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Massachusetts beachfront homeowners lose half-million-dollar sand dune to the sea

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Monday, March 18, 2024

In a dramatic turn of events, a group of Salisbury, Massachusetts homeowners saw their expensive effort to protect their beachfront homes vanish within days.Erum Salam reports for The Guardian.In short:A costly sand dune, built by beachfront property owners in Salisbury, Massachusetts to guard against coastal erosion, was washed away in just 72 hours.Despite the dune's quick disappearance, the Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change claim it played a crucial role in preventing further damage from encroaching tides.The failure of the sand dune project highlights the broader issue of increasing coastal erosion, attributed to rising sea levels and more extreme weather due to climate change.Key quote:"Their proximity to the Atlantic Ocean gives them a source of moisture and their northern latitude also firmly places them under the powerful jet stream during much of the year."— Jonathan Belles, digital meteorologist, The Weather ChannelWhy this matters:This incident not only illustrates the financial risks homeowners are willing to take to protect their properties but also serves as a microcosm for the larger, global challenges of rising sea levels and coastal erosion.Peter Dykstra: US environmental sacrifice zones.

In a dramatic turn of events, a group of Salisbury, Massachusetts homeowners saw their expensive effort to protect their beachfront homes vanish within days.

Erum Salam reports for The Guardian.

In short:

A costly sand dune, built by beachfront property owners in Salisbury, Massachusetts to guard against coastal erosion, was washed away in just 72 hours.
Despite the dune's quick disappearance, the Salisbury Beach Citizens for Change claim it played a crucial role in preventing further damage from encroaching tides.
The failure of the sand dune project highlights the broader issue of increasing coastal erosion, attributed to rising sea levels and more extreme weather due to climate change.

Key quote:

"Their proximity to the Atlantic Ocean gives them a source of moisture and their northern latitude also firmly places them under the powerful jet stream during much of the year."

— Jonathan Belles, digital meteorologist, The Weather Channel

Why this matters:

This incident not only illustrates the financial risks homeowners are willing to take to protect their properties but also serves as a microcosm for the larger, global challenges of rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

Peter Dykstra: US environmental sacrifice zones.

Read the full story here.

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Senate Climate Hawks Aren't Ready To Stop Talking About It

“We need to talk about it in ways that connect directly to voters’ lives right now,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a top environmentalist, said of global warming.

WASHINGTON — Top environmental advocates in the Senate aren’t ready to stop talking about the threat of climate change, even as they acknowledge the environmental movement needs to pivot its messaging to better connect to pocketbook concerns amid skyrocketing electricity bills and the Trump administration’s crackdown on renewable energy projects across the country.The pivot comes as centrists in the party push to downplay an issue that has been at the center of Democratic messaging for years, arguing it’s unnecessarily polarizing and has hurt the party’s brand in key states.“You have to live in the moment that you’re in,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said in an interview with HuffPost. “Climate is still a giant problem for most states – I’ve had friends whose fire insurance has been canceled because the insurance companies can’t afford it anymore. So it’s not going away, but we need to talk about it in ways that connect directly to voters’ lives right now.”“If you shut down clean energy projects, you’re raising people’s electric rates,” Heinrich added. “I’m not stepping back [from talking about climate] at all, but I am connecting the dots in a way that I think people really respond to.”“I don’t think there’s any doubt that climate is a driving priority,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), another leading climate hawk in the Senate, told HuffPost. “I just think how we talk about it and whether or not we emphasize it in our ads is sort of a different question.”After years of advocating for urgent action to confront the threat of climate change, some Democrats are leaning into economic issues instead and avoiding mentioning climate change on the campaign trail. Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmentalist who once focused almost exclusively on climate change, for example, launched his campaign for governor in California with an ad focused on affordability issues and taking on big corporations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), another top climate advocate, has taken a softer approach to Big Oil after years of cracking down on the industry.“There’s not a poll or a pundit that suggests that Democrats should be talking about this,” Newsom told Politico about climate change recently. “I’m not naive to that either, but I think it’s the way we talk about it that’s the bigger issue, and I think all of us, including myself, need to improve on that, and that’s what I aim to do.”Other potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates have also focused on rising energy costs when they talk about climate. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), for example, unveiled his own plan last month aimed at boosting clean energy and lowering emissions that was all about affordability. Americans deserve an “energy system that is safe, clean, and affordable for working families – we do not have to choose just one of the above,” his plan stated. Moderate Democrats, however, argue the party has become too closely associated with a cause that simply isn’t at the top of Americans’ priority lists and can be actively harmful for candidates in states where the oil and gas industries employ large numbers of people. The Searchlight Institute, a new centrist think tank founded by a former aide for Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and the late Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), has urged Democrats to stop mentioning “climate change” entirely in favor of “affordability,” the word Trump seems to think is a “hoax” made up by the left. “In our research, Republicans and Democrats both agree that affordability should be a national priority, and they’re mostly aligned on the importance of lowering energy costs,” the group wrote in a September memo. “That said, mentioning ‘climate change’ opens up a 50-point gap in support between Republicans and Democrats not present on other issues—much larger than the gap in support for developing new energy sources (10 points) or reducing pollution (36 points).”Even if the issue doesn’t move votes, worries about climate change remain widespread: A record-high 48% of U.S. adults said in a Gallup survey earlier this year that global warming will, at some point, pose a serious threat to themselves or their way of life. And not every Democrat agrees with those urging the party to stop talking about climate change. Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, who has delivered hundreds of speeches on the Senate floor calling on Americans to “wake up” to the threat of fossil fuels and climate change, told HuffPost that moving away from advocating for the environment is “stupid” and “ill-informed.” He recently introduced a resolution to get senators on the record about where they stand on climate change.Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said that “you can’t back away from a reality which is going to impact everybody in the United States and people throughout the world.” He added that Democrats must have “the courage to take on the fossil fuel industry and do what many other countries are doing, moving to energy efficiency and sustainable energies like solar.”Democrats this year have hammered Trump’s administration for shutting down the construction of new renewable energy sources, including, most recently, five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction along the East Coast. Trump’s Interior Department cited “emerging national security risks” to explain why it had paused work on the offshore wind farms, without elaborating. “Trump’s obsession with killing offshore wind projects is unhinged, irrational, and unjustified,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement on Monday. “At a time of soaring energy costs, this latest decision from DOI is a backwards step that will drive energy bills even higher. It will kill good union jobs, spike energy costs, and put our grid at risk; and it makes absolutely no business sense.”Trump has complained about wind power since offshore turbines were built off the coast of his Scottish golf course in 2011, and has continued the assault in office, calling turbines “disgusting looking,” “noisy,” deadly to birds, and even “bad for people’s health.”Trump’s administration and GOP allies on Capitol Hill have also rolled back or terminated many of the green energy provisions included in President Joe Biden’s signature climate and health law, the Inflation Reduction Act. When it passed in 2022, it was hailed as the most significant federal investment in U.S. history aimed at fighting climate change. But Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill Act wound down much of its tax credits, ended electric vehicle incentives and relaxed emissions rules in a major shift from the previous administration.“As Trump dismantles the wind and solar and battery storage and all electric vehicle job creation revolution in our country, he simultaneously is accelerating the increase in electricity prices for all Americans, which is going to come back to politically haunt the Trump administration,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told HuffPost. “So rather than shying away, we should be leaning into the climate issue, because it’s central as well to the affordability issue that people are confronting at their kitchen table.”

Climate

Business

Health

2025 was a big year for climate in the US courts - these were the wins and losses

Americans are increasingly turning to courts to hold big oil accountable. Here are major trends that emerged last yearAs the Trump administration boosts fossil fuels, Americans are increasingly turning to courts to hold big oil accountable for alleged climate deception. That wave of litigation swelled in 2025, with groundbreaking cases filed and wins notched.But the year also brought setbacks, as Trump attacked the cases and big oil worked to have them thrown out. The industry also worked to secure a shield from current and future climate lawsuits. Continue reading...

1. Big oil suits progressed but faced challengesIn recent years, 70-plus US states, cities, and other subnational governments have sued big oil for alleged climate deception. This year, courts repeatedly rejected fossil fuel interests’ attempts to thwart those cases. The supreme court denied a plea to kill a Honolulu lawsuit, and turned down an unusual bid by red states to block the cases. Throughout the year, state courts also shot down attempts to dismiss cases or remand them to federal courts which are seen as more favorable to oil interests.But challenges against big oil also encountered stumbling blocks. In May, Puerto Rico voluntarily dismissed its 2024 lawsuit under pressure. Charleston, South Carolina also declined to appeal its case after it was dismissed.In the coming weeks, the supreme court is expected to decide if it will review a climate lawsuit filed by Boulder, Colorado, against two major oil companies. Their decision could embolden or hinder climate accountability litigation.“So far, the oil companies have had a losing record trying to get these cases thrown out,” said Richard Wiles, president of the Center for Climate Integrity, which backs the litigation against the industry. “The question is, does Boulder change that?”After Colorado’s supreme court refused to dismiss the lawsuit, the energy companies filed a petition with the supreme court asking them to kill the case on the grounds that it is pre-empted by federal laws. If the high court declines to weigh in on the petition – or takes it up and rules in favor of the plaintiffs – that could be boon for climate accountability cases. But if the justices agrees with the oil companies, it could void the Boulder case – and more than a dozen others which make similar claims.That would be a “major challenge”, said Wiles, “but it wouldn’t be game over for the wave of litigation”.“It would not mean the end of big oil being held accountable in the court,” he said.The American Petroleum Institute, the nation’s largest oil lobby group, did not respond to a request to comment.2. New and novel litigationClimate accountability litigation broke new ground in 2025, with Americans taking up novel legal strategies to sue big oil. In May, a Washington woman brought the first-ever wrongful-death lawsuit against big oil alleging the industry’s climate negligence contributed to her mother’s death during a deadly heat wave. And in November, Washington residents brought a class action lawsuit claiming fossil fuel sector deception drove a climate-fueled spike in homeowners’ insurance costs.“These novel cases reflect the lived realities of climate harm and push the legal system to grapple with the full scope of responsibility,” said Merner.Hawaii this year also became the 10th state to sue big oil over alleged climate deception, filing its case just hours after the Department of Justice took the unusual step of suing Hawaii and Michigan over their plans to file litigation. It was a “clear-eyed and powerful pushback” to Trump’s intimidation, Merner said.3. Accountability shieldBig oil ramped up its efforts to evade accountability for its past actions this year, said Wiles. They were aided by allies like Trump, who in April signed an executive order instructing the Justice Department to halt climate accountability litigation and similar policies.In July, members of Congress also tried to cut off Washington DC’s access to funding to enforce its consumer protection laws “against oil and gas companies for environmental claims” by inserting language into a proposed House appropriations bill. A committee passed that version of the text, but the full House never voted on it.2025 also brought mounting evidence that big oil is pushing for a federal liability shield, which could resemble a 2005 law that has largely insulated the firearms industry from lawsuits. In June, 16 Republican state attorneys general asked the Justice Department to help create a “liability shield” for fossil fuel companies against climate lawsuits, the New York Times reported. Lobbying disclosures further show the nation’s largest oil trade group, as well as energy giant ConocoPhillips, lobbying Congress about draft legislation on the topic, according to Inside Climate News.Such a waiver could potentially exempt the industry from virtually all climate litigation. The battle is expected to heat up next year.“We expect they could sneak language to grant them immunity, into some must-pass bill,” said Wiles. “That’s how we think they’ll play it, so we’ve been talking to every person on the Democratic side so that they keep a lookout for this language.”4. What to watch in 2026: plastics and extreme weather casesDespite the challenges ahead, 2026 will almost definitely bring more climate accountability lawsuits against not only big oil but also other kinds of emitting companies. This year, New York’s attorney general notched a major win by securing a $1.1m settlement from the world’s biggest meat company, JBS, over alleged greenwashing. The victory could inspire more cases, said Merner, who noted that many such lawsuits have been filed abroad.Wiles expects more cases to accuse oil companies of deception about plastic pollution, like the one California filed last year. He also expects more lawsuits which focus on harms caused by specific extreme weather events, made possible by advances in attribution science – which links particular disasters to global warming. Researchers and law firms are also developing new theories to target the industry, with groundbreaking cases likely to be filed in 2026.“Companies have engaged in decades of awful behavior that creates liability on so many fronts,” he said. “We haven’t even really scratched the surface of the numerous ways they could be held legally accountable for their behavior.”

Climate

Energy

Pollution

From rent to utility bills: the politicians and advocates making climate policy part of the affordability agenda

As the Trump administration derides climate policy as a ‘scam’, emissions-cutting measures are gaining popularityA group of progressive politicians and advocates are reframing emissions-cutting measures as a form of economic populism as the Trump administration derides climate policy as a “scam” and fails to deliver on promises to tame energy costs and inflation.Climate politics were once cast as a test of moral resolve, calling on Americans to accept higher costs to avert environmental catastrophe, but that ignores how rising temperatures themselves drive up costs for working people, said Stevie O’Hanlon, co-founder of the youth-led Sunrise Movement. Continue reading...

A group of progressive politicians and advocates are reframing emissions-cutting measures as a form of economic populism as the Trump administration derides climate policy as a “scam” and fails to deliver on promises to tame energy costs and inflation.Climate politics were once cast as a test of moral resolve, calling on Americans to accept higher costs to avert environmental catastrophe, but that ignores how rising temperatures themselves drive up costs for working people, said Stevie O’Hanlon, co-founder of the youth-led Sunrise Movement.“People increasingly understand how climate and costs of living are tied together,” she said.Utility bills and healthcare costs are climbing as extreme weather intensifies. Public transit systems essential to climate goals are reeling from federal funding cuts. Rents are rising as landlords pass along costs of inefficient buildings, higher insurance and disaster repairs, turning climate risk into a monthly surcharge. Meanwhile, wealth inequality is surging under an administration that took record donations from big oil.“We need to connect climate change to the everyday economic reality we are all facing in this country,” said O’Hanlon.Progressive politicians have embraced that notion. Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s democratic socialist mayor-elect, has advanced affordability-first climate policies such as free buses to reduce car use, and a plan to make schools more climate-resilient. Seattle’s socialist mayor-elect, Katie Wilson, says she will boost social housing while pursuing green retrofits.NYC Mayor-MamdaniFILE - Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., left, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, center, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appear on stage during a rally, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa, File) Photograph: Heather Khalifa/APMaine’s US Senate hopeful Graham Platner is pairing calls to rein in polluters and protect waterways with a critique of oligarchic politics. In Nebraska, independent US Senate candidate Dan Osborn backs right-to-repair laws that let farmers and consumers fix equipment – an approach he doesn’t frame as climate policy, but one that climate advocates say could reduce emissions from manufacturing. And in New Jersey and Virginia, Democrats “who are by no means radical leftists” ran successful campaigns focused on lowering utility costs, O’Hanlon said.Movements nationwide are also working to cut emissions while building economic power. Chicago’s teachers’ union secured a contract requiring solar panels to be added to schools and creating clean-energy career pathways for students. Educators’ unions in Los Angeles and Minneapolis are also seeking to improve conditions for staff and students while decarbonizing.“We see them as real protagonists in the fight for what we [at the Climate and Community Institute] are calling ‘green economic populism,’” said Rithika Ramamurthy, communications director at the leftwing climate thinktank Climate and Community Institute.From Maine to Texas, organized labor is also pushing for a unionized workforce to decarbonize energy and buildings. And tenants’ unions are working to green their residences while protecting renters from climate disasters and rising bills, Ramamurthy said. From Connecticut to California, they are fighting for eviction protections, which can prevent post-disaster displacement and empower tenants to demand green upgrades. Some are also directly advocating for climate-friendly retrofits.Movements are also working to expand public ownership energy, which proponents say can strengthen democratic control and lower rates by eliminating shareholder profits. In New York, a coalition won a 2023 policy directing the state-owned utility to build renewable energy with a unionized workforce, and advocates are pursuing a consumer-owned utility in Maine and a public takeover of the local utility in Baltimore.To hold polluters accountable for their climate contributions, activists and lawmakers across the country are championing policies that would force them to help pay to curb emissions and boost resilience. Vermont and New York passed such “climate superfund” laws this year, while New York and Maine are expected to vote on such measures soon. And legislators in other states are looking to introduce or reintroduce bills in 2026, even as the Trump administration attempts to kill the laws.“When insurance becomes unaffordable and states are constantly rebuilding after disasters, people don’t need some technical explanation to know that something is seriously wrong,” said Cassidy DiPaola, spokesperson for the Make Polluters Pay campaign. “Climate superfunds connect those costs to accountability by saying that the companies that caused the damage shouldn’t be shielded from paying for it.” Polls show the bills appear popular, she said.Speaking to people’s financial concerns can help build support for climate policy, said DiPaola. Polls show voters support accountability measures against polluters and that most believe the climate crisis is driving up costs of living.“The fastest way to depolarize climate is to simply talk about who’s paying and who’s profiting,” she said. “People disagree about a lot of things, but they do understand being ripped off.”Linking green initiatives with economic concerns isn’t new. It was central to the Green New Deal, popularized by the Sunrise Movement and politicians like the representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2018. That push informed Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which included the biggest climate investments in US history. But critics argue the IRA fell short of building economic power among ordinary people.Though it boosted green manufacturing and created some 400,000 new jobs, those benefits were not tangible to most Americans, said Ramamurthy. Proposed investments in housing and public transit – which may have been more visible – were scaled back in the final package. Its incentives also largely went to private companies and wealthier households. A 2024 poll found only 24% of registered voters thought the IRA helped them.“The IRA focused on creating incentives for capital, relying almost entirely on carrots with very few sticks,” said Ramamurthy.While it advanced renewables, the IRA also contained handouts for polluters, O’Hanlon said. And Biden did not pair its passage with messaging acknowledging economic hardship, she said.“The administration was great on connecting jobs and green energy,” she said. “But they said the economy was doing well, which felt out of touch.”Trump capitalized on Americans’ economic anxieties, said O’Hanlon, but has not offered them relief.“We need a vision that can actually combat the narrative Trump has been putting out,” she said. “We need a vision for addressing the climate crisis alongside making life better for for working people.”

Climate

Energy

Crisis

Why You Feel So Compelled To Make Resolutions Every Single Year, Even If You Fail

It's not your fault: your brain is hardwired to set goals and then quit.

A new year. A new school year. A new week. Mental health experts say our brains are naturally drawn to fresh starts, wired to find motivation in new beginnings. These moments act like a psychological reset button, nudging us toward self-reflection, habit-building and behavior change. Yet despite making resolutions year after year, many of us struggle to stick with them. Why do we keep coming back for more?Here’s why we crave resolutions and how to harness them in a way that actually boosts productivity and keeps momentum going, helping you feel more accomplished all year long.Why Our Brain Is Drawn To Making ResolutionsThough the start of a new year has long been tied to making resolutions, there’s more behind the tradition than just cultural habit. “For many, fresh starts feel hopeful,” said Jennifer Birdsall, a board-certified, licensed clinical psychologist and chief clinical officer at ComPsych. “Psychologically, they allow people to release the baggage of past experiences, including failures, and set forth on goals with renewed energy and optimism.”This ties into what psychologists call the fresh start effect. When a clear milestone, like a new year, a birthday or the start of a new semester, gives us the sense of turning the page, it helps us mentally separate our past self from our future self, motivating us to break old habits and approach change with a bit of extra momentum.Resolutions can also give your brain a boost. There are actually psychological benefits to making goals, even if you don’t follow through on them. Simply setting resolutions can help you feel a greater sense of control. “This is especially important right now given how much uncertainty people experience in today’s volatile social, political and economic climate,” Birdsall said. Alivia Hall, a licensed clinical social worker and clinical director at LiteMinded Therapy, noted that just picturing a future version of ourselves, one who feels healthier, more grounded and more intentional, activates the brain’s reward system, triggering a dopamine boost.“The anticipation alone can create a sense of energy and momentum before we’ve taken a single step,” she explained.Why Resolutions Often Don’t StickMany of us start the year with the best intentions, only to find our goals slipping away a few months in.One reason, according to Hall, is that we often approach goal-setting with an all-or-nothing mindset, viewing success as binary: either you succeed or fail. So when someone skips a single workout or misses a day of journaling, the brain quickly convinces them they’ve completely blown it. “That harsh, all-or-nothing lens can make people give up on their goals entirely, instead of seeing it as just a small setback they can recover from,” she explained.Another common pitfall is relying on willpower. “Early on, motivation runs high because the brain is lit up by novelty and reward anticipation. But once that dopamine surge fades, sheer discipline often isn’t enough to sustain change,” Hall said. Without structure, environmental cues or a deeper connection to our values, goals can start to feel less like inspired choices and more like chores. “Psychologically, this creates friction between intention and behavior — which is why so many resolutions quietly start to fizzle by February or March,” she added.AscentXmedia via Getty ImagesIt's not your fault: your brain is hardwired to set goals and then quit.How To Really Accomplish A Resolution, Once And For AllWhat we need to be mindful of is falling into a cycle of constantly setting new resolutions, enjoying that dopamine boost, and then quickly abandoning those goals. Here are some tips for sticking to a goal long-term when you start to fall off:Do a self-audit before creating your resolution.“I’m a big proponent of doing a self-audit prior to making resolutions or setting goals, as it encourages a more structured and intentional approach to personal growth by reflecting on one’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as one’s accomplishments and growth opportunities,” Birdsall said. Taking time to look back at what you’re most proud of, what may have held you back and how closely you’ve been living your values can help clarify where you want to focus your energy next and which goals will feel most meaningful to pursue.Anchor your resolutions to your values.“Attune to the aspect of the goal that taps into your motivation,” said Lorain Moorehead, a licensed clinical social worker and therapy and consultation practice owner. So if the end result of finishing a marathon doesn’t excite you, maybe what does is the value of improving your physical health. “The motivation that is there when the goal is initially set can wear off, especially as you become tired or the goal becomes challenging or draining,” she said. But when you stay connected to the deeper why behind your goal, it becomes much easier to keep going, even when the momentum dips.Set micro goals to build self-trust.“Break goals into the smallest possible steps, so small they almost feel too easy,” said Ellen Ottman, founder and licensed therapist at Stillpoint Therapy Collective.For example, instead of running 10 miles per week, start with putting on your running shoes and walking outside three times a week, as completing even tiny goals triggers dopamine, which boosts both motivation and confidence. Form connections with like-minded people.Form connections with other goal-setters who can offer support, encouragement or feedback along the way.“Achieving something can be lonely,” Moorehead said. “People can diminish the goal if they don’t understand the process, so it can be helpful to receive support from others who are committed to a goal.” As a way to foster community, join a group of people practicing the same skill or who have already tackled similar goals.If you falter, reset your resolution and keep going.Some 92% of people fail to achieve their goals, so if you’ve fallen off track partway through the year, you’re not alone. The good news is that it’s never too late to reset without feeling like you’ve failed.“Progress rarely happens in straight lines, so the most powerful thing you can do when you lose momentum is to reset with kindness,” Ottman said. “Shame tends to freeze us, while curiosity and self-compassion help us move forward.”Instead of trying to catch up or scrapping your goal altogether, try reworking it. If your original goal was to read more, make it smaller and more specific, like reading one page a day. “Small, consistent wins rebuild trust and confidence in your ability to follow through,” Ottman said, “creating the true foundation for lasting change.”

Climate

Energy

Health

Greenwashing, illegality and false claims: 13 climate litigation wins in 2025

Legal action has brought important decisions, from the scrapping of fossil fuel plants to revised climate plansThis year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris agreement. It is also a decade since another key moment in climate justice, when a state was ordered for the first time to cut its carbon emissions faster to protect its citizens from climate change. The Urgenda case, which was upheld by the Netherlands’ supreme court in 2019, was one of the first rumblings of a wave of climate litigation around the world that campaigners say has resulted in a new legal architecture for climate protection.Over the past 12 months, there have been many more important rulings and tangible changes on climate driven by legal action. Continue reading...

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris agreement. It is also a decade since another key moment in climate justice, when a state was ordered for the first time to cut its carbon emissions faster to protect its citizens from climate change. The Urgenda case, which was upheld by the Netherlands’ supreme court in 2019, was one of the first rumblings of a wave of climate litigation around the world that campaigners say has resulted in a new legal architecture for climate protection.Over the past 12 months, there have been many more important rulings and tangible changes on climate driven by legal action.Rosebank and Jackdaw approval ruled illegalThe year started with a bang when UK government approval of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea was ruled illegal by the Scottish court of session, because it did not account for greenhouse gas emissions caused by burning the extracted fossil fuels.The judgment relied heavily on a 2024 supreme court ruling in a climate case brought by campaigner Sarah Finch. That ruling also led the high court to throw out planning permission for a new coalmine in Whitehaven, Cumbria, after which the company withdrew its plans.The government published new guidance in June on how these assessments should be undertaken, although the ruling does not automatically prevent regulators from approving fossil fuel projects once they have fully analysed their impacts.Equinor published a revised environmental assessment of Rosebank in October and a decision on approval is imminent. The government has hinted that it may give consent again, and Greenpeace has vowed further legal action if that happens.Plans to build Brazil’s largest coal plant scrappedCivil society organisations have been campaigning for years against a coalmine and power plant in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul planned by the coal company Copelmi. If it had gone ahead, it would have been the largest coal plant in Brazil.The groups argued that the Nova Seival plant and Guaíba mine breached Brazil’s climate obligations, and that the licensing process had not been undertaken properly. In 2022, a court suspended the licences and set out requirements for how the process should be revised. But in February this year, Copelmi formally withdrew its plans, saying the project had become unfeasible.German court opens door for climate damages claimsOn the face of it, it sounds like a failure that a German court rejected a climate case brought by a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide against German energy company RWE.Saúl Luciano Lliuya had sought 0.47% of the overall cost of building flood defences to protect his home from a melting glacier, a proportion equivalent to RWE’s contribution to global emissions.But the decade-old case had always been a stretch, and in reality it set a potentially important precedent on polluters’ liability for their carbon emissions.So it was not a surprise when later in the year a group of Pakistani farmers whose livelihoods were devastated by floods three years ago fired the starting shot in a new legal claim against two of Germany’s most polluting companies.EnergyAustralia settles greenwashing lawsuit with parentsIn May, EnergyAustralia settled a greenwashing lawsuit brought by a group of Australian parents.Climate action group Parents for Climate claimed EnergyAustralia breached Australian Consumer Law when promoting electricity and gas products because the carbon offsets used to secure certification were not backed by meaningful reductions in emissions.As part of the settlement, the utility company acknowledged that carbon offsets do not prevent or undo damage caused by greenhouse gas emissions and apologised to 400,000 customers who were part of the scheme.It was the first case in the country to be brought against a company for marketing itself as carbon neutral.International courts issue landmark climate opinionsTwo international courts issued landmark advisory opinions on climate change in July.First was the inter-American court of human rights, which found that there is a human right to a healthy climate and states have a duty to protect it. This was closely followed by the international court of justice, which said countries must prevent harm to the climate system and that failing to do so could result in their having to pay compensation and make other forms of restitution.The two documents are already being referenced in climate lawsuits around the world. And attempts were made to use them as leverage during climate talks in Brazil last month, although this proved more difficult than anticipated.New South Wales coalmine expansion annulledApproval for the largest coalmine expansion in New South Wales was annulled in July because the state’s independent planning commission did not take into account the project’s full greenhouse gas emissions.Denman Aberdeen Muswellbrook Scone Healthy Environment Group, working with the Environmental Defenders Office, filed the case in 2023, arguing MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant Optimisation coal mining project near Muswellbrook would worsen climate change and threaten a unique species of legless lizard.The court of appeal said the commission failed to account for “scope 3” emissions when the coal is exported and burned overseas.Apple scales back carbon neutrality claimsIn August, a Frankfurt court ruled that Apple was not allowed to call its Apple Watch “carbon neutral”.It agreed with German NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe that the company could not demonstrate long-term carbon neutrality because the claim was based on funding eucalyptus groves in Paraguay, leases for which expire soon.Apple is trying to get a similar greenwashing case against it in the US dismissed.A few months later, tech news websites noticed that Apple had stopped marketing its newly launched watches as carbon neutral in other countries too.Hawaii to cut transport emissions after lawsuitLast year, Hawaii agreed to settle a lawsuit by 13 young people, represented by Our Children’s Trust, who said it was breaching their rights with infrastructure that contributes to climate change.The settlement acknowledged the constitutional rights of Hawaii youth to a life-sustaining climate, and the state promised to develop a roadmap to achieve zero emissions for its ground, sea and inner island air transportation systems by 2045.In October, it delivered. The energy security and waste reduction plan includes new electric vehicle chargers, investments in public and active transport, and efforts to sequester carbon through native reforestation. It will be updated annually.Campaigners called the plan a “critical milestone”.Campaigners put end to coal power plant in KenyaEnvironmental campaigners won a key climate case challenging approval of a coal power plant in Lamu, on Kenya’s southern coast, in October.Litigation against Amu Power (a joint venture between Centum and Gulf Energy) and the Kenyan National Environment Management Authority began a decade ago and construction was ordered to stop in 2019.The environment and land court finally upheld a revocation of the plant’s licence because of flaws in the environmental assessment, particularly a lack of proper public participation. Climate change impacts had also not been properly assessed.TotalEnergies ordered to stop greenwashing in FranceLater in the month, TotalEnergies was found to have made false claims about its climate goals in a French court for false claims about its climate goals.Les Amis de la Terre France, Greenpeace France and Notre Affaire à Tous, with the support of ClientEarth, claimed TotalEnergies’s “reinvention” marketing campaign broke European consumer law by suggesting it could reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 while continuing to produce fossil fuels.The Paris judicial court ruled that some claims on the company’s French website were likely to mislead consumers because there was not enough information about what they meant.Meat companies settle greenwashing claimsIn early November, New York agreed a $1.1m settlement with Brazilian meat company JBS’s US arm to end a lawsuit claiming the company misled customers about its efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.The money will be used to support climate-smart agriculture programmes that help New York farmers adopt best practices to reduce emissions, increase resiliency and enhance productivity. JBS USA also agreed to reform its environmental marketing practices and report annually to the New York office of the attorney general for three years.Soon after, Tyson Foods also agreed to stop saying it will reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and marketing beef as climate friendly to settle a greenwashing lawsuit brought by agriculture industry watchdog Environmental Working Group.UK government publishes tougher climate planThe UK government published a revised carbon budget and growth delivery plan in October after its previous plan was ruled unlawful by the high court.The new document reaffirms the UK’s commitment to decarbonise its electricity supply by 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically by 2037, with specific measures for energy, transport, agriculture, homes and industry.It follows a successful lawsuit by the Good Law Project, Friends of the Earth and ClientEarth. After the striking down of the original net zero strategy in court in 2022, the trio argued that the “threadbare” revised version was still not good enough.However, campaigners are planning another round of legal action challenging national climate strategy, this time at the European court of human rights.Three Norwegian oilfields ruled illegalLicences for three oilfields in the North Sea were declared illegal in November by a Norwegian court because they were approved without the full impacts of climate change being considered.The Borgarting court of appeal upheld a claim by Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom challenging permission for the Equinor-operated Breidablikk and Aker BP’s Yggdrasil and Tyrving fields.The decision closely followed the European court of human rights’s dismissal of a lawsuit by the same claimants against Norway, which nonetheless set important standards for how states should undertake environmental impact assessments of fossil fuel projects.However, the Borgarting court stopped short of ordering the fields to stop producing oil, giving the Norwegian government six months to sort out the licences.

Climate

Agriculture

Food

Suggested Viewing

Inside The Grand Canyon

This guerrilla style documentary film captures a Colorado River rafting expedition through the Grand Canyon. Exhilarating and sometimes dangerous expeditions like this are not often considered when discussing global climate change but could be helpful to enlighten more folks about the changes to our planet. This rafting trip will soon be a thing of the past with record draughts continuing due to ongoing global climate change caused largely by humans. This is just a tiny slice of natures many warning signs of things to come. We find ourselves in a world of ongoing disbelief and hesitation in lieu of planning for the clear and present dangers from climate change. The Colorado River has already reached devastating levels for communities that depend on the water and electrical power resource. Government study in 2022 showed that Lake Powell could reach ""dead pool"" by 2023. There is no plan to mitigate the catastrophe that will leave over a million and a half people with no electricity.

Water

Climate

Sustainable

Silent Skies - The First Electric Plane Flyover

Silent Skies follows the groundbreaking journey of three Pennsylvania college students who orchestrated and piloted the first ever fully electric airplane stadium flyover. Stunning fans with a whisper-quiet show, this event signaled the dawn of America's transition to electric aviation. The students completed a record breaking trip flying the airplane from its base in Hartford, CT to the stadium in Easton, PA, recharging at enroute airports directly from a fleet of electric F-150 trucks. The air travel industry faces an unprecedented challenge: decarbonization. Historically, new aviation technologies are met with consumer skepticism. Demonstrating electric aircraft today, ahead of widespread adoption, is key for building consumer trust, political support, and sustained investment. The flyover was witnessed by 10,000+ attendees, thousands more on ESPN+ and created a precedent for the FAA to approve manned electric aircraft demonstrations over populated areas. Textron eAviation and Ford amplified the event through their social media channels and the film premiered at San Francisco Climate Week.

Technology

Transportation

Climate

LEAVES

An academic woman in Texas becomes concerned when a massive red oak in her backyard seems to be ailing, though she isn’t sure why it bothers her so much. At the same time, in her small cottage, her attention to her work is distracted by news reports she sees and hears. They tell in graphic terms of the out-of-control forest fires up and down the West Coast. Her attention is further pulled in the direction of other stories about the worsening conditions of the world’s rainforests which she discovers are disappearing at the astounding rate of 200,000 acres a day. Suddenly such stories are all she seems to hear and see on the radio or television or on her computer. But when she hears/sees a science report about how trees actually communicate with each other, she begins to realize there may be a connection between her tree and what she is learning from the news. She begins to recall a strong connection she herself has with that tree and allows that connection to regrow…..

Pollution

Forests

Inspirational

THE SPRAYER

In the land occupied with the sprayers army, no one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private. So many of the people and soldiers do not even know how a plant grows or looks like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep down in the dust and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something big, something revolutionary.

Plants

CO2

Animation

The Straight Poop

Our animated short entertains while presenting eye-opening information on one of the fastest, most effective ways to slow the rate of global warming. Our film is an engaging way of addressing the dangers of climate change that educates in a non-threatening comical way. Individuals concerned about climate change can make relatively small personal choices that can have a huge positive effect.

Animals

Climate

Food

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sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

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