Finance & Investing

Massachusetts

Campbell takes another swipe at electricity retailers

Attorney General Andrea Campbell said a new study by her office indicates electricity retailers in Massachusetts finally saved their customers some money, but she continues to insist the industry should be shut down because the savings were so small. Campbell released an updated report on the competitive electricity market that indicated customers in seven of the last eight years paid more for electricity than they would have if they let their utility buy their power for them. Commonwealth Beacon

U.S.

Wind turbine maker GE Vernova lists on New York Stock Exchange after spinoff

GE Vernova announced that it has completed its spinoff from U.S. industrial conglomerate General Electric and is due to begin trading as an independent company. Windpower Monthly

Impact & Adaptation

International

Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis?

An enormous vacuum may soon be sucking up vast quantities of air, stripping out carbon dioxide and then locking away those greenhouse gases deep underground in ancient stone -- greenhouse gases that would otherwise continue heating up the globe. Just a few years ago, technologies like these, that attempt to re-engineer the natural environment, were on the scientific fringe. But with the dangers from climate change worsening, and the world failing to meet its goals of slashing greenhouse gas emissions, they are quickly moving to the mainstream among both scientists and investors, despite questions about their effectiveness and safety. The New York Times

International

As Wildfires Grow Fiercer, Some Companies Look to Rebuild the Tree Supply Chain

As forests succumb to ever-fiercer wildfires, the federal government and some adventurous private companies are trying to resuscitate an industry. The New York Times

Louisiana

Louisiana's insurance crisis is a climate crisis

Insurance markets are currently warning us that communities are becoming uninsurable. Instead of debating measures that weaken consumer protections, let's focus efforts on creating insurable communities that can thrive in the face of escalating risk. Making residents safer as the planet warms is the long-term path to stabilizing property insurance, writes Carolyn Kousky, associate vice president for economics and policy at the Environmental Defense Fund. Louisiana Illuminator

U.S.

Extreme heat drives up food prices. Just how bad will it get?

Sometimes climate change appears where you least expect it -- like the grocery store. Food prices have climbed 25 percent over the past four years, and Americans have been shocked by the growing cost of staples like beef, sugar, and citrus. While many factors, like supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, have contributed to this increase, extreme heat is already raising food prices, and it's bound to get worse, according to a recent study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment. Grist

Policy & Politics

Georgia

Georgia energy regulator elections still on hold amid voting discrimination lawsuit

As candidates qualify for regional, state and federal offices in Georgia, one statewide body remains off the list: the Public Service Commission. Commissioners set electricity rates for Georgia Power and oversee how that electricity gets made, giving them extraordinary sway over many Georgians' lives. But for the second consecutive election cycle, none will be on the ballot. WABE

Hawaii

Key House Committee Approves Bill To Charge HECO Customers To Mitigate Wildfire Risk

House lawmakers have moved forward with a bill to impose a new fee on electricity ratepayers to help the utility pay for a wildfire prevention program that will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Senate Bill 2922 was introduced at the request of Hawaiian Electric Co., and HECO Chief Operations Officer Jim Alberts told the House Finance Committee the fee would be capped at 5% of consumers' monthly bills. Civil Beat

Maryland

Green group drops opposition to amended data center bill

Lawmakers, Moore administration officials and environmentalists have reached a compromise on a data center bill that is enabling a leading green group in the state to drop its opposition to the measure. Maryland Matters

New Jersey

Charges dismissed against Ocean City wind energy protesters

Charges against six people connected to a protest of offshore wind power proposals have been dropped, according to an attorney representing some of those charged. Press of Atlantic City

Texas

Utility pole inspection company declines to testify at Texas Panhandle wildfire investigation hearing

A company hired to inspect utility poles in the Panhandle declined to testify before Texas lawmakers as part of the state's inquiry into the Smokehouse Creek fire -- the largest wildfire in state history that burned more than 1 million acres and killed two. Texas Tribune

U.S.

Chart: Which states support community-led clean energy the most?

Local policies can either help or hinder community-led clean energy solutions -- but according to a new report, most states are doing more hindering than helping. This year's Community Power Scorecard from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance gives each U.S. state a letter grade based on their policies around community ownership of clean energy. Out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., none received an A, and only one -- Illinois -- got a B. In fact, just over half of states received a failing grade of F. Canary Media

U.S.

The EPA wanted to clean up steel mills. Then a group of Rust Belt senators got involved.

Steel towns will see some reductions in toxic pollution from new regulations -- but not as much as they'd hoped. Grist

U.S.

SEC asks 8th Circuit not to pause climate rule pending challenges

The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals not to pause the implementation agency's final climate risk disclosure rule, according to a filing, after Liberty Energy and Nomad Proppant Services asked to reinstate an administrative stay ordered by another circuit. ESG Dive

U.S.

With States Leading on Climate Policy, New Tools Peer Into Lobbying 'Black Box'

Separate efforts by Brown University researchers and OpenSecrets allow searches of who's influencing state lawmakers. Less than half of states make lobbying information accessible for analysis. Inside Climate News

U.S.

Citi says 71% of energy clients lack substantive transition plan or 'ability to execute'

Citigroup said 71% of its energy sector clients either lack a substantive low-carbon transition plan that accounts for scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions or have a high-level plan in place but have "unclear ability to execute" on it, the bank disclosed in its latest climate report last week. The report found that 42% of Citi's energy clients lacked a substantive transition plan for greenhouse gas emissions across their supply chain, while 29% of energy clients don't have a clear strategy in place to execute on their high-level transition plans. ESG Dive

U.S.

How to make polluters pay

What if governments could simply charge companies for the costs of climate change? These efforts are often described as "climate superfunds," a reference to the 1980 U.S. law that forced companies to pay for toxic waste cleanup. At least four states are considering versions of these bills, and tiny Vermont may soon be the first state to pass one. The idea behind the Vermont bill is simple: the state would calculate the damage caused by climate change and charge companies according to the share of emissions they produced. The New York Times

U.S.

As Legal Challenges Against the Fossil Fuel Industry Notch Some Successes, Are Livestock Companies the Next Target?

Livestock agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, but lawsuits against the industry for its role in the climate crisis are only now starting to land in courtrooms and could become critical tools for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. A new analysis from researchers at Yale Law School, published in the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law, tracks the small but rising trend of litigation aimed at the livestock industry and explores potential future legal strategies as the climate crisis accelerates along with global appetites for protein. The authors argue that, given emissions from livestock agriculture, its biggest players could be considered legal targets on par with fossil fuel industry giants like Exxon and Shell. Inside Climate News

U.S.

After a long slog, climate change lawsuits will finally put Big Oil on trial

After years of legal appeals and delays, some oil companies are set to stand trial in lawsuits brought by state and local governments over the damages caused by climate change. Meanwhile, dozens more governments large and small have brought new claims against the fossil fuel industry as those initial cases, filed up to a half-dozen years ago, inch closer to the courtroom. New Jersey Monitor

Wyoming

Gordon: BLM's methane rule unworkable in Wyoming

Conservation groups hailed the rule as vital to rural economies and a step to addressing climate change, while industry leaders fret over punitive measures. WyoFile