Our Best of 2023 Has Your Holiday Reading Covered
DeSmog published hundreds of articles in 2023, from breaking news to live reporting, from COP28 to monthslong investigations. As the year comes to a close, we wanted to reflect on and celebrate that work. So get comfortable and join us for this highlight reel.
2023 Has Been A Big Year for Climate Accountability in the Courts
Climate litigation had a momentous year in 2023. Courts worldwide heard evidence and arguments at pivotal trials and hearings. Landmark rulings marked progress in holding governments to account for climate inaction or denial, and new climate cases continued to be filed. With climate lawsuits now totaling nearly 2,500 worldwide, it is clear that courts have […]
What Abandoning Fossil Fuels Could Look Like in the Arab World
This story was originally co-published by Grist and The Public Source, and is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now. For the second year in a row, world leaders met in the Arab world to negotiate the future of the planet. As a backdrop to the United Nations climate conference […]
Op-Eds Linked to Climate Science Deniers Bash Canada’s New EV Mandate
Canada’s three largest newspapers ran opinion pieces attacking a planned phase-out of gas and diesel powered passenger vehicles within hours of the government’s official announcement of the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard
A Texas Community Is Being Bombarded by Cancer-Causing Benzene. State Officials Have Known for Nearly Two Decades
For nearly 20 years, Texas environmental regulators have kept a disturbing secret. People living in a small, unincorporated community east of Houston are routinely breathing dangerous levels of benzene, a chemical linked to leukemia and other blood cancers. Emerging research also connects it to diabetes and reproductive problems. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or […]
Shareholder Activism Faces Big Oil Obstruction Playbook When Pushing for Climate Action
A recent study shows that international oil companies are successfully using obstructionist communication strategies to tamp down shareholder activism on climate action.
Inaction on Climate Change Is a Death Sentence for Emperor Penguin Chicks
My fellow cruise ship passengers toasted to their luck for being able to partake in a celebratory barbeque on the ship’s deck after visiting Snow Hill — a remote island in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea that is home to an emperor penguin colony. While it was warm enough to dine outdoors that evening on November 21, I couldn’t […]
Revealed: Ads Urging Canadians to Oppose Climate Laws Paid for by Gas Industry
A national industry group representing gas producers is quietly paying for digital advertisements urging Canadians to “speak up” to their elected officials against laws addressing climate change and public health, DeSmog can reveal. “Voice of Energy” is a new ad campaign and website featuring photos of diverse and well-dressed young people, explainers making the case […]
‘Narratives of Delay’: How the Animal Pharma Industry Resists Moves to Curb the Overuse of Antibiotics on Farms
Two years after landmark European Union legislation designed to curb the overuse of antibiotics on farms came into force, new analysis from DeSmog reveals eight key narratives the veterinary medicine and farming lobbies deploy to defend the billion-dollar market for the drugs. Aiming to combat the emergence of deadly treatment-resistant bacteria in humans, known in […]
Meet Animal Pharma’s ‘Boots on the Ground’ in Brussels
In September 2019, a group appeared on the Brussels political scene pledging to “bring back a balanced debate” about the benefits of meat and dairy. Known as European Livestock Voice, it describes the European Union’s livestock farming model, “based on diversified, local and family farm structures,” as the “backbone” of the continent’s rural areas, writing […]