White House Grants for Coal States: The Obama administration announced $28 million in funding for projects in 13 states to help them transition away from coal. The federal grants are part of the president’s POWER (Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization) Initiative aimed at training coal communities to work in a low-carbon economy. With these latest grants, the government has released a total of $66 million for 71 projects this year. (Reuters, Augusta Free Press, E&E News $, Charleston Gazette-Mail)
Raising Exxon’s Red Flags: ExxonMobil could be in an “irreversible decline” amid weakening finances and growing controversies over the company’s climate denial. A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis discusses red flags for institutional investors such as tanking revenues and carbon-intensive investments including oil sands and deep-sea drilling. On Wednesday, the New York Supreme Court ordered Exxon and its auditor to comply with the subpoena issued by NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman relating to whether the oil giant misled shareholders on climate risks. (Huffington Post, CNN Money, Politico Pro $, Reuters, The Hill, Albany Times Union, Washington Post $, Greenwire $)
Climate Signals in Australia: Australia is experiencing more heatwaves and extreme rain events and longer fire seasons due to human-made climate change, according to a new report. Surface temperature has increased 1°C since 1910 and rainfall has decreased by nearly 20 percent in some parts of the country since the 1970s. The report also points to the impact of climate change on deep oceans, as up to 75 percent of ocean warming has occurred in the Southern hemisphere. (New York Times $, ABC Australia, Sydney Morning Herald $, Phys.org, The Australian, Business Insider, SBS, Courier Mail) |