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New, Updated Carbon Majors Dataset Holds Promise for Researchers, Litigators

Union of Concerned Scientists

That 2013 headline resulted from the first effort to quantify emissions from the ‘carbon majors’ —fossil fuel companies and cement manufacturers whose businesses have contributed an outsized amount of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. Nearly two-thirds of industrial heat-trapping emissions can be traced to just 90 entities.

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European banks continue to fund fossil fuels?

A Greener Life

Barclays and HSBC are two of the major banks which continue to fund fossil fuel investments. A report by ShareAction has delivered a damning verdict on European banks connection to fossil fuel investments. Major European banks at the heart of continued fossil fuel support. Photo credit: AFP / Getty Images.

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Ask a Scientist: The US Has to Do More to Meet Its Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals

Union of Concerned Scientists

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the United States voluntarily pledged to reduce its global warming emissions at least 50 percent below their 2005 levels by the end of this decade and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050. It also will save US consumers money because they will spend less on fossil fuels. Your thoughts?

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Shell called out for promoting fossil fuels to youth via Fortnite game

Corp Watch

The flares from the refinery burned so bright after Hurricane Ida in 2021 that they could be seen 25 miles away. In a landmark ruling in 2021, a Dutch court ordered Shell to reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030. Seven workers were killed in a 1988 explosion at the refinery.

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South Korea and Climate Change

Legal Planet

According to the Energy Information Agency , South Korea’s power sector is heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Two thirds of generation capacity is based on fossil fuels, split evenly between coal and natural gas, with 17% nuclear, and 14% hydro and other renewables. 50% coal, 26% gas, and 25% nuclear.

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The State of the Air in 2024? Not Great

Union of Concerned Scientists

I moved to Merced in 2015 to study for my PhD, and I found a place I could call home. The air quality for this report was calculated using data reviewed by EPA from 2020, 2021, and 2022. That means it includes the extreme wildfires exacerbated by the fossil fuel industry that burned more than 4% of California in 2021 and 2022.

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Extreme Summer Weather Threatens Gas Power Plants. Here’s How. 

Union of Concerned Scientists

What are the physical limitations of this fossil fuel resource that make it vulnerable during, say, summer droughts , or the types of extreme heat waves the world has been experiencing for months now? From 2010 to 2015, Texas experienced its second-worst drought in the state’s history.