Latest news with #EnvironmentalDefenceFund
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Groups sue Trump agencies for using 'secret' report to reverse core of US climate rules
Two major environmental groups announced on Tuesday they have sued the Trump administration for secretly convening a group of climate sceptics, which prepared a report that served as the basis for a reversal of US rules on greenhouse gas emissions without public notice. The Environmental Defence Fund and the Union of Concerned Scientists filed the lawsuit in a federal-district court in Massachusetts, arguing that the so-called Climate Working Group that energy secretary Chris Wright put together, evaded public view, delivered erroneous results and was illegally used to inform the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to reverse the scientific finding that served as the foundation for federal climate regulation. The lawsuit names Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin as defendants. Both were not immediately available for comment. WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The preparation and use of the report has raised concern that the US is rejecting the mainstream consensus about the causes and impacts of climate change at a time when more severe storms and record-breaking temperatures cause trillions of dollars in damage around the country. Downplaying the impacts of climate change and eliminating US climate data collection and reports also takes away the urgency for the US to shift away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy. KEY CONTEXT Through the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Congress requires public disclosure and public records in the establishment and operation of any federal advisory committee. KEY QUOTE 'Decades of rigorous scientific analysis shows burning fossil fuels is unequivocally contributing to deadly heatwaves, accelerating sea level rise, worsening wildfires and floods, increased heavy rainfall, and more intense and damaging storms across the country. We should all relentlessly question who stands to gain from efforts to upend this unassailable and peer-reviewed scientific truth,' said Gretchen Goldman, president of UCS.
NZ Herald
23-07-2025
- Automotive
- NZ Herald
EPA is said to be drafting a plan to end its ability to fight climate change
The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. The EPA intends to argue that imposing climate regulations on car-makers poses the real harm to human health because it would lead to higher prices and reduced consumer choice, according to the two people familiar with the Administration's plan. They asked to remain anonymous because they weren't authorised to discuss the draft proposal. The draft could still undergo changes. But if it is approved by the White House and formally released, the public would have an opportunity to weigh in before it is made final, likely later this year. Molly Vaseliou, a spokesperson for the EPA, did not confirm the details of the plan. In a statement she said the EPA sent the draft proposal to the White House on June 30, and that it 'will be published for public notice and comment once it has completed interagency review and been signed by the administrator'. If the Trump Administration is able to repeal the endangerment finding, it would not only erase all current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from cars, factories, power plants, and other sources. It would prevent future administrations from trying to tackle climate change, with lasting implications. 'The White House is trying to turn back the clock and re-litigate both the science and the law,' said Vickie Patton, general counsel for the Environmental Defence Fund, an environmental group. She called the evidence that climate change is harmful 'overwhelming and incontrovertible'. Since taking office, President Donald Trump has abandoned US efforts to tackle global warming. He also has moved to roll back virtually every federal policy aimed at curbing greenhouse gases from the burning of oil, gas and coal. His Administration has encouraged more production and use of fossil fuels while stifling the growth of clean energy and electric vehicles. In calling to repeal the endangerment finding, the draft EPA rule does not appear to focus on the science or try to make the case that fossil fuels aren't warming the planet. Instead, it argues that the EPA overstepped its legal authority under the Clean Air Act by making a broad finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger the public welfare. It makes the case that the EPA administrator has limited power that apply only to specific circumstances. Joseph Goffman, who led the air office at the EPA under the Biden Administration, said the rule would all but certainly face legal challenges if it is finalised. He said the Trump Administration's proposed rule conflicts with the 2007 Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts vs EPA, a landmark case that found for the first time that greenhouse gases were a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. That led the EPA to make the finding in 2009 that said that six greenhouse gases were harming public health. In more than 200 pages, the EPA at that time outlined the science and detailed how increasingly severe heatwaves, storms and droughts were expected to contribute to higher rates of death and disease. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Lisa Friedman ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Independent
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
World Cup pollution will be ‘equivalent to 6.5m cars driven for a year', claims report
New research by environmentalists suggests that next year's World Cup, in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be 'the most climate-damaging' in the history of the tournament. With Fifa expanding the 2026 World Cup from 32 to 48 teams, Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) has calculated that the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the tournament will almost double the average carbon dioxide equivalent from the last four World Cup finals. This, claims the report, is driven by the 'high reliance on air travel and significant increase in the quantity of matches,' adding that the predicted 2026 total is "equivalent to nearly 6.5 million average British cars being driven for an entire year." The figures will make it the most polluting tournament ever staged, with its nine million tonnes of CO2e being significantly higher than the 5.25 million tonnes generated by Qatar 2022. The number of matches played, in what is the first tournament to be held across an entire continent, will increase by more than 60 per cent from 64 to 104 and, while they will be played in existing stadia, those CO2e figures are much higher than initial estimates. The report was conducted in collaboration with the Environmental Defence Fund, and the Sport for Climate Action Network. Fifa has previously committed to reducing emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and to reaching net-zero by 2040. It has said that is has developed and implemented sustainability strategies that have allowed it "to be aware of its impact and take adequate action". "As a result, on the environmental side, greenhouse gas emissions have been assessed and mitigated, waste has been substantially reduced and tonnes of material have been recycled and diverted from landfill, and stadium construction and operations have been certified according to green building standards," Fifa has claimed. However, a Swiss regulator ruled in 2023 that the governing body made "unsubstantiated claims" about the reduced environmental impact of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
RNZ News
03-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Lost satellite cost NZ extra $3m because of delays
Artist rendering of MethaneSat. Photo: Supplied / Environmental Defence Fund A satellite that has been lost in space cost taxpayers $32 million, $3m more than originally planned, because of delays. The extra cost was to staff a mission control that will now never be used to drive the satellite. Leading scientists say too few questions were asked before deciding to invest in the mission, and red flags were missed. However New Zealand Space Agency and scientists who worked on the mission say New Zealand has gained valuable experience. The Space Agency, which sits inside the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), says multiple delays to the satellite's launch meant University of Auckland needed more money to keep employing staff at its mission control centre. The agency says $26m of the total was spent on New Zealand-based organisations. Delays to the launch pushed out the date when the university was meant to take over the mission control. The handover was then delayed another six months when the satellite was handed back to its manufacturer to work on unspecified problems. The handover was finally due to happen in late June, when the satellite was lost. The final cost to the government included $6m to the MethaneSAT organisation for flight software and other items, $12m to Rocket Lab for scoping and establishing the mission control, which it ran for the first year after launch, $6m to the University of Auckland to operate the mission control centre after Rocket Lab handed it over, and $6m to Earth Sciences NZ (formerly NIWA) for a science programme to measure farming's emissions methane from space. The final $2m was for MBIE to manage the programme. Earth Sciences NZ says the agricultural science programme already has a wealth of data and will continue as planned. The lead scientist for MethaneSAT says there's very little chance the satellite will be recovered. The mission is a collaboration with the US-based Environmental Defense Fund. Its chief scientist and MethaneSAT mission lead Dr Steven Hamburg said they did not know what caused the satellite to lose power and become unresponsive on 20 June. "There's a very small chance, we were able to observe it by using another satellite to look at it and it does not currently have power. We are working it, we continue to work it, but we have to be realistic the probability of recovery is diminishing." Hamburg said a group was investigating the cause. RNZ has been asking about problems with the satellite since September and was previously told its issues were "teething problems" . Hamburg said the MethaneSAT had been transparent, and the Space Agency said the mission had kept people as informed "as possible." However University of Auckland physics professor Richard Easther said the space craft carrying the methane detector "seems to have had fairly persistent and deep-seated problems, pretty much from launch." He said for most of the year it had been in orbit, it was not functioning properly. Associate Professor Nicholas Rattenbury of the Department of Physics at University of Auckland said he sympathised with those involved in the mission, but the question needed to be asked of whether New Zealand should have taken a closer look "under the hood" before investing in MethaneSAT. Dr Rattenbury questioned who was asking questions on behalf of taxpayers about the mission design, satellite construction and testing before the government committed the money. He said the science sector had "very limited resources" to spend. Space Minister Judith Collins has declined to comment on the loss or whether the public had been adequately informed during the mission. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
02-07-2025
- Science
- RNZ News
Missing satellite cost NZ extra $3m because of delays
Artist rendering of MethaneSat. Photo: Supplied / Environmental Defence Fund A satellite that has gone missing in space cost taxpayers $32 million, $3m more than originally planned, because of delays. The extra cost was to staff a mission control that will now never be used to drive the satellite. Leading scientists say too few questions were asked before deciding to invest in the mission, and red flags were missed. However New Zealand Space Agency and scientists who worked on the mission say New Zealand has gained valuable experience. The Space Agency, which sits inside the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), says multiple delays to the satellite's launch meant University of Auckland needed more money to keep employing staff at its mission control centre. The agency says $26m of the total was spent on New Zealand-based organisations. Delays to the launch pushed out the date when the university was meant to take over the mission control. The handover was then delayed another six months when the satellite was handed back to its manufacturer to work on unspecified problems. The handover was finally due to happen in late June, when the satellite was lost. The final cost to the government included $6m to the MethaneSAT organisation for flight software and other items, $12m to Rocket Lab for scoping and establishing the mission control, which it ran for the first year after launch, $6m to the University of Auckland to operate the mission control centre after Rocket Lab handed it over, and $6m to Earth Sciences NZ (formerly NIWA) for a science programme to measure farming's emissions methane from space. The final $2m was for MBIE to manage the programme. Earth Sciences NZ says the agricultural science programme already has a wealth of data and will continue as planned. The lead scientist for MethaneSAT says there's very little chance the satellite will be recovered. The mission is a collaboration with the US-based Environmental Defense Fund. Its chief scientist and MethaneSAT mission lead Dr Steven Hamburg said they did not know what caused the satellite to lose power and become unresponsive on 20 June. "There's a very small chance, we were able to observe it by using another satellite to look at it and it does not currently have power. We are working it, we continue to work it, but we have to be realistic the probability of recovery is diminishing." Hamburg said a group was investigating the cause. RNZ has been asking about problems with the satellite since September and was previously told its issues were "teething problems" . Hamburg said the MethaneSAT had been transparent, and the Space Agency said the mission had kept people as informed "as possible." However University of Auckland physics professor Richard Easther said the space craft carrying the methane detector "seems to have had fairly persistent and deep-seated problems, pretty much from launch." He said for most of the year it had been in orbit, it was not functioning properly. Associate Professor Nicholas Rattenbury of the Department of Physics at University of Auckland said he sympathised with those involved in the mission, but the question needed to be asked of whether New Zealand should have taken a closer look "under the hood" before investing in MethaneSAT. Dr Rattenbury questioned who was asking questions on behalf of taxpayers about the mission design, satellite construction and testing before the government committed the money. He said the science sector had "very limited resources" to spend. Space Minister Judith Collins has declined to comment on the loss or whether the public had been adequately informed during the mission.
