing was happening — impossible to sustain. Their persistence drew the eyes of the world. And their small circling walk became one of the moral forces that stripped the dictatorship of its legitimacy and, in time, helped bring it down.

The mothers paid for it. Some of the Madres were themselves disappeared, including one of the women who founded them. Beckerman doesn’t soften that. But the lesson he draws is the one this moment most needs to hear: the walk worked. The simplest, most repeatable act of public refusal, performed by people with no power and no plan, became a movement that outlasted the men with all the guns.

If I have a criticism, offered in friendship to a book I admire, it is this. “How to Be a Dissident” is magnificent on the individual’s journey to the threshold of refusal, and somewhat thinner on what happens once the threshold is crossed. Beckerman is, by his own framing, writing about conscience — the inner voice, the personal act. But a dictatorship is not brought down by an aggregate of brave individuals each refusing alone. It falls when those refusals become organized, sustained and collective.

And here the Madres themselves gently correct the book that celebrates them. Their power was not only moral courage, though it was certainly that. It was also infrastructure. They found one another. They built a practice — the same plaza, the same day, the same circle — that others could see, and join, and repeat. They turned private grief into a public and durable thing. The leap from the lone dissident to the movement is the leap that determines whether authoritarianism actually falls, and it is a leap of organization as much as of conscience. Beckerman gets us, brilliantly, to the edge of that leap. The crossing is work he mostly leaves to us.

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I don’t hold it against the book. A book that tried to do everything would do nothing well. But a reader should know that “How to Be a Dissident” is the beginning of the syllabus, not the whole of it.

Still, and this is what I most want to say, read this book, and read it now. We’re living through a season engineered to make people feel small: to make conscience feel naive, refusal feel futile, and the safe move always the quiet one. Beckerman’s answer to all of that is patient and devastating. The dissident is not a different kind of human being. The dissident is an ordinary person who, at some specific and frightening moment, decided not to betray what they knew.

That moment is not reserved for the heroic. It’s not behind us, in history, or above us, in greatness. It stands in front of nearly every one of us, and probably sooner than we would like. “How to Be a Dissident” will not make the moment easier. What it will do — and this is no small thing — is make sure that when the moment arrives, you recognize it, and you remember that ordinary people, walking in a circle, have faced down far worse and won.

This article Being a dissident is a capacity, not a calling was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.

While President Trump attacks electric vehicles, a few states are charting a path to expand electric transportation and reduce residents’ costs, writes Katherine García at Sierra Club.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
September 17, 2026

Senator Lee formally begins process to fast-track the destruction of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah – 9.17.26  Within a day, industry clamoring to exploit landscape

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Keri Gilliland, The Wilderness Society, (KGilliland@tws.org)
Chaitna Sinha, Conservation Codirector and Staff Attorney, Grand Canyon Trust; (970) 399-9565 (csinha@grandcanyontrust.org)
Amy Dominguez, Sierra Club, amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org, (385) 355-4631
Kris Deutschman, Conservation Lands Foundation, kris@conservationlands.org, (505) 498-0212
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, (202) 289-2421, ascibetta@nrdc.org
Daniel Hernandez, National Parks Conservation Association, dhernandez@npca.org, (202) 573-2201

Washington, DC – Anti-public-lands crusader Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has taken a significant step towards fast-tracking the destruction of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, and all the things that make it a national treasure. This week, Lee added the recently issued Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinion regarding the Monument’s Management Plan to the Congressional Record. Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), following the entry of the opinion into the Congressional Record, a “resolution of disapproval” may be introduced (anticipated to occur soon), and then both chambers of Congress can expedite their votes and pass the measures by simple majority votes. If that happens and the resolution is signed into law by the President, the Bears Ears Monument Management Plan – which sets expectations for how the land will be managed for wildlife, outdoor access, dark night skies, grazing, and other uses – will be undone. This could undo the management plan developed through years of Tribal-federal collaboration and speed up the destruction of the landscape, while also blocking a “substantially the same” plan from being enacted in the future.

Sen. Lee’s move comes just days after 16 mining claims were filed in Bears Ears National Monument. The mining bans in both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante only lifted on Friday, September 11, and mining companies are already staking claims in the landscape. Since Trump’s proclamations in July, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition, The Navajo Nation Council, the Navajo-Utah Commission, Native American Right Fund – NARF, The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO), Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Hopi Tribe, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, 37 U.S. Senators, 330 organizations, faith communities, veteran groups, businesses, and conservation organizations have opposed oppose the evisceration of protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. Additional information appears below, along with quotes from conservation groups. 

“Senator Lee’s vision for Bears Ears National Monument is a landscape dominated by exploitation – mining, grazing, logging – if not outright sold to the highest bidder. We’re going to do everything we can to stop that from happening,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “Bears Ears is a national treasure, and the monument management plan put the guardrails in place to make sure its remarkable cultural resources, unique plants and animals, and stunning, silent redrock canyons are there for current and future generations to enjoy. All of that is at risk if Lee’s attack succeeds and the monument management plan is undone.”                                                                                     

“Senator Lee is at it again,” said Thomas Delehanty, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “After failing to eliminate the Grand Staircase-Escalante management plan earlier this year, Lee is now going after the Bears Ears plan instead. This plan, developed through years of public input and collaboration with Tribes, provides essential guidelines on activities that can occur in the monument. Its loss, coupled with Trump’s recent attack on the monument’s boundaries, would be a major blow to these irreplaceable public lands.”

“Bears Ears was already unlawfully reduced by 90%, but that is not enough for Senator Lee. Now he wants to eliminate the Bears Ears management plan, developed through years of public input and close collaboration with the Bears Ears Commission,” said Chaitna Sinha, Staff Attorney and Conservation Codirector at the Grand Canyon Trust. “This is despite the fact that, just last month, polling showed that a majority (66%) of Utahns said protections should be restored to all of Bears Ears and 82% say Native American tribes should have a strong role in managing their ancestral lands, including 76% of Republicans. Senator Lee needs to start listening to his constituents and stop his relentless attacks on our public lands. Utahns want Bears Ears protected.”

“This is a shameful attempt to erase decades of partnership between the U.S. government and the Tribes, the original stewards of this land,” said Charlie Luke, Utah state director at The Wilderness Society. “Instead, Senator Lee wants to open our public lands to the highest bidders, putting cultural resources, clean water and wildlife at risk while threatening our freedom to experience Bears Ears and hand it down intact to future generations.” 

“Bears Ears is a living cultural landscape and an irreplaceable part of Utah’s public lands. Its management plan reflects years of public input and historic collaboration with the Tribal Nations that have stewarded this landscape since time immemorial,” said Franque Bains, Director of the Sierra Club’s Utah Chapter. “Senator Lee’s effort would throw that work aside and put Bears Ears at even greater risk. Utahns have made clear that they want our public lands protected and Tribal Nations to have a strong voice in caring for their ancestral lands. Congress should listen to them and leave this plan in place.”

“This is yet another attack on Bears Ears,” said Bobby McEnaney, Senior Land Analyst at NRDC. “The Trump administration is already attempting to decimate the monument. Now Utah’s congressional delegation wants to erase the collaborative management plan that remains. The theme is clear: disregard for the Tribes, the science, and the public consensus that built Bears Ears’ protections. Congress should reject this effort outright.”

“Senator Lee’s irrational quest to annihilate Bears Ears and every other acre of public land goes against the values and priorities of the majority of Utahns and the rest of the country,” said Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation. “A real leader listens to what the people want and stands up to corporate interests. That’s clearly not the case with Senator Lee and we trust the rest of Congress will oppose this madness and waste of attention and get to the business of protecting the public’s access to the national monuments, national parks, and other landscapes that Americans want.”

“After the president shrank Bears Ears National Monument by 91 percent, Sen. Mike Lee and other Utah leaders are now attempting to overturn the management plan of the 9 percent of what is left,” said Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert. “This is a deliberate undermining of Tribal sovereignty in one of the most culturally significant places in the country, and the recently filed mining claims give us a glimpse of what the future of the monument might be. Patagonia stands with the Tribal Nations, conservationists, activists and local communities speaking up to protect Bears Ears.” 

“No one in D.C. is more obsessed with tearing apart our public lands than Mike Lee,” said Melissa Cain at the Center for Biological Diversity. “His latest attack on Bears Ears is a pathetic insult to the five Tribal Nations and everyone else who worked tirelessly to secure protections for this national monument. These lands are a cherished part of our national and cultural heritage and they belong to every American. We’ll do everything in our power to ensure his cynical effort fails as spectacularly as his previous attempts have.”

Additional information about Senator Lee’s Attack: 

In April 2026, Senator Lee requested an opinion from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) about whether Congress can overturn the current Bears Ears Monument Management Plan; on August 17, the GAO released its opinion that Congress can undo the plan. Earlier this year, using the same mechanism, Utah’s federal delegation, led by Senator Lee and Representative Celeste Maloy (R-UT-02), attempted to undo the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management Plan. Tribal Nations, hunters and anglers, recreationists, local businesses, scientists, faith leaders, and members of the public from across Utah and the country spoke out loudly against this unfounded attack on one of the nation’s public lands gems. Lee and Maloy’s fast-track attack failed on June 12, 2026.

Just a month later, on July 13, 2026, President Trump illegally decimated both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by reducing each of them by over 90%. Significantly, until new management plans are finalized, the existing plans for each National Monument remain in place. That means the current plans will still manage activities in the monuments, with at least one major exception: mining. Trump’s proclamations directed that on September 11, 2026, the lands he cut out of both monuments be opened to new mining claims. Conservation groups challenged Trump’s illegal reductions of both Monuments on Tuesday, Sept. 9 in Federal Court.

Additional information about Bears Ears National Monument 

Beloved by Utahns and Americans, Bears Ears National Monument is a region of extraordinary cultural significance and natural diversity. On December 28, 2016, President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to establish Bears Ears National Monument, protecting both a cultural landscape that has been home to Tribal Nations from time immemorial and some of the wildest redrock country in the nation. The proclamation elevated the voices of Tribal Nations that have ancestral ties to the region. Nearly 100,000 archaeological and cultural sites were protected by the proclamation, including House on Fire and Moon House.

The Bears Ears proposal was led by the five Tribal Nations that would later comprise the “Bears Ears Commission:” the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, the Pueblo of Zuni, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe. On December 4, 2017, President Trump ignored millions of public comments and in a brazenly illegal act repealed Bears Ears National Monument, replacing it with two much smaller, non-contiguous units totaling around 200,000 acres (an 85% reduction). His unprecedented action left rare archaeological sites, unique flora and fauna, and stunning wildlands without protection from looting, uranium mining, oil and gas drilling, and off-road vehicle damage. 

Thankfully, on October 8, 2021, President Biden signed a proclamation restoring Bears Ears National Monument to its full, original boundaries—plus an additional 11,200 acres added to the Trump-era Indian Creek unit. National monuments are overwhelmingly popular. In 2022, the BLM and U.S. Forest Service, in collaboration with the Bears Ears Commission, began the process of developing a management plan to govern the Bears Ears National Monument. This was a crucial partnership to ensure that the monument is managed for its unique and extraordinary values, including the wealth of sacred objects and places of importance to the Tribal Nations of the Commission. 

The Bears Ears Commission played a central role in developing the 2025 Bears Ears Resource Management Plan, an unprecedented collaborative framework that brings Traditional Indigenous Knowledge and western science together to guide stewardship of Bears Ears National Monument. Following passage of the Resource Management Plan, the Commission worked with the agencies to implement the Resource Management Plan, up until President Trump purported to eliminate the Commission in his July 2026 proclamation.

About the Congressional Review Act (CRA)

The CRA is a federal statute enacted in March 1996 that requires federal agencies to submit “rules” to Congress for a mandatory review period “before they may take effect.” If Congress votes to overturn, or “disapprove,” the rule, it “may not be reissued in substantially the same form. . . .” The BLM has long maintained that its land management plans are not “rules” subject to the CRA. Other federal land management agencies, including the USFS,  and National Park Service, have similarly not submitted their land management plans to Congress under the CRA.

However, emboldened by a series of non-binding Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinions, Republican members of Congress have embraced the novel theory that federal land management plans are in fact “rules” subject to the CRA. The 119th Congress has passed seven CRA resolutions overturning previously finalized land management plans or other types of public lands management decisions. The GAO issued a decision regarding the Bears Ears Monument Management Plan on August 17, 2026.

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.

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Lidy Nacpil is the coordinator of Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD).

Recent reporting on international climate negotiations has highlighted a sharpening divide within civil society and multilateral diplomacy. A troubling, simplistic narrative has taken root: that the UN climate process is witnessing a binary struggle between defenders of science and those attacking it.

This framing is not only inaccurate; it is dangerous. Characterising a substantive methodological and political debate in these terms misdiagnoses the stakes and stirs conflict instead of clarity.

No one disputes that climate action must rest on science. Science tells us what has led us to the climate crisis – the accumulation of historical emissions – and how much carbon budget remains if we are to keep temperature rise below 1.5C. It tells us how much global emissions must drop, and how fast. Science is also essential in assessing each country’s historical contribution to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Responsibility, however, must also be based on capacity. For those who generated the largest share of historical emissions, that capacity includes the enormous wealth and economic power accumulated through the same fossil-fuel-intensive development that generated those emissions.

As science comes under attack at UN talks, climate movement splits over how to respond

While principles that should guide human action aren’t scientific questions – they are matters of values – applying them to real-world problems requires scientific grounding. Equity recognises the scientifically established reality of differentiated responsibilities among countries and within societies. Putting equity into practice demands scientific rigour.

Scrutiny of IPCC models

Today, critics are scrutinising the assumptions and frameworks behind the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs), used to project future scenarios and map global mitigation pathways. These concerns centre squarely on equity and justice.

The economic, technological and policy assumptions used in IAM scenarios are normative choices rather than scientifically prescribed or neutral facts. These include choices about discount rates, economic growth, energy demand, technology costs, carbon prices, land availability and the regional location of mitigation. Many IAM scenarios reproduce existing global inequalities rather than transform them. Questions about transparency, representativeness and diversity in the scientific process are deeply urgent.

Most IAM scenarios are built primarily around global cost-effectiveness – directing emissions reductions to places where mitigation is modelled as cheapest rather than allocating effort according to historical responsibility, capacity and development needs.

The resulting pathways allow developed countries to retain disproportionately high levels of energy and fossil-fuel consumption while requiring developing countries to undertake substantial mitigation and carbon removal, including land-based measures that threaten food security and local development.

Northern models often assume uniform access to cheap financing. In reality, Global South economies face far higher capital costs, driving up the price tag of rapid infrastructure shifts. 

Constraints on development space

Scenario constraints also limit the development space poorer nations need without guaranteeing adequate climate finance. When models treat profoundly unequal starting points as uniform baselines, policy pathways lock in global inequality under the banner of scientific objectivity.

Pointing out these structural flaws isn’t rejecting science. It is essential scientific scrutiny aimed at producing stronger, fairer, and more actionable results.

Science ‘under attack’ from fossil fuel interests at UN climate talks

The fight is not about whether we want to keep temperature rise below 1.5C, but about how we get there. A pathway can be technically compatible with 1.5C or 2C while still being deeply unequal in who gets to consume energy, who must reduce emissions, and whose development is constrained. Temperature compatibility alone does not make a pathway fair.

Critiquing IAM scenarios from an equity perspective is neither an attack on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) nor an attack on science. Rigorously examining IPCC reports – their substance, assumptions, and processes – is an acknowledgement of the IPCC’s importance and entirely consistent with scientific method.

Tensions over AR7 timing

There is a separate but related tension over the cycle and timeline of the IPCC’s Seventh Assessment Report (AR7).  Some governments and civil society voices advocate completing its Working Group reports in time to feed directly into the UN’s Second Global Stocktake in 2028. 

The motivation makes sense: policymakers need timely science. But several developing-country negotiators and researchers have warned that meeting that deadline could severely disadvantage the Global South.

Funding gap threatens next round of IPCC climate science reports, chair warns

Global North authors and institutions remain disproportionately represented in the research underlying IAM assessments. Developing-country researchers often work with fewer institutional resources, smaller research budgets, and less administrative support. Accelerated publishing and assessment schedules can further limit their ability to generate, submit, and peer-review research in time for inclusion.

The AR7 timeline concerns boil down to inclusivity, representation, and equity. Requiring the IPCC to meet tight political calendars without ensuring meaningful support and participation for developing-country researchers risks reproducing the very inequalities being challenged.

Cooperation requires equity

Political interests are indeed at work in UNFCCC negotiations and must be surfaced. Bad-faith actors seek to evade fossil-fuel phase-outs or shirk climate-finance obligations. Many developed country parties are guilty of both, including those who style themselves as “Friends of Science.”

We must not lump legitimate scientific critiques raised by several Global South researchers and many civil society organisations concerning representation, economic assumptions and fair-share accounting together with obstructionism. Doing so risks misrepresenting and delegitimising critical scientific work and Global South equity and justice perspectives.

The climate movement is strongest when it aligns rigorous science with global equity and justice. Achieving the Paris Agreement’s goals requires robust science that fully integrates the experiences, economic realities and academic contributions of the Global South. Effective climate action also requires international cooperation, and without equity, such cooperation cannot be sustained. We do not have to choose between science and equity. We need both.

The post Framing the climate science debate as a binary battle isn’t just wrong – it’s dangerous appeared first on Climate Home News.

On the 13th of September, people gathered in protests across more than 17 cities in Europe on the 3rd International Day for the Ban of Night Flights at Airports. But this year this initiative was broadened: the movement fighting for their right to sleep joined together with groups promoting the expansion of night trains. This way, as a red line was drawn over night flights, and a green light was…

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Meta will receive “exclusive rights to all environmental attributes associated with energy” from the project, including all renewable energy credits, according to Apex.

On Thursday afternoon, Sept. 24, Food Tank will host “Acting at the Speed of Crisis: Challenges & Opportunities for Food Security Rapid Response” at Climate Week NYC 2026, in partnership with RAAPID and the Arrell Food Institute. The summit will explore how organizations can rapidly mobilize resources, leverage innovation, and build more resilient systems to meet urgent food security needs. 

“Food security crises rarely happen in isolation. Severe weather, conflict, supply chain disruptions, and other pressures can compound quickly, while the information needed to understand what is happening on the ground often arrives too slowly. We now have the tools to change that,” says Inbal Becker-Reshef, Managing Director of Microsoft AI for Good Lab and Founder of RAAPID. 

Food security emergencies are becoming more frequent, more complex, and more interconnected, driven by conflict, climate change, economic instability, and public health crises. Responding effectively requires not only speed, but stronger coordination across governments, nonprofits, researchers, and the private sector. 

“By bringing together Earth observations, AI, and expert networks, we can turn complex signals into actionable information when decisions can still prevent a shock from becoming a crisis. The challenge now is building the system and investments needed to make that capability available when and where it matters most,” says Becker-Reshef.

Experts will identify opportunities to strengthen preparedness, collaboration, and long-term resilience for communities around the world. Panel discussions will cover topics including the power of geopolitics and food, as well as how climate change is fueling more frequent food crises.

“As climate change escalates and more people around the world face crop failure and food precarity, anticipatory action becomes absolutely essential,” says Evan Fraser, Executive Director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. 

“Anticipatory action is not an optional extra. Combining remote monitoring with on-the-ground context means that emergency aid can go where it is most urgently needed, and we can identify the supports and buffers required to prevent catastrophic failure.” 

The event will kick off at WNYC-NPR Studios’ The Greene Space in New York City at 1:30pm with lunch and live musical performances, followed by a reception until 4:30pm.

Speakers include Governor David Beasley, Trustee, The Rockefeller Foundation; Former Governor, South Carolina and Former Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme; Inbal Becker-Reshef, Managing Director, Microsoft AI for Good Lab, Founder & Co-Director NASA Harvest, and Founder, RAAPID; Ambassador Ertharin Cousin, Founder and CEO, Food Systems for the Future; Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Evan Fraser, Executive Director, Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph; Ruth Hill, Director, Markets, Trade, and Institutions, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); Melissa Mahtani, International Affairs Journalist; Adam Met, Musician of multi-Platinum band AJR, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and Climate Activist; Danielle Nierenberg, President, Food Tank; Ambassador Philip Thigo, MBS, Special Envoy on Technology, Office of the President of Kenya; Michael Werz, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations; Simon Winter, Vice President for Reimagining Humanitarian Nutrition Security, Rockefeller Foundation Catalytic Capital (RFCC); and Andrew Zolli, Chief Impact Officer, Planet.

“Acting at the Speed of Crisis” will feature a special musical performance by Oluchi Nwaokorie, Broadway actor and singer currently Elphaba standby in Wicked, following performances in the Parade National Tour and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. She will be joined by Noah Turner, Music Director, Conductor, Pianist, and Arranger.

This summit will be streamed live on FoodTank.com and Food Tank’s YouTube channel, here. Join the Food Tank newsletter list for reminders, and click here for Food Tank’s full lineup of events at Climate Week NYC 2026.

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

The post Rethinking the Future of Food Security at Climate Week NYC appeared first on Food Tank.

EWG evaluation of food chemicals: Aspartame rcoleman September 17, 2026 Dayna de Montagnac, MPH Sydney Evans, MPH Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D. Jump to: What is aspartame and why is it added to food? Where is aspartame found in foods? What is the regulatory status of aspartame? Are foods containing aspartame ultra-processed? Is aspartame allowed in organic foods? What are the potential health harms associated with aspartame? Uncertainties/where more research is needed Cited resources September 17, 2026 EWG’s recommendation

Aspartame is an ingredient of concern, and EWG suggests limiting consumption of foods containing this ingredient. 

Aspartame poses specific risks to vulnerable populations, such as individuals with phenylketonuria. 

While scientific consensus remains limited, some research in animals and humans has suggested associations between aspartame consumption and certain cancers. Oxidative stress, which aspartame can produce, has been proposed to play a role in carcinogenesis. Based on limited evidence, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies aspartame as Group 2B (“possibly carcinogenic to humans”). 

The World Health Organization (WHO) advised against using non-sugar sweeteners (like aspartame) for weight control. Their review concluded that long-term use does not help with reducing body fat in the long run and is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. 

Science analysis

What is aspartame and why is it added to food?

Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener about 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is commonly used as a dietary sugar substitute.

Where is aspartame found in foods?

Aspartame is typically added to diet beverages, powdered drinks and sugar-free chewing gums. 

Aspartame is used in 919 of the 172,081 foods added to EWG’s Food Scores between 2023 and 2025.

The 15 food categories with the most products containing aspartame (by supermarket shelf): 

Image

Source: EWG’s Food Scores. Label created between 2023-01-01 and 2025-10-22.

What is the regulatory status of aspartame?

As of February 2026, the European Food Safety Authority, or EFSA, was re-evaluating the safety of the mixture aspartame and acesulfame, a sweetener commonly used with aspartame. In the last EFSA evaluation, in 2013, it concluded aspartame was not a safety concern at its acceptable daily intake, or ADI, of 40 mg/kg per body weight per day.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration requires food containing aspartame to state the additive is not for use as a sugar substitute in cooking or baking because it is not heat stable.  

The FDA also requires any food containing aspartame to have the label: “Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine.”

Are foods containing aspartame ultra-processed?

Aspartame and other synthetic sweeteners are common ingredients in ultra-processed foods, or UPF. As an industrially synthesized ingredient and artificial sweetener, it falls into the NOVA framework as a UPF ingredient (Monteiro et al., 2019). 

Under a recent California law defining UPF, food served in schools containing aspartame is considered UPF because of aspartame’s property as a non-nutritive sweetener and flavor enhancer (Real Food, Healthy Kids Act, 2025). 

Is aspartame allowed in organic foods?

Under Department of Agriculture organic standards, synthetic substances such as aspartame are prohibited in certified organic foods. 

What are the potential health harms associated with aspartame?

In 2023, the IARC classified aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans based on limited evidence in humans of hepatocellular carcinoma, a type of liver cancer.

A 2026 meta-analysis found that dietary sources of each common non-nutritive sweetener (NNS), including aspartame, and total NNS were associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes and that total NNS and certain types were associated with some cardiovascular disease outcomes (Wang et al. 2026). Using computer modeling, Yang et al. (2025) showed that aspartame can bind to key proteins in the body, potentially triggering the chronic inflammation and cell damage that could lead to heart disease. Zhang et al (2025) found that aspartame might worsen ischemic stroke by latching onto core targets in the body that control blood flow, clotting, and neuroinflammation. Using animal models, Wu et al (2025) found that aspartame can trigger an insulin spike that causes a specific protein to trap passing immune cells on blood vessel walls, accelerating the arterial plaque buildup that leads to heart disease.

A large population-based cohort study conducted in France found an association between cancer risk, specifically breast and obesity-related cancers, and aspartame and acesulfame-K (Debras et al 2022). Some studies have also observed carcinogenesis in animal models (Landrigan & Straif 2021). But comprehensive safety reviews did not find this link (EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources 2014; National Toxicology Program, 2005). 

A 2025 systematic review of studies of human consumption of aspartame observed an increased incidence of clinical depression, high irritability and spatial orientation impairment at levels below the ADI (Fogel et al 2025). This review also found that those with preexisting neurocognitive deficits or metabolic disorders were more vulnerable to the neurocognitive effects of aspartame (Amin, Hassan & Rashed 2018; Ediga et al., 2023). 

Parallel rodent studies monitoring subchronic doses at or below the ADI reported alterations in brain function, such as changes in neurotransmitter activity (Onaolapo et al 2017), as well as decreases in learning and memory deficits (Iyaswamy et al., 2018). 

Aspartame breaks down in the body into phenylalanine, aspartic acid and trace amounts of methanol. The re-evaluation of aspartame by the EFSA, in 2013, determined that aspartame can pose risks to people with phenylketonuria (PKU), or high levels of phenylalanine in the blood. Therefore, the ADI does not apply to these individuals. 

Phenylalanine can become neurotoxic at elevated concentrations, such as those observed in those with PKU, where it competes with other large neutral amino acids for transport across the blood-brain barrier and may disrupt neurotransmitter precursor availability. Dar et al. (2024) proposed that aspartame-derived phenylalanine could contribute to altered neurotransmitter balance; however, whether this mechanism occurs at typical dietary exposure levels remains uncertain (Dar, 2024). 

Aspartic acid, a metabolite of aspartame, can overstimulate nerve cells at high concentrations (Dar, 2024).  Excessive stimulation of nerve receptors can contribute to neuronal injury, although the relevance of this mechanism to typical aspartame exposure is uncertain (Zhao & Danbolt, 2014). 

This mechanism may also affect microglia, or immune cells within the brain, which can contribute to inflammation. Neuroinflammation is associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease (Bonte et al., 2021).

An acute rodent study observed rats that were given a dose of aspartame 1.5 times higher than the allowable daily intake led to detectable levels of blood methanol for 24 hours and increased lipid peroxidation level in multiple brain regions (Ashok et al., 2015). Methanol breaks down further into other toxic byproducts, such as formate and formaldehyde, a probable carcinogen. 

One rodent study found alterations in the structure, growth and function of the placenta of pregnant mice that consumed aspartame (Huang et al., 2023).

Uncertainties/where more research is needed

Because of its flavor profile, aspartame is rarely used in isolation. In commercial products it is frequently paired with other non-nutritive sweeteners like acesulfame-K or sucralose (Basson et al., 2021). More high-quality human research is needed that accurately isolates the long-term health outcomes of independent aspartame exposure from these broader sweetener mixtures (Choudhary & Singh, 2025). Further study on multiple appetite-regulating hormones is also needed (Boxall et al 2025).

Findings in cancer studies remain inconsistent. While some rodent studies show dose-related increases in tumors, epidemiological studies in humans have yet to establish a definitive link (Shaher et al., 2023; Doueihy et al., 2025).

The exact mechanisms by which aspartame causes disease are still largely theoretical (Dar 2024). More empirical evidence in humans is needed to establish a causal link. 

Cited resources

Global health and regulatory agencies

• EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food (ANS). Scientific Opinion on the Re-Evaluation of Aspartame (E 951) as a Food Additive. EFSA J. 2013, 11, 3496.
• National Toxicology Program (NTP). NTP Report on the Toxicology Studies of Aspartame in Genetically Modified Mice; Department of Health and Human Services: Research Triangle Park, N.C., USA, 2005.
• World Health Organization. (2023). Summary of findings of the evaluation of aspartame at the international agency for research on cancer (IARC) monographs programme’s 134th meeting, and the joint FAO/WHO Expert committee on food additives (JECFA) 96th meeting. Geneva: World Health Organization. 
• World Health Organization. (2023). Use of non-sugar sweeteners: WHO guideline. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240073616 

Comprehensive reviews and frameworks

• Amin, S.N., Hassan, S.S., & Rashed, L.A. (2017). Effects of chronic aspartame consumption on MPTP-induced Parkinsonism in male and female mice. Archives of Physiology and Biochemistry, 124(4), 292–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/13813455.2017.1396348. 
• Basson, A.R., Rodriguez-Palacios, A., & Cominelli, F. (2021). Artificial Sweeteners: History and New Concepts on Inflammation. Frontiers in Nutrition, 8, 746247. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.746247. 
• Bonte, M., Idrissi, F. E., Gressier, B., Devos, D., & Belarbi, K. (2021). Protein network exploration prioritizes targets for modulating neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease. International Immunopharmacology, 95, 107526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2021.107526. 
• Boxall, L.R., Eskandari, F., Wallis, J., Bielat, A.D., & Appleton, K. M. (2025). The Effects of aspartame on glucose, insulin, and Appetite-Regulating hormone responses in Humans: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses. Advances in Nutrition, 16(7), 100449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2025.100449. 
• Choudhary, A.K., & Singh, N. (2026). Neurotoxic and metabolic effects of chronic aspartame consumption in rodent models: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15376516.2026.2662931. 
• Dar, W. (2024). Aspartame-induced cognitive dysfunction: Unveiling role of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation and molecular remediation. International Immunopharmacology, 135, 112295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intimp.2024.112295.
• Doueihy, N.E., Ghaleb, J., Kfoury, K., Khouzami, K.K., Nassif, N., Attieh, P., Ghadieh, H.E., Azar, S., Kanaan, A., & Harb, F. (2025). Aspartame and Human Health: A Mini-Review of Carcinogenic and Systemic Effects. Journal of Xenobiotics, 15(4), 114. https://doi.org/10.3390/jox15040114. 
• Fogel, M.N., Khalil, A., Khaled, S.F., Rodriguez, E.M., Payne, K.M., Blount, J.R., Petschke, M., Nizamuddin, R.A., Jeidel, F., Riven, V., & Petrosky, S. (2025). Aspartame and its potential neurocognitive effects in humans. Nutrition Reviews, 84(5), 1026-1038. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaf103. 
• Monteiro, C.A., Cannon, G., Levy, R.B., Moubarac, J., Louzada, M.L., Rauber, F., Khandpur, N., Cediel, G., Neri, D., Martinez-Steele, E., Baraldi, L.G., & Jaime, P.C. (2019). Ultra-processed foods: What they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition, 22(5), 936–941. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1368980018003762. 
• Nam, T. (2011). Lipid peroxidation and its toxicological implications. Toxicological Research, 27(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.5487/tr.2011.27.1.001. 
• Shaher, S. A.A., Mihailescu, D.F., & Amuzescu, B. (2023). Aspartame Safety as a Food Sweetener and Related Health Hazards. Nutrients, 15(16), 3627. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15163627.         
• Wang, M., Wu, O. Y., Wallen, O. G., & Mozaffarian, D. (2026). Artificial and other non-nutritive sweeteners, the microbiome, and cardiometabolic health. Current Atherosclerosis Reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11883-026-01429-9   
• Xiao L., Xian M., Zhang C., Guo Q. and Yi Q. (2024) Lipid peroxidation of immune cells in cancer. Front. Immunol. 14:1322746. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1322746 
• Zhou, Y., & Danbolt, N. C. (2014). Glutamate as a neurotransmitter in the healthy brain. Journal of Neural Transmission, 121(8), 799-817. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-014-1180-8. 

Legislation

• 21 CFR 172.804 – Aspartame. (n.d.). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-172/subpart-I/section-172.804. 
• Real Food, Healthy Kids Act, Assemb. Bill 1264, Chapter 467 (Cal. 2025). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1264. 

Health impact studies

• Ashok I, Sheeladevi R, Wankhar D. Acute effect of aspartame-induced oxidative stress in Wistar albino rat brain. J Biomed Res. 2015 Sep;29(5):390-6. doi: 10.7555/JBR.28.20120118. Epub 2014 Jan 12. PMID: 26445572; PMCID: PMC4585433. 
• Debras, C., Chazelas, E., Srour, B., Druesne-Pecollo, N., Esseddik, Y., De Edelenyi, F. S., Agaësse, C., De Sa, A., Lutchia, R., Gigandet, S., Huybrechts, I., Julia, C., Kesse-Guyot, E., Allès, B., Andreeva, V. A., Galan, P., Hercberg, S., Deschasaux-Tanguy, M., & Touvier, M. (2022). Artificial sweeteners and cancer risk: Results from the NutriNet-Santé population-based cohort study. PLoS Medicine, 19(3), e1003950. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003950.
• Ediga, M. G., Annapureddy, S., Salikineedy, K., & Nimgampalle, M. (2023). Aspartame consumption causes cognitive impairment in streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar rats. Biologia, 78(9), 2393–2407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-023-01363-0.
• Huang, S. Y., Sun, R., Chen, Y. C., Kang, L., Wang, C. T., Chiu, C. F., & Wu, H. T. (2023). Aspartame consumption during pregnancy impairs placenta growth in mice through sweet taste receptor-reactive oxygen species-dependent pathway. The Journal of nutritional biochemistry, 113, 109228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnutbio.2022.109228. 
• Iyaswamy, A., Kammella, A. K., Thavasimuthu, C., Wankupar, W., Dapkupar, W., Shanmugam, S., Rajan, R., & Rathinasamy, S. (2017). Oxidative stress evoked damages leading to attenuated memory and inhibition of NMDAR–CaMKII–ERK/CREB signalling on consumption of aspartame in rat model. Journal of Food and Drug Analysis, 26(2), 903–916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfda.2017.11.001. 
• Landrigan, P. J., & Straif, K. (2021). Aspartame and cancer - new evidence for causation. Environmental health : a global access science source, 20(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-021-00725-y. 
• Onaolapo, A. Y., Onaolapo, O. J., & Nwoha, P. U. (2017). Aspartame and the hippocampus: Revealing a bi-directional, dose/time-dependent behavioural and morphological shift in mice. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 139, 76–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2016.12.021.
• Wu, W., Sui, W., Chen, S., et al. (2025). Sweetener aspartame aggravates atherosclerosis through insulin-triggered inflammation. Cell Metabolism, 41(x). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2025.01.006 
• Yang, T., Luo, J. Z., Zhang, L., Li, H., & Wang, J. (2025). Aspartame and cardiovascular disease: Unraveling potential molecular mechanisms through integrative network toxicology, molecular docking, and dynamics simulation. Medicine, 104(47), e46012. https://doi.org/10.1097/md.0000000000046012 
• Zhang, T., Wang, T., Yu, K., Huang, C., & Bao, K. (2025). Aspartame and ischemic stroke: Unraveling the molecular link through network toxicology and molecular docking analysis. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 23871. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08898-z