Fossil Fuels Archives - Inside Climate News

At COP28, the United States Will Stress an End to Fossil Emissions, Not Fuels

By Marianne Lavelle — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 22:37:37 +0000

The Biden administration faces increasing international and domestic political pressure to endorse near-term cuts in coal, oil and natural gas.

By Marianne Lavelle

President Joe Biden will not attend the climate talks that commence this week in Dubai, but the conflict that has come to define his policy on the planetary crisis will be front and center.

Ahead of COP28, a Call for a ‘Tangible Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels as Soon as Possible’

By Bob Berwyn — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 22:06:16 +0000

As the world’s largest oil and gas producer, the U.S. could be a spoiler in global efforts to wind down the use of oil, gas and coal.

By Bob Berwyn

A decades-long push by small island nations and other developing countries to put fossil fuels squarely at the center of United Nations climate talks got a boost this week as the European Union Parliament passed a resolution calling for a “tangible phase-out of fossil fuels as soon as possible.”

Fulcrum Bioenergy, Aiming to Produce ‘Net-Zero’ Jet Fuel From Plastic Waste, Hits Heavy Turbulence

By James Bruggers — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:30:00 +0000

The California company has defaulted on $289 million in Nevada bonds and put $500 million in financing for a facility in Indiana on hold. Meanwhile, U.S. senators don’t want tax credits financing plastics-to-jet-fuel schemes.

By James Bruggers

Six Senate Democrats last month sent a letter to the head of the Internal Revenue Service urging the federal tax agency to prohibit companies that make fuels from plastics and other petroleum products from qualifying for federal tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden’s landmark climate legislation.

Fossil Fuel Lobbyists Flock to Plastics Treaty Talks as Scientists, Environmentalists Seek Conflict of Interest Policies

By James Bruggers — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

With growing calls for the need to reduce plastic production, industry groups are pushing back.

By James Bruggers

Fossil fuel and chemical company interests are out in force at the United Nations meeting in Nairobi, where delegates from about 170 countries are negotiating the potential terms of a global treaty to reduce plastic pollution.

Nearby Residents and Environmentalists Criticize New Dominion Natural Gas Power Plant As a ‘Slap In the Face’

By Jake Bolster — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 10:15:00 +0000

Virginia’s largest utility provider has faced a backlash from the state’s environmental community since it announced plans to build a new, large fossil fuel facility in Chesterfield.

By Jake Bolster

Over the course of three hours on Thursday evening, the beige-paneled walls of the SpringHill Suites Hotel in Chester, Virginia played host to a sometimes-contentious meeting between Dominion Energy, the state’s largest utility provider, and residents of the Chesterfield community, where Dominion has proposed to build a new natural gas power plant.

Texas Violated the Law with Lax Emissions Limits, Federal Court Rules

By Dylan Baddour — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 15:13:04 +0000

Judges overturned a state air pollution permit that was issued last year, arguing that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality illegally enabled Port Arthur LNG to avoid emissions control requirements.

By Dylan Baddour

A federal appeals court on Monday struck down a major air pollution permit issued by Texas’s environmental regulator, arguing that the state allowed improperly high emissions limits for Port Arthur LNG, a gas liquefaction and export terminal currently under construction on the Gulf Coast.

This Week in Nairobi, Nations Gather for a Third Round of Talks on an International Plastics Treaty, Focusing on Its Scope and Ambition

By James Bruggers — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Led by the EU, some nations are pushing for binding provisions to restrain and reduce the consumption and production of plastics. The U.S. has staked out a middle ground, calling for provisions to reduce plastic pollution while embracing industry’s call for advanced plastics recycling.

By James Bruggers

Delegates from more than 175 countries are gathered in Nairobi to advance a potential diplomatic solution to a global plastic pollution crisis amid a growing awareness of the effect of plastic on the environment and human health.

Oil or Water? Midland Says Disposal Wells Could Threaten Water Supply

By Martha Pskowski — Sun, 12 Nov 2023 10:00:00 +0000

As oil and gas companies struggle to dispose of their wastewater in the Permian Basin, the city of Midland is challenging applications for disposal wells near one of its drinking water sources.

By Martha Pskowski

Attorneys for the city of Midland, the oil capital of Texas, made an unusual request to regulators this year: Could they please be allowed to challenge drilling permits?

Forever Chemicals’ Toxic Legacy at Chicago’s Airports

By Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times — Sat, 11 Nov 2023 10:05:00 +0000

Firefighting foam contaminated groundwater beneath O’Hare and Midway airports with PFAS chemicals, military investigators have found. It’s unclear how far it has spread.

By Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times

When an American Airlines jetliner caught fire on an O’Hare Airport runway in October 2016, firefighters rushed to the scene.

Dominion’s Proposed Virginia Power Plant Casts Doubt on Its Commitments to Clean Energy

By Jake Bolster — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 11:00:00 +0000

The company has proposed building a natural gas facility in Chesterfield, Virginia, despite laws mandating it reach zero-emissions by 2045.

By Jake Bolster

In 2020, the Virginia Assembly passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, a law that required the state’s largest utility provider, Dominion Energy, to generate all of its power using only renewable energy by 2045.