Russian stock market, crushed by war, opens with big limits
July 4, 2022 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — The Russian stock market opened Thursday for limited trading under heavy restrictions for the first time since Moscow invaded Ukraine, coming almost a month after prices plunged and the market was shut down as a way to insulate the economy.
Polluters pick up tab for restoration of threatened cedar
September 23, 2021 GMTWOODLAND TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey plans to restore vast tracts of a coastal tree species threatened by climate change, and will pay for it with money from polluters of groundwater.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said Thursday its plan to restore 10,000 acres of Atlantic white cedar would be the largest restoration effort involving the species in U.S.
Floods, books & kids: Highlights of German election campaign
September 23, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Germans go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament and produce a new German leader after 16 years of having Angela Merkel at the helm. Merkel decided not to run for a fifth term and the election campaign has largely focused on the three candidates hoping to succeed her.
Climate change tops agenda as Iceland heads to elections
September 23, 2021 GMTREYKJAVIK , Iceland (AP) — Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming.
‘Grow up’: UK’s Johnson says world must face climate change
September 23, 2021 GMTBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson told world leaders at the United Nations on Wednesday night that humanity has to “grow up” and tackle climate change, saying humans must stop trashing the planet like a teenager on a bender.
UN health agency sets higher, tougher bar for air quality
September 22, 2021 GMTGENEVA (AP) — The harmful health effects of air pollution kick in at lower levels than previously thought, the World Health Organization said Wednesday as it set a new standard for policymakers and the public in the first update of its air quality guidelines in 15 years.
UK climate activists face prison for blocking highways
September 22, 2021 GMTLONDON (AP) — Environmental activists who have repeatedly blocked Britain’s busiest highway face possible imprisonment after a judge granted an injunction against the protesters, Britain’s transport secretary said Wednesday.
European Central Bank climate report: Early action is better
September 22, 2021 GMTFRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank's first climate stress test shows higher risks of loan defaults for banks in fire-plagued southern Europe and argues that an earlier and orderly shift to greener energy may have costs — but pay off for the economy over the long run.
‘The future is raising its voice’: A dire mood at UN meeting
September 22, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Racism, climate change and worsening divisions among nations and cultures topped the agenda Wednesday as leaders from China to Costa Rica, from Finland to Turkey to the United Nations itself outlined reasons why the world isn't working as it should — and what must be done quickly to fix it.
China, US unveil separate big steps to fight climate change
September 22, 2021 GMTThe two biggest economies and largest carbon polluters in the world announced separate financial attacks on climate change Tuesday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said his country will no longer fund coal-fired power plants abroad, surprising the world on climate for the second straight year at the U.N.
Biden promises ‘relentless diplomacy’ to skeptical allies
September 21, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Joe Biden summoned the world’s nations to forcefully address the festering global issues of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and human rights abuses in his first address before the U.N.
Turkey’s Erdogan: Refugee crisis from climate change coming
September 21, 2021 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — Presaging “hundreds of millions” of climate change refugees, Turkey's president said Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly that the world needs to find a way to contend with its existing refugees who are fleeing conflict.
UN climate talks: Faint progress on money, none on pollution
September 20, 2021 GMTOpening pocketbooks wider to fight climate change? That’s looking slightly more doable. Closing more smokestacks for the same goal? Not yet sold.
World leaders made “faint signs of progress” on the financial end of fighting climate change in a special United Nations feet-to-the-fire meeting Monday, but they didn't commit to more crucial cuts in emissions of the heat-trapping gases that cause global warming.
The AP Interview: UN chief warns China, US to avoid Cold War
September 20, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Warning of a potential new Cold War, the head of the United Nations implored China and the United States to repair their “completely dysfunctional” relationship before problems between the two large and deeply influential countries spill over even further into the rest of the planet.
Global protest seeks to turn up heat on leaders over climate
September 20, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Youth activists are hoping to turn up the heat on governments Friday with the first large-scale international protest against climate change in six months.
Greta Thunberg and fellow activists said Monday they plan to stage demonstrations in cities around the world, weeks before leaders gather for a U.N.
HP, Procter & Gamble join companies pledge to cut emissions
September 20, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Computer-maker HP, consumer goods business Procter & Gamble and coffee capsule company Nespresso have joined a corporate pledge to sharply cut their greenhouse gas emissions over nearly two decades.
As leaders reconvene at UN, climate and COVID top the list
September 19, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — Last year, no leaders came at all. This year will be quite different — sort of.
With the coronavirus pandemic still raging in many parts of the world, leaders from more than 100 nations are heading to New York this week for the United Nations' annual high-level gathering — a COVID-inflected, semi-locked down affair that takes place in one of the pandemic's hardest-hit cities of all.
UK’s Johnson to urge climate action over 4-day trip to US
September 19, 2021 GMTLONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was travelling to the United States on Sunday with senior Cabinet officials to urge world leaders attending the U.N. General Assembly to take urgent action on climate change ahead of this fall's COP26 climate summit in Scotland.
Drought tests centuries-old water traditions in New Mexico
September 18, 2021 GMTABIQUIU, N.M. (AP) — At the edge of a sandstone outcropping, Teresa Leger Fernández looks out on the Rio Chama. The river tracks a diverse landscape from the southern edge of the Rocky Mountains through rugged basalt hillsides, layers of volcanic tuff, and the red and yellow cliffs made famous by painter Georgia O’Keeffe.
Oregon tree experts expect delayed mortality due to drought
September 18, 2021 GMTPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The effects of the drought and heat on trees won’t be fully known until next spring, tree experts in Oregon say.
Oregon State University professor and forest health specialist Dave Shaw told The Oregonian/OregonLive that there’s typically delayed mortality associated with drought.
Democrats tackling flash points of taxes, health, climate
September 18, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Revamp the tax code and important federal health care and environment programs. Spend $3.5 trillion over 10 years, but maybe a lot less. Ensure that no more than three Democrats in all of Congress vote “no” because Republicans will be unanimously opposed.
Biden, world leaders push climate action, vow methane cuts
September 17, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden tried on Friday to hammer out the world's next steps against rapidly worsening climate change with a small group of other global leaders and announced a new U.S.-European pledge to cut climate-wrecking methane leaks.
UN: More pledges needed to avoid ‘catastrophic’ climate path
September 17, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — A new report shows the world is on a “catastrophic pathway” toward a hotter future unless governments make more ambitious pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the head of the United Nations said Friday.
UN: Climate pledges put world on ‘catastrophic pathway’
September 17, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — The world is on a “catastrophic pathway” toward a hotter future unless governments make more ambitious pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the head of the United Nations said Friday.
Prince William unveils finalists for environmental prize
September 17, 2021 GMTLONDON (AP) — Prince William announced 15 inaugural finalists Friday for the Earthshot Prize, his ambitious global environmental award that aims to find new ideas and technologies to tackle climate change, air pollution and the Earth’s most pressing challenges.
Campaigners press for next German leader to act on climate
September 17, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Environmental campaigners pressed Friday for Germany's next chancellor to take strong action against climate change, including by bringing forward the country's coal phase-out and banning new gasoline vehicles from 2025.
Biden $3.5T plan tests voter appeal of expansive gov’t role
September 16, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s “build back better” agenda is poised to be the most far-reaching federal investment since FDR’s New Deal or LBJ’s Great Society — a prodigious effort to tax the rich and shift money into projects and programs touching the lives of nearly every American.
Democrats call oil giants to testify on climate campaign
September 16, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats are calling top executives at ExxonMobil and other oil giants to testify at a House hearing as lawmakers investigate what they say is a long-running, industry-wide campaign to spread disinformation about the role of fossil fuels in causing global warming.
Ozone hole over Antarctica larger than usual, scientists say
September 16, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Scientists say the hole in the Earth’s protective ozone layer over the Southern Hemisphere is larger than usual this year and already surpasses the size of Antarctica.
The European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service said Thursday that the so-called ozone hole, which appears every year during the Southern Hemisphere spring, has grown considerably in the past week following an average start.
EU unveils Indo-Pacific strategy, tries to allay China fears
September 16, 2021 GMTBRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday unveiled a new strategy for boosting economic, political and defense ties in the Indo-Pacific, just hours after the United States, Britain and Australia announced a new security alliance likely to reshape their relations with the vast region.
UN chief urges ‘rapid’ emission cuts to curb climate change
September 16, 2021 GMTGENEVA (AP) — The head of the United Nations called Thursday for “immediate, rapid and large-scale” cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to curb global warming and avert climate disaster.
Leaders aim for more action out of closed-door climate talks
September 15, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans private climate talks with world leaders Friday to try to spur hard-and-fast commitments to cut climate-damaging pollution globally, following up on his livestreamed summit that saw dozens of leaders make earnest public promises to do so.
Pritzker: Illinois a ‘force for good’ by cutting carbon gas
September 15, 2021 GMTSPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday signed into law a pledge to eliminate the state's climate-damaging carbon emissions within a quarter-century, including money to keep clean-power nuclear plants running while shuttering coal-fired plants.
Climate change, logging collide -- and a forest shrinks
September 15, 2021 GMTCUSTER CITY, S.D. (AP) — Looking down a hillside dotted with large stumps and nearly devoid of trees, a pair of retired U.S. Forest Service employees lamented logging policies they helped craft to deal with two harbingers of climate change -- pine beetles and wildfires.
Report: Most nations fall far short in plans to curb warming
September 15, 2021 GMTNearly every nation is coming up short — most of them far short — in their efforts to fight climate change, and the world is unlikely to hold warming to the internationally agreed-upon limit, according to a new scientific report.
Operatic day at the beach evokes climate crisis
September 14, 2021 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — How do you turn a performance space in Brooklyn into a day at the beach?
Answer: Truck in 21 tons of sand from New Jersey in 50-pound bags and dump them out onto the floor — all 840 of them.
Vermont sues 4 oil companies, alleges false info on climate
September 14, 2021 GMTBURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Vermont on Tuesday became the latest state to sue some of the country's top fossil fuel companies by alleging they misled the public about the impact their products have on climate change.
EU climate chief: energy prices hike should boost transition
September 14, 2021 GMTBRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's climate czar said Tuesday the 27-nation bloc should ensure that the most vulnerable people won't pay the heaviest price of the green transition, and pledged measures guaranteeing equal burden-sharing across society, amid a global surge of energy prices.
Out West, Biden points to wildfires to push for big rebuild
September 14, 2021 GMTMATHER, Calif. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday used his first Western swing in office to hold out the wildfires burning across the region as an argument for his $3.5 trillion rebuilding plans, calling year-round fires and other extreme weather a climate change reality the nation can no longer ignore.
Norway’s center-left heads to victory in general elections
September 13, 2021 GMTCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The center-left bloc headed to a victory in Norway's elections Monday as official projections pointed to the governing Conservatives losing power after a campaign dominated by climate change and the future of the country’s oil and gas exploration industry.
Report: 2020 is deadliest year for `environmental defenders’
September 13, 2021 GMTLONDON (AP) — At least 227 people died last year defending their homes, land and livelihoods from environmental exploitation as the deepening climate crisis increasingly pits economic interests against local communities, according to data compiled by the environmental group Global Witness.
Crews in southern Spain face ‘complex’ wildfire for 5th day
September 13, 2021 GMTMADRID (AP) — Firefighting crews near southern Spain's Costa del Sol were hoping for much-needed rainfall Monday to help them extinguish a major wildfire that has ravaged 7,700 hectares (19,000 acres) in five days and forced the evacuations of 2,600 people.
Report: Climate change could see 200 million move by 2050
September 13, 2021 GMTBARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Climate change could push more than 200 million people to leave their homes in the next three decades and create migration hot spots unless urgent action is taken to reduce global emissions and bridge the development gap, a World Bank report has found.
Workshop focuses on climate change impacts in historic Salem
September 12, 2021 GMTSALEM, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts city known for its colonial era witch trials is launching a workshop this week focused on the risk of climate change to its cultural and historic sites.
Salem's “ Keeping History Above Water " runs from Monday to Tuesday and will examine ways to adapt to rising seas, increased coastal flooding and other consequences of climate change.
Vermont public meetings planned about climate action plan
September 12, 2021 GMTTHETFORD, Vt. (AP) — Public meetings will be held this month as a plan to commit Vermont to cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years is drafted.
The Global Warming Solutions Act was passed last year despite Gov.
Oil-rich Norway goes to polls with climate on the agenda
September 12, 2021 GMTSTAVANGER, Norway (AP) — North Sea oil and gas has helped make Norway one of the wealthiest countries in the world. But as Norwegians head to the polls on Monday, fears about climate change have put the future of the industry at the top of the campaign agenda.
AP FACT CHECK: Biden’s goal for cleaner jet fuel may not fly
September 11, 2021 GMTDALLAS (AP) — President Joe Biden and his team are promoting an agreement reached with the U.S.
Not easy voting green: Germans wary of getting climate bill
September 10, 2021 GMTHALLE, Germany (AP) — It's a scorching September day and the Green party candidate hoping to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor leaps on stage in front of hundreds of supporters for what should be a home run.
President Joe Biden to visit national fire center in Boise
September 10, 2021 GMTBOISE, Idaho (AP) — President Joe Biden will be in Boise, Idaho on Monday to visit the National Interagency Fire Center.
Biden's trip to the western U.S. will also include a stop in Sacramento, California to survey wildfire damage.
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon drops for the 2nd month
September 10, 2021 GMTRIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon dropped for the second consecutive month in August compared to the same period in 2020, according to preliminary data released Friday by the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research.
Pope, patriarch, Canterbury archbishop make climate appeal
September 10, 2021 GMTROME (AP) — The world’s top Christian leaders — Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians — on Tuesday issued a joint appeal for delegates at the upcoming U.N.
California OKs new spending on drought, wildfire prevention
September 9, 2021 GMTSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Thursday voted to spend more than $2 billion to prevent wildfires and address a severe drought, closing the book — for now — on a $262.5 billion operating budget that began the year with a record deficit because of the pandemic and ended with a record surplus in spite of it.
House Dems begin moving parts of Biden $3.5T domestic plans
September 9, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats began pushing plans for providing paid family and medical leave, easing climate change and bolstering education through House committees Thursday as they battled Republicans and among themselves over President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion vision for reshaping federal priorities.
Biden, Dems push Civilian Climate Corps in echo of New Deal
September 9, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Inspired by the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps, President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats are pushing for a modern counterpart: a Civilian Climate Corps that would create hundreds of thousands of jobs building trails, restoring streams and helping prevent catastrophic wildfires.
Magnet milestones move distant nuclear fusion dream closer
September 9, 2021 GMTSAINT-PAUL-LES-DURANCE, France (AP) — Teams working on two continents have marked similar milestones in their respective efforts to tap an energy source key to the fight against climate change: They’ve each produced very impressive magnets.
Stevie Wonder to headline Global Citizen Live in Los Angeles
September 9, 2021 GMTLOS ANGELES (AP) — Stevie Wonder will headline Global Citizen Live’s star-studded 24-hour event in Los Angeles this month to help raise awareness around poverty, climate change and the need for more access to COVID-19 vaccine doses worldwide.
Australia won’t allow UN climate goals in UK free trade deal
September 9, 2021 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's government confirmed Thursday that it refused to allow climate change goals to be written into a proposed free trade deal with Britain, as pressure mounts on it to make more ambitious commitments to cut carbon emissions.
Report: Solar could power 40% of US electricity by 2035
September 8, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Solar energy has the potential to supply up to 40% of the nation’s electricity within 15 years — a 10-fold increase over current solar output, but one that would require massive changes in U.S.
Researchers complete first-ever detailed map of global coral
September 8, 2021 GMTHONOLULU (AP) — Researchers have completed a comprehensive online map of the world’s coral reefs by using more than 2 million satellite images from across the globe.
The Allen Coral Atlas, named after late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, will act as a reference for reef conservation, marine planning and coral science as researchers try to save these fragile ecosystems that are being lost to climate change.
Study calls for strict limits on oil, coal to curb warming
September 8, 2021 GMTResearchers who estimate how much of the world’s coal, oil and natural gas reserves should be left unburned to slow the increase in climate-changing gases in the atmosphere say even more of these fossil fuels should be left in the ground.
Wichita City Council forms environmental concerns board
September 8, 2021 GMTWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — After months of advocacy by activists, the Wichita City council has voted to establish a board to advise the council and city staff on environmental concerns, climate change and economic economic vitality.
In NYC after Ida, Biden calls climate ‘everybody’s crisis’
September 8, 2021 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden declared climate change has become “everybody's crisis” on Tuesday as he toured neighborhoods flooded by the remnants of Hurricane Ida, warning it's time for America to get serious about the “code red” danger or face ever worse loss of life and property.
Environmental groups call for postponement of climate talks
September 7, 2021 GMTLONDON (AP) — A coalition of environmental groups has called for a pivotal climate conference to be postponed amid concern that many of those most affected by global warming won’t be able to attend because of the continuing threat from COVID-19.
UK opens public inquiry into proposed new deep coal mine
September 7, 2021 GMTLONDON (AP) — The U.K. has opened a public inquiry into plans for the country’s first new deep coal mine in three decades amid complaints that permitting the project would send the wrong message as the government seeks to persuade other countries to give up coal.
Industry group backs global carbon price for large ships
September 6, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — A major maritime industry association on Monday backed plans for a global surcharge on carbon emissions from shipping to help fund the sector's shift toward climate-friendly fuels.
The International Chamber of Shipping said it's proposing to the United Nations that all vessels trading globally above a certain size should pay a set amount per metric ton of carbon dioxide they emit.
UN climate chief: No country is safe from global warming
September 6, 2021 GMTROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — The U.N.'s top climate official urged governments Monday to stop their “deferral and delay” tactics and instead embrace rapid, widespread measures to curb and adapt to global warming.
Greece creates climate crisis ministry after huge wildfires
September 6, 2021 GMTATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s center-right government has created a new ministry to address the impact of climate change and named former European Union commissioner Christos Stylianides as minister.
Climate change pushes New Zealand to warmest recorded winter
September 6, 2021 GMTWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The southern winter that just ended in New Zealand was the warmest ever recorded, and scientists say that climate change is driving temperatures ever higher.
For the three months through August, the average temperature was 9.8 Celsius (50 Fahrenheit), according to New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
Report: More sharks, rays threatened with extinction
September 4, 2021 GMTPARIS (AP) — The world's sharks and rays have seen declines in their populations since 2014 and more and more are now threatened with extinction, according to a new red list released Saturday at a global conference aimed at protecting dwindling species.
Searches, sorrow in wake of Ida’s destructive, deadly floods
September 3, 2021 GMTELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) — Police went door to door in search of more possible victims and drew up lists of the missing as the death toll rose to 49 on Friday in the catastrophic flooding set off across the Northeast by the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
US to bolster firefighter ranks as wildfires burn year-round
September 3, 2021 GMTBOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. wildfire managers have started shifting from seasonal to full-time firefighting crews to deal with what has become a year-round wildfire season as climate change has made the American West warmer and drier.
Global biodiversity conference opens in southern France
September 3, 2021 GMTMARSEILLE, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron opened a global summit on biodiversity on Friday, saying the world needs to act promptly and decisively to safeguard the Earth's natural resources.
Study documents dramatic loss of remaining Pyrenees glaciers
September 3, 2021 GMTMADRID (AP) — Europe's southernmost glaciers will likely be reduced to ice patches in the next two decades due to climate change, as the shrinking of ice mass on the Pyrenees mountain range continues at the steady but rapid speed seen at least since the 1980s, Spanish scientists say in a new study.
Wolf needs to score bigger climate victories, activists say
September 3, 2021 GMTHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf has notched perhaps his biggest victory in his strategy to fight climate change in Pennsylvania, but climate-change activists still see his record as full of contradictions and suggest he has enough time left in office to score farther-reaching accomplishments.
UN: Brief gains in air quality in 2020 over COVID lockdowns
September 3, 2021 GMTGENEVA (AP) — The U.N. weather agency says the world — and especially urban areas — experienced a brief, sharp drop in emissions of air pollutants last year amid lockdown measures and related travel restrictions put in place over the coronavirus pandemic.
German carmakers reject environmental groups’ climate demand
September 3, 2021 GMTBERLIN (AP) — German automaker Daimler on Friday dismissed a “cease and desist” demand from two environmental groups to commit to ending the sale of combustion engine vehicles by 2030.
Lawyers for Greenpeace and the group Deutsche Umwelthilfe have threatened to sue Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen unless they sign a legal pledge not to put new gas-fueled vehicles onto the market from the end of this decade.
Analysis: US-China friction complicates progress on climate
September 3, 2021 GMTBEIJING (AP) — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry came to China this week seeking to press the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases to do more in the global effort to hold down the rise in temperature.
Biden says Ida, wildfires show ‘climate crisis’ has struck
September 3, 2021 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Thursday pledged robust federal help for the Northeastern and Gulf states battered by Hurricane Ida and for Western states beset by wildfires — with the catastrophes serving as deadly reminders that the “climate crisis” has arrived.
Study: Warmer Arctic led to killer cold in Texas, much of US
September 2, 2021 GMTWarming of the Arctic caused by climate change has increased the number of polar vortex outbreaks, when frigid air from the far north bathes the central and eastern United States in killer cold, a study finds.
US envoy Kerry says China crucial to handling climate crisis
September 2, 2021 GMTBEIJING (AP) — China needs to expand its efforts to reduce carbon emissions to help hold back the rise in global temperatures, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Thursday.
The State Department said Kerry told Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng in a virtual meeting that there is “no way” for the world to solve the climate crisis without China’s “full engagement and commitment.”