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Senate Democrats Block Energy Bill in Dispute Over Aid for Flint
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on February 5th, 2016
New York Times: Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked action on a comprehensive energy bill that had drawn broad bipartisan support after lawmakers failed to agree on including a $600 million amendment to address the crisis over lead-tainted water in Flint, Mich.
Senators voted twice to end debate on the energy bill, first falling 10 votes short of the 60-vote threshold needed to bring the item to a conclusion, and then falling six votes short. Absent their Flint aid amendment, 38 Democrats, including one of the...
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Nations Approve Landmark Climate Accord Paris
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on December 12th, 2015
New York Times: Representatives of 195 countries reached a landmark climate accord on Saturday that would, for the first time, commit nearly every country to lowering planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to help stave off the most drastic effects of climate change.
Delegates who have been negotiating intensely in this Paris suburb for two weeks gathered for the final plenary session where, suddenly, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius of France asked for opposition to the deal and, hearing none, gaveled the session...
Climate negotiators face hurdles on key issues as deadline looms
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on December 10th, 2015
New York Times: Less than two days before their deadline to conclude a sweeping new climate accord, negotiators from nearly 200 countries have yet to resolve major issues, such as how and when pledged cuts to carbon emissions would be verified. Lead negotiators said they were confident that a deal could still be reached — and perhaps in time to meet the Friday deadline. But some outside observers who have been monitoring the talks said that the compromises necessary to bring it across the finish line could weaken...
US Proposes Raising Spending on Climate-Change Adaptation
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on December 9th, 2015
New York Times: In an effort to help smooth the passage of a sweeping new climate accord here this week, Secretary of State John Kerry announced on Wednesday a proposal to double its grant-based public finance for climate-change adaptation by 2020 to $860 million, from $430 million. Mr. Kerry’s announcement came as the momentum toward a deal appeared to have hit a momentary snag. Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister who is presiding over the talks, delayed by two hours a self-imposed 1 p.m. deadline to release...
Citing Climate Change Obama Rejects Construction Keystone XL Oil Pipeline
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on November 7th, 2015
New York Times: President Obama announced on Friday that he had rejected the request from a Canadian company to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ending a seven-year review that had become a symbol of the debate over his climate policies. Mr. Obama’s denial of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would have carried 800,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, comes as he seeks to build an ambitious legacy on climate change. “America is now a global leader...
Judge blocks Obama administration rules on fracking
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on October 1st, 2015
New York Times: A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Obama administration’s first major regulations on hydraulic fracturing, a technique for oil and gas drilling that has led to a boom in American energy production but has also raised concerns about health and safety risks. The United States District Court for Wyoming issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Interior Department from carrying out the rules, which were issued in March by the department’s Bureau of Land Management. The ruling, however, stops...
Senate fails to override Obama’s Keystone pipeline veto
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on March 5th, 2015
New York Times: The Senate on Wednesday failed to override President Obama’s veto of a bill that would have approved construction of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.
A bipartisan majority of senators were unable to reach the two-thirds vote required to undo a presidential veto. The vote was 62 to 37.
The measure’s defeat was widely expected, and was the latest twist in the clash over the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would move about 800,000 barrels of carbon-heavy petroleum per day from the...
Obama administration to issue rules to cut methane emissions
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on January 13th, 2015
New York Times: In President Barack Obama's latest move using executive authority to tackle climate change, administration officials are announcing plans this week to impose new regulations on the oil and gas industry's emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
The administration's goal is to cut methane emissions from oil and gas production by up to 45 percent by 2025 from the levels recorded in 2012, according to an official familiar with Obama's plans.
The Environmental Protection Agency will issue...
Senate Votes to Start Debate on Keystone Bill
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on January 12th, 2015
New York Times: The Senate voted Monday to take up a bill that would force approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, opening a debate on energy and climate change that will preview other clashes to come between President Obama and the new Republican Congress. It will also set the stage for the energy and climate battles of the presidential election next year. But the bill’s fate appears certain: Republicans, with the help of some Democrats, are expected to easily push it through Congress, and Mr. Obama is expected...
White House unveils plans to cut methane emissions
Posted by New York Times: Coral Davenport on March 29th, 2014
New York Times: The Obama administration on Friday announced a strategy to start slashing emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas released by landfills, cattle, and leaks from oil and natural gas production.
The methane strategy is the latest step in a series of White House actions aimed at addressing climate change without legislation from Congress. Individually, most of the steps will not be enough to drastically reduce the United States' contribution to global warming. But the Obama administration...