EnviroPolitics Blog

Supreme Court nixes red states’ bid to quash climate cases

Two conservative justices said they would have allowed Republican state attorneys general to sue their Democratic counterparts for pursuing climate lawsuits against oil companies.

By Lesley Clark, E&E News

The Supreme Court has blocked an attempt by 19 red states to end a set of climate lawsuits against the oil and gas industry.

In an order issued Monday, the justices rejected a request by Republican state attorneys general to challenge five of their Democratic counterparts who have sued oil companies for compensation for the costs of rising tides, intensifying storms and other disasters worsened by climate change.

The Supreme Court is the first — and only — court to hear legal battles among states, although the justices are not obligated to take up such cases.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who has taken a more expansive view of the court’s obligation to look at state disputes, wrote a dissent from Monday’s order, which Justice Samuel Alito joined.

Thomas wrote that the red states allege that the climate liability lawsuits against oil companies violate the separation of powers and the federal government’s “exclusive authority over interstate emissions.” He said he would grant the states the right to proceed with their case.

He said the court’s assumption that it has the discretion to decline to review lawsuits between the states is “suspect at best” and a “modern invention that the Court has never persuasively justified.”

Thomas said the Supreme Court’s reluctance to accept jurisdiction in lawsuits between states is troubling because the court is the only one that can hear such cases.

Read the full story here

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U.S.-flagged oil tanker in flames after being rammed off UK coast

By John Konrad, gCaptain

Off the East Yorkshire coast, a grave incident is unfolding where the U.S.-flagged oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate loaded with jet fuel, a ship designated critical to US national security in the Department of Transportation’s Tanker Security Program (TSP), was struck while at anchor by the Portuguese-flagged containership MV Solong.

The collision has set both vessels ablaze, triggering extensive search and rescue operations. The crews have abandoned both ships. While initial reports suggest all U.S. Merchant Mariners are reportedly safe in lifeboats, one crew member from the Solong remains unaccounted for.

“It appears that Solong did not slow down or maneuver. It rammed straight into the side of Stena Immaculate,” said maritime historian Sal Mercogliano in a video analyzing the AIS ship tracks.

The Stena Immaculate is one of only ten vessels enrolled in the DOT’s TSP, which provides essential ships for the Department of Defense. Neither Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy nor Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has issued a statement. The vessel is one of three tankers operated in the TSP by Crowley-Stena Marine Solutions, a joint venture between US-based Crowley, which manages the vessel, and Stena Bulk USA.

The Stena Immaculate was anchored off the Humber Estuary when the Solong struck it at 9:48 a.m. on Monday. The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency is coordinating the emergency response with search and rescue helicopters from Humberside and lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Mablethorpe, and Cleethorpes. A fixed-wing aircraft and nearby vessels with firefighting capabilities are also supporting the operation.

Read the full story here

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Musk’s Political Activism Is Triggering a Backlash Worldwide

Protesters rally against Elon Musk's actions in the Trump administration at a Tesla showroom in New York last month. — Protesters rally against Elon Musk’s actions in the Trump administration at a Tesla showroom in New York last month. *Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg*

First there was Tesla-Scham, German for the embarrassment of owning one of Elon Musk’s electric vehicles. Now a backlash is brewing against his satellite-internet system Starlink.

The billionaire’s abrasive interventions into politics and his outsized role in shaping US policy in his capacity as senior adviser to President Donald Trump is having a real-life impact on his businesses, prompting governments from Italy to Poland to reconsider their dependence on his technology.

Musk’s endorsement of the nationalist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party saw a collapse in Tesla sales in the country where they are made just outside Berlin.

In spite of her friendship with Musk, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is getting cold feet about a potential Starlink deal given how the US is pulling away from its commitment to European security.

Poland is not the only US ally feeling queasy after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s berating in the Oval Office. Warsaw pays for Ukraine’s Starlink terminals, and was offended by Musk’s weekend comments that the “entire front line would collapse” if his network was switched off. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski suggested an alternative supplier might be necessary.

Read the full story here

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Trump DOJ to climate nonprofits: Hand over info and come to court

The Justice Department is demanding documents from nonprofits that were awarded the money through the Inflation Reduction Act.

By Jean Chemnick, E&E News by Politico

The Trump administration has directed nonprofits involved in a $20 billion Biden-era climate initiative to turn over records to the FBI and appear in federal court later this month, according to two people who were granted anonymity for fear of reprisal.

The move marks an escalation in the administration’s effort to claw back the climate money following its assertions that the Environmental Protection Agency had sought to evade oversight by depositing the $20 billion in Citibank accounts in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s term.

The fight is part of a larger power struggle kicked off by President Donald Trump’s attempts to unravel his predecessor’s spending decisions — even when that runs afoul of the actions of previous Congresses and funding that agencies have contractually obligated.

At least two groups that had been awarded shares of the funding through EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund received letters this week from acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin in Washington, directing them to turn over the records to the FBI within two weeks, said the two people, who were familiar with the document demand.

Read the full story here

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Trump removes the U.S. from UN’s climate damage fund

Flood-in-Feni-Bangladesh — For decades, island nations have pushed for developed, polluting countries to put money toward helping developing countries rebuild after climate disasters. | Anik Rahman/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

By Jordyn Dahl, Politico, March 8, 2025

The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from the United Nations climate damage fund that was established in 2023 to help developing countries most vulnerable to climate change when natural disasters strike.

Establishment of the fund was a victory for climate change activists from developing nations, with nearly 200 countries signing onto the agreement. At the 2023 climate conference, the U.S. pledged $17.5 million to the fund, while the EU contributed $245 million, including $100 million from Germany.

“Both the United States Board Member and United States Alternate Board Member will be stepping down, not to be replaced by a U.S. representative,” Rebecca Lawlor, the U.S. representative on the fund’s board, said in a March 4 letter.

For decades, island nations have pushed for developed, polluting countries to put money toward helping developing countries rebuild after climate disasters.

The move is the latest by the Trump administration to remove the U.S. from international agreements. One of his first orders after taking office was to pull out of the 2015 Paris climate accords. He had pulled the U.S. out of the Paris agreement during his first term — a decision that was reversed under the Biden administration.

The decision to withdraw from the U.N. fund was quickly condemned, with Ali Mohamed, the chair of the African Group of Negotiators, writing on X: “At a time when the world needs a concerted effort to fight the effects of climate change, the spirit of multilateralism should remain our guiding light.”

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Trump is fast dismantling the free press. Can he be stopped?

It’s part of a broader crackdown on the civil liberties of those who disagree with the president.

Opinion by Dana Milbank, Washington Post columnist

Barred by the White House from entering the room that day were the Associated Press and Reuters, venerable news agencies that have covered American presidents for decades. In their place: a correspondent from Russian state media, Tass’s Dmitry Kirsanov. The White House removed Kirsanov from the event in progress, claiming he was not “approved” to be there — asking us to believe that, in an astonishing security lapse, a Russian government propagandist had infiltrated the Oval Office without its knowledge.

Also brought into the room by the White House (which reversed more than a century of practice by seizing from journalists the authority to decide which reporters will be in the press “pool” that has access to Trump): Brian Glenn, correspondent for the MAGA outlet Real America’s Voice and boyfriend of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia). He accused Zelensky of “not respecting the office,” asking: “Why don’t you wear a suit?”

Then there was the correspondent from another MAGA outlet, One America News. He told Trump that foreign leaders had “praised your courage and conviction” and asked him “what gave you the moral courage” to start talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin about Ukraine, “something that previous leaders lacked the conviction to do.”

“I love this guy,” Trump replied. Upon learning he was from One America News, Trump said: “Well, that’s why I like him. One America News does a great job. That’s very — I like the question. I think it’s a very good question.”

This is the result when the government decides who can cover the president: a sycophantic circus.

President Donald Trump’s Oval Office ambush of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky last week was rightly seen as a disaster for freedom in the world. But it also showcased a disaster for freedom at home: the administration’s attempts to extinguish the free press.

This is the result when the government decides who can cover the president: a sycophantic circus.

Read the full piece here

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