No Picture
Gov/Politics

Congress Strengthens U.S. Chemical Safety Law

WASHINGTON, DC, June 8, 2016 (ENS) – By unanimous consent, the U.S. Senate passed a bill Tuesday that updates federal chemical safety protections for the first time in four decades. The measure gives the EPA new power to require safety assessments of chemicals found in ordinary products from toys and clothing to household cleansers. […]

Solheim
Gov/Politics

Changing Faces at the United Nations

NEW YORK, New York, May 4, 2016 (ENS) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint Erik Solheim of Norway as the new executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP, and Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa Cantellano as executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, […]

Trudeau, Obama
Air/Climate

U.S., Canada Forge Climate, Energy, Arctic Partnership

WASHINGTON, DC, March 12, 2016 (ENS) – On the occasion of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first state visit to Washington, he and President Barack Obama Thursday issued a lengthy detailed statement of cooperation on energy development, environmental protection, and Arctic leadership. […]

diplomats
Air/Climate

Guide to Paris Climate Talks: People to Watch

WASHINGTON, DC, November 20, 2015 (ENS) – In 10 days, world leaders will convene in Paris to forge a first universal, legally-binding pact to limit climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. With many sticking points still unresolved after years of negotiating, completing an agreement hinges on the interaction of personalities around the table. […]

Obama
Air/Climate

Obama’s Climate Policy in Political Pressure Cooker

WASHINGTON, DC, September 8, 2015 (ENS) – President Barack Obama’s efforts to curb U.S. carbon emissions and forge a global consensus for action to reverse climate change before it’s too late go farther than any U.S. president has ever gone. But Obama is under pressure from both sides to change his position. […]

No Picture
Air/Climate

Australia Lets Climate Polluters Evade ‘Safeguard’

CANBERRA, Australia, September 6, 2015 (ENS) – The Abbott Government is calling for public comment on the proposed rules for its Emissions Reduction Fund safeguard mechanism issued Wednesday. Critics say minimal compliance obligations will allow emissions to grow 20 percent by 2030. […]

Malawi officials
Gov/Politics

Malawi Gets ‘Serious’ About Wildlife Crime

LILONGWE, Malawi, August 9, 2015 (ENS) – The harshest sentences ever handed down for wildlife crimes in Malawi are still too light, said the chairman of the newly formed Malawi Parliamentary Conservation Caucus at the MPCC’s launch ceremony August 3. […]

Gov/Politics

Environment a Non-starter in Republican Debate

CLEVELAND, Ohio, August 7, 2015 (ENS) – Ten Republican presidential hopefuls lined up on the stage Thursday night for the first face-to-face debate of the 2016 election season. Environmental issues were not addressed, not even control of climate change… […]

Obama, Saudis
Gov/Politics

Saudi King Calls Obama But Stays Home

WASHINGTON, DC, May 11, 2015 (ENS) – King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia called President Barack Obama today to express his regret at not being able to travel to Washington this week for a meeting of the Arab States regional council. […]

Obama
Gov/Politics

Obama Vetoes Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

WASHINGTON, DC, February 24, 2015 (ENS) – President Barack Obama today fulfilled his promise to veto legislation that would remove the President’s responsibility to decide whether a pipeline that crosses an international border into the United States is in the national interest and give that power to Congress. […]

Yellowstone
Gov/Politics

Obama’s FY 2016 Budget: What’s In It for the Environment?

WASHINGTON, DC, February 7, 2015 (ENS) – President Barack Obama unveiled his $3.99 trillion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016 this week, setting the stage for a showdown with the Republican-controlled Congress on funding for environmental issues such as climate change, clean water, clean power, and cleaning up abandoned mine lands. […]

road
Gov/Politics

Obama Budgets Billions to Upgrade Crumbling Infrastructure

WASHINGTON, DC, February 3, 2015 (ENS) – Anthony Foxx, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Monday issued a report titled “Beyond Traffic: Trends and Choices 2045” that he hopes will open a national conversation. It is no accident that Foxx released “Beyond Traffic” on the same day that President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2016 budget year. […]

pumping station
Energy

U.S. Senate Votes to Force Keystone XL Pipeline Approval

WASHINGTON, DC, January 29, 2015 (ENS) – The new Republican-controlled Senate today voted for the first time to force U.S. approval of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Proposed by TransCanada, the pipeline would carry diluted bitumen from the Alberta tar sands to TransCanada’s existing pipeline in Nebraska for transfer to refineries on the Gulf Coast. […]

Obama, Modi
Air/Climate

USA, India to Cooperate on Climate, Clean Energy, Smart Cities

NEW DELHI, India, January 26, 2015 (ENS) – Amid the pomp and ceremony of India’s Republic Day, with President Barack Obama the first sitting American President to be honored as “chief guest,” Indian and U.S. leaders have agreed to collaborate on curbing climate change, clean energy and smart cities. […]