Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in May were 50 percent higher than during the pre-industrial era, reaching levels not seen on Earth for about four million years, the main US climate agency said on Friday.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced Europe to rethink its energy policy – especially its deep dependence on Russia for about one-third of its fossil fuel imports. The European Union is negotiating among its members over a plan to ban imports of Russian oil, although questions remain about issues such as the timing of an embargo and what kinds of transactions it will cover. The EU makes decisions by consensus, so all members must agree for the plan to be adopted.

Plaintiffs contend that buying fossil fuel-powered delivery vehicles will cause environmental harm for decades to come.

WASHINGTON — Attorneys general from 16 states and the District of Columbia, along with five environmental groups and the United Auto Workers, launched a legal challenge against the United States Postal Service on Thursday, claiming that it violated the law when it ordered thousands of new mail trucks powered by gasoline instead of electricity. Together, the three lawsuits filed in two different federal courts raise the stakes of a conflict over the climate impacts of the Postal Service’s iconic delivery trucks that has roiled the administration for months.

California’s clean-air regulators on Tuesday unveiled a highly anticipated roadmap packed with strategies for tackling the climate crisis. But it falls short on a key component: the role that its signature environmental policy — cap and trade — will have in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The California Air Resources Board’s draft of its ambitious proposal, called a scoping plan, outlines policies that focus on reducing reliance on oil, capturing carbon dioxide emitted by industries and increasing dependence on renewable power sources, such as wind, solar and electric cars. The plan makes a bold commitment to eliminate 91% of oil used in the state by 2045. ‍