Biden suspends oil leases in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The suspension includes 10-year leases that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued on Jan. 6, 2021, which span more than 430,000 acres of the refuge.
EcoWatch
Leonardo DiCaprio and conservationists launch $43M plan to restore Galápagos Islands
The initiative involves more than 40 partners, ranging from local NGOs to governments to international organizations, leveraging decades of collective experience working across the archipelago.
Hawaii becomes first U.S. state to declare climate emergency
According to the Climate Mobilization Project, such declarations have been made by over 1,900 jurisdictions worldwide, including 144 within U.S. 24 states.
Poland clinches ‘historic’ deal to phase out coal by 2049
The country depends on coal for around 70% of its energy needs, although it is planning to reduce this to 11% by 2040.
Biden plans to cut U.S. climate pollution in half by 2030
The goal, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, would nearly double the cuts targeted by the Obama administration in 2015.
New satellite network to find and monitor methane super-emitters
“These sort of methane emissions are kind of like invisible wildfires across the landscape,” Carbon Mapper CEO and University of Arizona research scientist Riley Duren said.
Court ends Trump’s attempt to allow drilling in 128 million acres of Atlantic and Arctic Oceans
In April of 2017, Trump signed an executive order aiming to undo an Obama-era ban on fossil fuel exploration in that territory, but a federal judge in Alaska ruled the move unlawful in 2019.
Dutch cities to allow only zero-emission deliveries by 2025
City councils must give four years’ notice before imposing bans as part of government plans for emission-free road traffic by 2050. The city bans aim to save 1 megaton of CO2 each year by 2030.
California pledges $536 million to fight wildfires
The $536 million Wildfire Prevention and Resiliency package earmarks $350 million for forest management, including vegetation thinning, as well as $25 million to help homeowners pay for prevention measures on their properties, The Guardian reported.
New renewable energy added in 2020 smashes records
IRENA’s annual Renewable Capacity Statistics 2021 shows that global renewable energy capacity grew by more than 260 GW last year, beating the previous record set in 2019 by nearly 50%.