Environmental Defense Fund analysis shows administration handed out $950m and Clean Air Act exemptions
It’s a good time to be a coal plant in the US. The Trump administration has given support to almost half of the nation’s coal plants, helping them to continue operating despite economic and regulatory headwinds, according to a new analysis by the Environmental Defense Fund.
The analysis, which looked at the 184 operating coal plants that are connected to the grid, found that 90 received support from the Trump administration through “cash handouts, free passes to pollute, and requirements to stay online past their retirement dates”.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
Trump boosted half of US coal plants with taxpayer dollars and ‘free passes to pollute’, report says
10/31/2026 - 08:00
10/31/2026 - 07:00
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylviania, a post-industrial site gets a second life
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10/31/2026 - 06:48
UK chancellor’s plans add to concerns government is moving away from pro-renewables agenda
John Healey has said he will veto new offshore wind projects if they will not lower bills, adding to concerns that the government is moving away from the pro-renewables agenda.
Announcing his plans, the chancellor said clean power is “how we break the grip of international gas prices on our bills”, but added the shift towards it “has to come at the right pace, in the right places, with the grid to carry it”.
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10/31/2026 - 03:48
Cop17, focused on protecting nature and restoring ecosystems, concludes on Saturday with critics saying system allows ‘one idiot’ to stall progress
Calls are growing for major reforms to UN biodiversity summits as countries fail to deliver on their promises to halt the destruction of the natural world, with governments likely on track to continue their record of never having met a target in the 34-year history of the convention.
Two weeks of negotiations at biodiversity Cop17 in Yerevan, Armenia, concluded on Saturday morning with countries vowing to redouble their efforts to meet this decade’s targets, which include commitments to protect 30% of the planet for nature, restore nearly a third of Earth’s degraded ecosystems and reform $500bn (£410bn) of environmentally damaging subsidies.
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10/30/2026 - 18:00
Dolly Parton, tulips and outback life all feature in the best images captured across the country in October
Apartments, community centres and a pink outdoor toilet: Australia’s 2026 National Architecture award winners – in pictures
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10/30/2026 - 13:00
More than 100,000 species are traded globally, whether illegally smuggled, sold as ornaments or in fisheries, timber and fashion industries, study finds
The number of plant and animal species in use or sold in the wildlife trade is more than twice as high as previously thought, researchers have discovered.
A study, published in Science Advances, warns that there are huge gaps in global assessments of how wildlife is traded, and that past estimates have failed to keep up with changes such as the boom in the online exotic pet trade, where sellers offering to post spider eggs across the world or sneak reptiles on to planes are just a click away.
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10/30/2026 - 09:00
Congress must act to ensure that families are able to heat their homes before the start of the season
Heating oil may be the clearest warning yet of how the war in Iran is deepening the US’s energy affordability crisis. Families who heat their homes with oil are facing bills that could be 50% higher this winter, adding nearly $900 to the cost of keeping their homes warm. These families were already struggling before the war began.
As the Guardian recently reported, research by my organization found that electricity shutoffs in 10 states had increased 28% over the past two years. Millions of Americans were already falling behind on their utility bills, forced to choose between paying for energy, food, medicine and rent. Now they face another round of increases in gasoline, electricity and home heating costs.
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10/30/2026 - 08:04
Andrea Egan calls for same political focus on teachers, care sector and NHS and says Jackdaw decision ‘a serious misstep’
The leader of the UK’s biggest trade union has called for the same political focus to be given to NHS, education and care sector workers as there has been on those employed in North Sea oil and gas.
Andrea Egan, the general secretary of Unison, said too often public sector workers were treated as an “afterthought” by the government compared with the “massive political focus” on protecting jobs in the North Sea.
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10/30/2026 - 06:34
Scientists may have solved a 66-million-year-old mystery: how crocodiles survived the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs. A sweeping analysis of fossils and ancient climates suggests that their preference for warm environments placed them in tropical refuges that remained habitable even after the catastrophic impact.
10/30/2026 - 06:30
Voters are feeling the pinch of Trump’s anti-climate agenda as energy costs rise, but a shake-up in Congress could shift things
If the polls can be believed, the US could see a blue wave in the midterms, giving Democrats a chance to take back the House and Senate, and gaining up to four governor’s seats.
These wins could give Democrats new power to resist Donald Trump’s anti-climate agenda, and to push forward climate policies at the state level. But if Republicans maintain power, it could further embolden Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” agenda and leave intact his administration’s latitude to continue dismantling regulatory measures his critics say protect public health and the planet.
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