26 h. ago Orbán’s claims of Trump summit triumph mask growing doubts over his grip on power

Embattled Hungarian leader says he won an indefinite reprieve from sanctions on oil and gas from Russia, but the US has since disputed thisAs Viktor Orbán would tell it, he had the perfect meeting with Donald Trump.After visiting the White House last week, the embattled Hungarian prime minister quickly declared victory, saying he had secured an indefinite exemption from US sanctions on oil and gas imported from Russia. The deal would shield Hungarians from skyrocketing energy prices ahead of parliamentary elections next year and potentially boost Orbán’s chances of extending his 15-year rule. Continue reading...

Politics

43 h. ago How a Texas shrimper stalled Exxon’s $10bn plastics plant | Shilpi Chhotray

Diane Wilson recognized Exxon’s playbook – and showed how local people can take on even the most entrenched industriesWhen ExxonMobil announced it would “slow the pace of development” on a $10bn plastics plant along the Texas Gulf coast, the company blamed market conditions. But it wasn’t just the market applying pressure; it was a 77-year-old shrimper named Diane Wilson who refused to stay silent. Her fight exposes big oil’s latest survival plan: ramping up oil and gas production to create plastic.I first met Wilson back in 2019 while tracking her historic lawsuit against Formosa Plastics, the Taiwanese petrochemical giant accused of dumping toxic plastic waste throughout coastal Texas. Billions of tiny plastic pellets were contaminating waterways, shorelines, and even the soil itself.Shilpi Chhotray is the co-founder and president of Counterstream Media and Host of A People’s Climate for the Nation Continue reading...

Economics

56 h. ago Reeves urged to cut windfall tax and not ‘sacrifice’ oil and gas workers

The Chancellor is due to deliver her budget later this month.

Economics

67 h. ago Despite America’s absence, Trump’s influence looms large over Cop30

In this week’s newsletter: Fear of retribution from the unpredictable president has left climate summit negotiators feeling nervous and vulnerable• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereUnder Donald Trump, America has not only jettisoned any effort to deal with the climate crisis, but has also attempted to stymie moves by other nations to shift to cleaner forms of energy, such as solar and wind.The climate crisis is “the greatest con job perpetrated by the world”, Trump told the UN in September, urging other governments to stick to oil and gas (preferably drilled in the US, of course) and ditch the “scam” of renewable energy.World still on track for catastrophic 2.6C temperature rise, report findsFossil fuel projects around the world threaten the health of 2bn peopleChina’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis findsCalifornia governor calls Trump ‘an invasive species’ at Cop30 climate talksTussles break out between protesters an...

Politics

4 d. ago Fossil fuel projects around the world threaten the health of 2bn people

Exclusive: ‘Deep-rooted injustices’ affect billions of people due to location of wells, pipelines and other infrastructureA quarter of the world’s population lives within three miles (5km) of operational fossil fuel projects, potentially threatening the health of more than 2 billion people as well as critical ecosystems, according to first-of-its-kind research.A damning new report by Amnesty International, shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that more than 18,300 oil, gas and coal sites are currently distributed across 170 countries worldwide, occupying a vast area of the Earth’s surface. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Oil and gas demand to rise for 25 years without global change of course, says IEA

International energy watchdog sets out new pessimistic scenario to reflect fading commitment to climate change

Politics

4 d. ago Trump administration planning to allow oil and gas drilling off California coast

Plan, which Gavin Newsom, the governor, has said would be ‘dead on arrival’, will allow six lease sales from 2027 to 2030The Trump administration is planning to allow oil and gas drilling off the California coast for the first time in decades, according to a draft plan shared with the Washington Post.The move is guaranteed to set up a battle with the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, a staunch opponent of offshore drilling. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago As climate alarmism fades, SNP must come clean about its stance on oil and gas

Just as Scotland stopped burning witches, it’s time to end the persecution of oil and gas workers

Society

5 d. ago Anas Sarwar backs oil and gas drilling and calls for 'balanced approach' to North Sea

The Scottish Labour leader has pleaded with his UK government colleagues to be “pursuing the opportunities that exist in oil and gas” in the North Sea despite a manifesto pledge to end new licensing.

Events

7 d. ago Fossil fuel lobbying of SNP ministers trebled since Glasgow COP26 summit

Oil and gas representatives have held more than 300 meetings with SNP ministers since November 2021 climate summit, a Sunday Mail probe found.

Politics

8 d. ago Why Scotland should learn from Spain to save fossil fuel workers from unemployment

The Scottish and UK governments need a better plan to deal with mass job losses in the North Sea oil and gas industries

Politics

8 d. ago Trump says ‘looking at’ exemption for Hungary from Russian oil and gas sanctions – live

US president calls Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán a ‘great leader’ as they meet at the White HouseAndrew Roth in Washington and Flora Garamvolgyi in BudapestViktor Orbán will visit the White House today as Hungary’s far-right prime minister tries to broker another summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin that Orbán’s advisers claim could help end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago How thousands of fossil fuel lobbyists got access to UN climate talks – and then kept drilling

Exclusive: Research shows oil, gas and coal firms’ unprecedented access to Cop26-29, blocking urgent climate actionMore than 5,000 fossil fuel lobbyists were given access to the UN climate summits over the past four years, a period marked by a rise in catastrophic extreme weather, inadequate climate action and record oil and gas expansion, new research reveals.Lobbyists representing the interests of the oil, gas and coal industries – which are mostly responsible for climate breakdown – have been allowed to participate in the annual climate negotiations where states are meant to come in good faith and commit to ambitious policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Badenoch warns of ‘oil and gas emergency’ in call for new drilling

The Conservative leader travelled to the north-east of Scotland to launch her party’s new campaign to end the moratorium on new oil and gas licences.

Events

1 week ago Renewables and oil and gas chiefs unite to pile pressure on Chancellor amid 'investment headwinds'

Renewables and oil and gas chiefs have comes together in an unprecedented move, heaping pressure on the Chancellor to rethink her energy profits levy.

Events

1 week ago Oil and gas windfall tax must be replaced, say offshore and renewables groups

Offshore Energies UK and Scottish Renewables have written a joint letter to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.

Politics

1 week ago Trump administration considers revoking ban on oil and gas development near Chaco historical park

The Trump administration is initiating formal meetings with Native American tribes in the southwestern U.S. as it considers revoking a 20-year ban of oil and gas development across of hundreds of square miles of federal land surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park

Politics

1 week ago Away from Brazil’s ‘forest’ Cop30 – the fate of the Congo Rainforest hangs in the balance

The Democratic Republic of Congo government has opened bids for oil and gas drilling across huge swathes of the country, raising fears that the world’s last great rainforest carbon sink could be destroyed, Nick Ferris reports

Politics

1 week ago Merger creates $13bn Permian driller as oil and gas dealmaking rebounds

SM Energy and Civitas Resources announce all-stock ‘strategic combination’

Economics

2 w. ago Humiliation for Ed Miliband as Rachel Reeves 'is set to scrap oil and gas windfall tax' to revive North Sea investment

The Chancellor is said to be mulling the move as she and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer scramble to boost Britain's sluggish economy.

Economics