Super-Pollutants Archives - Inside Climate News

Is China Emitting a Climate Super Pollutant in Violation of an International Environmental Agreement?

By Phil McKenna and Peter Aldhous — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 11:00:00 +0000

Concentrations of HFC-23, one of the world’s most potent greenhouse gases, remained elevated in East Asia after China, a known past polluter, agreed to curb emissions.

By Phil McKenna and Peter Aldhous

Preliminary atmospheric monitoring data from a remote South Korean island off China’s east coast shows elevated concentrations of hydrofluorocarbon-23 (HFC-23), a greenhouse gas 14,700 times more potent than carbon dioxide on a pound-for-pound basis, according to the World Meteorological Association.

Can US, China Climate Talks Spur Progress at COP28?

By Bob Berwyn, Phil McKenna and Nicholas Kusnetz — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 19:48:03 +0000

With global consensus difficult to find, some experts say smaller multilateral deals between major greenhouse gas polluters are needed to quickly cut emissions.

By Bob Berwyn, Phil McKenna and Nicholas Kusnetz

New climate talks between the United States and China could set an encouraging signal for the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate summit, but only if the world’s biggest greenhouse gas polluters follow up on their words with actions.

Who Were the Worst of the Worst Climate Polluters in 2022?

By Phil McKenna — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 09:30:00 +0000

EPA’s annual greenhouse gas report for large emitters show some facilities slashed their emissions while others polluted more than ever.

By Phil McKenna

Emissions from the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the U.S. were down slightly in 2022, but thousands of industrial facilities with substantial emissions remain, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently released Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program data.

An Alabama Coal Plant Once Again Nabs the Dubious Title of the Nation’s Worst Greenhouse Gas Polluter

By Lee Hedgepeth — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 09:00:00 +0000

A single Jefferson County power plant pollutes more than some entire countries.

By Lee Hedgepeth

In West Jefferson, everything happens in the shadow of Alabama Power.

Texas Continues to Issue Thousands of Flaring Permits

By Martha Pskowski — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:55:00 +0000

State regulators raise doubts about natural gas flaring permits but rarely reject them. Advocates for reform say the permit process is a “rubber stamp” and that companies shouldn’t get a free pass to keep flaring indefinitely.

By Martha Pskowski

At a Railroad Commission meeting last month, Commissioner Jim Wright chastised Callon Petroleum for flaring natural gas at a drilling site, saying it should “find a better solution.”

Watchdog Finds a US Chemical Plant Isn’t Reporting Emissions of Climate Super-Pollutants and Ozone-Depleting Substances to Federal Regulators

By Phil McKenna — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 13:46:14 +0000

Fenceline monitoring by the Environmental Investigation Agency furthers the call to close industry loopholes under an international environmental agreement.

By Phil McKenna

U.S. chemical manufacturer Honeywell International released chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)—climate super-pollutants and ozone depleting substances that are banned except for limited uses under an international environmental agreement—according to a report released Oct. 10 by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a non-profit environmental organization based in Washington, D.C.

Biden Announces Huge Hydrogen Investment. How Much Will It Help The Climate?

By Nicholas Kusnetz, Jon Hurdle — Sat, 14 Oct 2023 00:55:45 +0000

The Energy Department awarded up to $7 billion in grants for clean hydrogen “hubs,” but environmentalists warn some of the money could prop up fossil fuels and fail to cut emissions.

By Nicholas Kusnetz, Jon Hurdle

PHILADELPHIA—President Joe Biden traveled to a marine terminal here on Friday to announce billions in funding for new clean hydrogen projects that he said would help the nation meet its climate goals while generating thousands of new high-quality jobs. Surrounded by lines of shipping containers on a dock along the Delaware River, Biden positioned the program as a critical piece of his economic and climate platforms.

Crucial for a Clean Energy Economy, the Aluminum Industry’s Carbon Footprint Is Enormous

By Phil McKenna — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 04:01:00 +0000

A new report finds aluminum manufacturing worldwide emits more than a billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, as well as chemicals called perfluorocarbons that warm the planet for 50,000 years.

By Phil McKenna

Aluminum is crucial for a clean energy economy, but its production is a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions as well as toxic air and water pollution, according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project on the “paradox” of aluminum.

A Drop in Emissions, and a Jobs Bonanza? Critics Question Benefits of a Proposed Hydrogen Hub for the Appalachian Region

By Jon Hurdle — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

The potential gains for Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio have not been clearly spelled out, and the science is being challenged, as the Department of Energy prepares to announce the builders of six to 10 federally funded hubs across the country.

By Jon Hurdle

PITTSBURGH—As the federal government nears a decision on which of the nation’s proposed “hydrogen hubs” will share up to $8 billion in startup money, critics of the idea in the Appalachian region are asserting that the program would do little to curb greenhouse gas emissions or create jobs, while increasing electricity prices for consumers and businesses.

A Texas Dairy Ranks Among the State’s Biggest Methane Emitters. But Don’t Ask the EPA or the State About It.

By Phil McKenna, Georgina Gustin, Peter Aldhous — Fri, 18 Aug 2023 09:05:00 +0000

An analysis by Inside Climate News, building on work by Climate TRACE, shows that tracking cattle emissions, site by site, is doable. But government databases specifically exempt agricultural operations from their greenhouse gas accounting.

By Phil McKenna, Georgina Gustin, Peter Aldhous

Three years ago, North Dumas Farms was an empty field near the northern edge of the Texas Panhandle. Today it is a massive dairy operation—and one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters in the state.