International Courts Take on Climate with Historic Hearings and Resolution

Two historic developments last week are putting the climate crisis squarely on the docket of some of the world’s highest courts. On March 29, an international human rights court in Europe held a pair of hearings addressing government responsibility on climate change for the first time. That same day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted […]

Oil Sands Companies Are ‘Distorting Public Information’ on Google, Expert Says

A lobbying and marketing group representing top Canadian oil sands producers paid Google to link its website to hundreds of search terms related to climate change over the past three months, according to advertising data reviewed by DeSmog.  That means that when people went on Google seeking information about global temperature rise or federal climate […]

How Shell Is Selling the Petrochemical Buildout as ‘Sustainable’

By Emily Sanders, ExxonKnews This story was published in collaboration with ExxonKnews, a project of the Center for Climate Integrity. This reporting was made possible in part due to a media briefing sponsored by Beyond Plastics, Inclusive Louisiana, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, and The Descendants Project, which included local meals in Louisiana. If you take Shell’s […]

Gas Company in PR Offensive Ahead of Decision on Hydrogen Trial

A gas company has been accused of “greenwashing” in a North Yorkshire community ahead of a crunch decision on the UK’s first ‘hydrogen village’. Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is bidding to host a two-year government-funded trial in Redcar, Teesside, to replace gas with ‘green’ hydrogen in around 2,000 homes.  The company has said it is […]

Montana Repeals State Energy Policy as Climate Trial Nears

Montana has repealed its 30-year-old energy policy – including a 2011 amendment that prioritized fossil-fuel development. The move comes as a June trial date approaches for a youth-led climate lawsuit against the state. In the lawsuit, Held v. State of Montana, sixteen Montana children and teenagers say that by actively promoting a fossil-fuel based energy […]

Lost Decade: How Shell Downplayed Early Warnings Over Climate Change

Narrated in the upper-crust accent favoured by British documentary-makers of the era, Shell’s 1981 film Time for Energy assesses the scope for solar, wind, nuclear, and other sources of power to end the world’s dependence on finite reserves of oil. By the closing credits, the viewer is left in little doubt that there is only […]

New Bigger Risks Await Poorly Regulated Rail Industry

In July of 2013, a train carrying Bakken oil from North Dakota derailed and exploded in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, killing 47 people and destroying the downtown. I spent the five years after that accident researching what happened, following the railroad regulatory process that spans the U.S.-Canada border, and publishing a book about that experience. The main […]

Industry ‘Sabotaged’ Climate Solutions, ‘Petroleum Papers’ Author Told Canadian Senate

[Editor’s note: Geoff Dembicki is the award-winning author of Are We Screwed? and The Petroleum Papers: Inside the Far-Right Conspiracy to Cover Up Climate Change. He’s also a regular contributor here at DeSmog. On Thursday, March 30, Dembicki addressed a senate committee on energy, the environment and natural resources. Here’s what he had to say.] […]

Conservatives Received £3.5 Million from Polluters, Fossil Fuel Interests and Climate Deniers in 2022

Individuals and entities linked to climate denial, fossil fuels and high pollution industries donated more than £3.5 million to the Conservative Party last year, DeSmog can reveal. Electoral Commission records show that the party and its MPs received considerable sums from the highly polluting aviation and construction industries, mining and oil interests, and individuals linked to […]

Crypto Mining at Gas Wells Sparks Regulatory Headaches, Outcry in Northwestern Pennsylvania

Before obtaining the required permits, Diversified Energy began installing cryptocurrency mining infrastructure on one of its thousands of well pads.