Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 6, 2025

This past week, I attended the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) meeting in Hangzhou, China. In previous posts, Ive explained what the IPCC is, why this assessment cycle is crucial , and highlighted its role in climate action. Whats Next for the IPCC?

Climate Change

PA Environment Daily

APRIL 25, 2025

On April 25, the Department of Environmental Protection announced the release of the 2024 Climate Change Action Plan Update and 2024 Climate Impacts Assessment Report. Visit DEPs Climate Change webpage for more information on these and other Pennsylvania climate initiatives.

Climate Change

Real Climate

JULY 31, 2025

0 % ~ 96% (impact of T on saturation vapor pressure) Adverse effects of increase Increased heat waves, sea level rise, etc. Indeed, it’s clear that the vast majority of the increase is due to climate change itself (warming the atmosphere and increasing the saturation vapor pressure).

Atmosphere

A Greener Life

JULY 27, 2025

The President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Judge Iwasawa Yuji, delivers his advisory opinion on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change. degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels. The Court argued that action on climate change is the key to guaranteeing those rights.

Paris Agreement

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC)

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Organic practices enhance soil health and biodiversity, foster resource regeneration, and help mitigate and build resilience to climate change. Similarly, Clemson University received funding to develop salt-tolerant rice cultivars for organic farms affected by rising sea levels. However, challenges remain.

Climate Change

Circle of Blue

APRIL 8, 2025

All of Seldovia draws its water from a single reservoir, which sits within city limits no more than 200 feet above sea level. Still, Suzie Stranik, the chair of the Seldovia Arts Council, recalls shutting down her greenhouse early and flushing her toilets sparingly. And then it started to dawn on us, Cameron says.

2019

Vermont Law

DECEMBER 24, 2024

Unseen and Unprotected: The Ongoing Struggle of Climate Refugees in the United States by Isaiah Gonzales and Professor Siu Tip Lam I. Introduction As climate change accelerates, environmental disasters will leave millions homeless. Historical Background of Climate Change The scientific consensus on climate change is undeniable.

Climate Change

New Scientist

JULY 14, 2025

We know what’s causing the warming of sea surface temperature: the emission of greenhouse gases. The upward trend in both intensity and precipitation is small – the change in wind speed of even the strongest storms amounts to just over 1 metre per second since 1940. This is probably due to warmer ocean temperatures. “We

Ocean

Law Columbia

DECEMBER 23, 2024

At issue in the case is whether New York Citys Local Law 97 of 2019 , the Citys building performance standards aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its largest buildings, is preempted by New York States Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). City of New York. Glen Oaks Village Owners v.

Law

Legal Planet

DECEMBER 2, 2024

It’s a common misconception that Congress has never passed any climate change legislation. But it has passed laws regulating two powerful greenhouse gases, and some other climate laws stretching back over the past five decades. Only laws that specifically cover climate or greenhouse gases are included.

Law

A Greener Life

NOVEMBER 21, 2024

A potential new path forward The past two decades have seen some progress in the realm of climate finance, but not enough. The Copenhagen Accord of 2009 marked a pivotal moment when industrialised countries pledged to increase overall climate change financing for poorer countries to USD 100 billion a year by 2020.

Paris Agreement

Law Columbia

MAY 22, 2025

On March 12, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin announced plans to reconsider EPAs 2009 endangerment finding for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, along with all regulations and actions that rely on the finding. The Supreme Court explicitly held in Massachusetts v.

2009

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 24, 2025

On July 23 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a historic advisory opinion on states’ legal obligations to address climate change. Climate inaction is not just a policy failure, it’s a legal breach. The Court emphasized that states must act based on scientific evidence.

Fossil Fuels

Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Of course, an honest assessment of the latest climate science will show that since 2009 the evidence has become even more compelling and dire. Climate change, driven by rising heat-trapping emissions, is already causing significant harm to peoples health and well-being and to vital ecosystems.

Fossil Fuels

Legal Planet

APRIL 7, 2025

Climate change is no fad or Johnny-come-lately in science. Over time, it has become more and more certain that humans are causing climate change and that continuing down that road poses great risks. In his efforts to expunge climate science, Trump is trying to wipe out the results of many decades of scientific research.

Climate Change

Law Columbia

OCTOBER 18, 2024

Several states and industry groups are challenging EPA’s 2024 rules which set greenhouse gas emissions limits for certain fossil fuel power plants nationwide (referred to here as the Power Plant Rules). This case will have a major impact on how and when power plants must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

2024

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 24, 2025

The Trump administration has laid off federal workers and scientists who worked on climate science, weather patterns, and public health implications of climate change. It has pulled funding focused on climate science and research from universities.

Politics

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 20, 2022

Sea level rise presents numerous climate justice issues. Some of the venues where people are addressing the injustices of climate change are UN climate negotiations, the courts, and community organizing efforts around the world. Climate justice research can help inform these conversations.

Sea Level

Real Climate

MAY 12, 2021

Three new papers in the last couple of weeks have each made separate claims about whether sea level rise from the loss of ice in West Antarctica is more or less than you might have thought last month and with more or less certainty. 2020) or Sadai et al.

Sea Level

Law and Environment

AUGUST 9, 2021

The IPCC has released its Sixth Assessment Report on the physical science basis of climate change. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred. Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe.

Climate Change

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 24, 2023

This dire state of affairs is just one of the reasons why the Republic of Vanuatu and more than 100 other nations have drafted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on climate change. An ICJ advisory opinion could clarify many of the climate justice issues my work identifies.

Paris Agreement

Real Climate

AUGUST 12, 2021

I followed with great interest the launch of the sixth assessment report Working Group 1 (The Physical Science Basis) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on August 9th. The cause of our changing climate is the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations that we have released into the air.

Atmosphere

Real Climate

NOVEMBER 11, 2023

A friend asked me if a discussion paper published on Statistics Norway’s website, ‘ To what extent are temperature levels changing due to greenhouse gas emissions? ’, was purposely timed for the next climate summit ( COP28 ). The global sea level acts like the mercury in a thermometer because warmer water expands.

Sea Level

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

The latest science shows clearly that the infrastructure in Baltimore will be taxed by sea level rise, extreme heat, and extended droughts. The right to a stable climate is intricately linked to our well-being, safety, and the prosperity of future generations.

Climate Change

Real Climate

AUGUST 9, 2021

Here are a few things that mark this report out from previous versions that relate to issues we’ve discussed here before: Extreme events are increasingly connected to climate (duh!) Extremes : Back in 2012, the literature assessed by AR5 connecting changes in extremes to climate change was scant. Figure SPM 8.

Sea Level

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 16, 2021

The world is gathering soon in Glasgow to debate how to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades. Does the climate keep warming, stay the same, or even cool? What are the political implications of the fact that climate change will continue after emissions cease, or even potentially grow worse?

Climate Change

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 16, 2023

In a few days, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release its latest synthesis report that provides a comprehensive assessment of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change, including its causes, impacts, and potential solutions. Clearing the path for climate action A 1.5-degree

Fossil Fuels

Law Columbia

JULY 24, 2025

“An existential threat” – this is how the International Court of Justice (ICJ) characterized climate change in its long-awaited advisory opinion on the obligations of States with respect to climate change. 74) – states must act urgently.

Climate Change

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 5, 2023

California is no stranger to the impacts of climate change. From droughts to wildfires to rising sea levels and torrential rains, the state has felt the effects of a changing climate in a variety of ways. Incremental changes in vapor pressure deficit due to climate change are linked to interrelated threats.

Climate Change

Legal Planet

SEPTEMBER 30, 2021

Today, climate change is the central, though by no means the only, concern in environmental law. Westlaw searches for “global warming” and “greenhouse effect” pick up only a handful of citations before 1985. I found only one relevant reference using the term “climate change” before 1985.

Carbon Dioxide

Circle of Blue

AUGUST 16, 2021

Meltwater from Greenland’s ice sheets have caused about a quarter of the rise in the world’s sea levels. This week, Circle of Blue looks at a major new climate report, which finds that a warming planet is accelerating the water cycle. The report found that some changes in the water cycle are already evident.

2021

Law Columbia

MAY 22, 2024

On May 21, 2024, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) delivered a long-awaited Advisory Opinion on climate change and international law. This marks the first time that an international tribunal has issued an advisory opinion on State obligations regarding climate change mitigation.

Climate Change

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 23, 2023

For example, researchers at the Union of Concerned Scientists have directly linked fossil fuel producers’ Scope 1 and Scope 3 emissions to increases in ocean acidification , global temperature, sea level rise and North American wildfires. Celsius above preindustrial levels. Unsurprisingly, the companies oppose the resolutions.

Carbon Emissions

Legal Planet

JUNE 4, 2021

In recent years, The Netherlands has become the leading site of climate change litigation. its district, appellate , and supreme courts decided in favor of Urgenda, an upstart environmental organization, ordering the government to more aggressively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Everyone produces greenhouse gases.

Carbon Dioxide

Legal Planet

MARCH 10, 2022

term, even for the very low greenhouse gas emissions scenario.” Using carbon capture, we may be able come back to that level even if we temporarily exceed it. These findings both emphasize the urgency of reducing emissions and the likelihood that we will have to deal with serious climate impacts beyond what we’ve already seen.

Paris Agreement

Environmental News Bits

AUGUST 29, 2022

Human-driven climate change has set in motion massive ice losses in Greenland that couldn’t be halted even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, according to a new study published Monday. The findings in Nature Climate Change project that it is now inevitable that 3.3

Sea Level

A Greener Life

NOVEMBER 16, 2023

By Anders Lorenzen On the eve of the COP28 UN climate summit, The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations (UN) body, has warned that the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) is forecast to continue the trend that resulted in record-high CO2 measurements last year.

Greenhouse