A Texas environmental group is suing a rural school district for allegedly violating state law by failing to properly notify the public ahead of a vote approving a major tax break for ExxonMobil’s proposed plastics plant.
The San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper filed suit against Calhoun County Independent School District, claiming it gave only 14 days’ notice — short of the 15-day legal requirement — and buried meeting details deep in its website.
The lawsuit challenges the district’s April 29 decision to grant ExxonMobil a 50% property tax break on a $10 billion plastics plant that could save the company $242 million over a decade.
Plaintiff Diane Wilson, a longtime environmental advocate, warns the plant's runoff would drain into waterways undergoing a multimillion-dollar cleanup following a 2019 settlement from her earlier lawsuit against Formosa Plastics.
Key quote:
“This wasn’t just a flaw in the process. We feel it was a deliberate attempt to avoid public opposition.”
— Diane Wilson, executive director of San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper
Why this matters:
Tax abatements for petrochemical projects are increasingly common in rural Texas, where local governments face pressure to stimulate economic growth but often lack the legal infrastructure or public engagement to fully evaluate long-term impacts. When public notice laws are ignored or skirted, communities lose their ability to participate in decisions that could reshape their environment for decades. The ExxonMobil plastics plant in question could produce three million tons of polyethylene annually, adding to the region's legacy of industrial pollution. The area’s waterways, already subject to plastic waste and chemical runoff, risk further contamination. These waters feed into ecosystems and fishing grounds vital to both local livelihoods and biodiversity. Plastics production also brings air emissions, energy use, and microplastics that can infiltrate soils and bodies.
A potent greenhouse gas known as HFC-23 is leaking into the atmosphere at rates much higher than countries report, casting doubt on global climate commitments and monitoring efforts.
Atmospheric monitoring reveals that global HFC-23 emissions in 2023 were five times higher than what countries reported to the United Nations, with 40% traced to eastern China.
The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol mandates the destruction of HFC-23, but vague language like “to the extent practicable” and weak enforcement mechanisms have allowed continued emissions.
While China installed incinerators to destroy HFC-23 with help from UN subsidies, new draft rules remain unenforced, and emissions persist from both known and possibly untracked sources.
Key quote:
“There is a powerful greenhouse gas that countries are, for whatever reason, not destroying, even though they should and have the means to, and that’s quite concerning.”
— Ben Adam, researcher, University of Bristol and lead author of the study
Why this matters:
Trifluoromethane, or HFC-23, is an industrial byproduct thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. It’s largely produced during the manufacture of HCFC-22, a chemical once widely used in refrigeration and now being phased out due to its ozone-depleting effects. Although technologies exist to eliminate HFC-23 emissions almost entirely, lax enforcement and vague language in international treaties have allowed substantial emissions to continue, especially from factories in China. Poor monitoring capacity in regions like central China, India, and Russia compounds the issue. Meanwhile, U.S. agencies like NASA, which support global air monitoring efforts, face budget cuts, threatening critical data collection. Without independent verification, nations can underreport emissions without consequence.
Colorado oil and gas companies have injected at least 30 million pounds of chemicals underground in the past 18 months without complying with state rules requiring full disclosure of their ingredients.
Despite Colorado’s 2022 law banning PFAS use and mandating full chemical disclosure within 150 days of fracking operations, more than 60% of wells fracked since July 2023 lack required filings. Chevron, operating over 375 such wells, is the largest non-compliant operator.
A blowout at Chevron’s Noble Bishop site in April released toxic chemicals into the air near Galeton, exposing residents to benzene levels up to 10 times the safety threshold. Students measuring air quality at the site described overwhelming fumes and health effects.
Environmental and public health advocates say the lack of transparency hampers medical care, exposes communities to toxic substances, and undermines state efforts to protect water, air, and health. Enforcement of disclosure rules remains weak nearly two years after the law took effect.
Key quote:
“This just kind of proves that you need to be transparent about what you’re putting in those wells. Because when incidents like this happen, people don’t know what they’re breathing, they don’t know what’s going into the air.”
— Jared Stickney, graduate student, Colorado State University
Why this matters:
Colorado’s attempt to lead the nation with stricter transparency laws was meant to pierce the veil of “trade secret” protections that have long shielded the oil and gas industry from scrutiny. But the weak enforcement of these new rules leaves many residents vulnerable to unknown exposures. PFAS and other persistent chemicals used in drilling fluids can contaminate drinking water, linger in the environment, and accumulate in the human body over time. Even short-term exposure to substances like benzene is linked to leukemia and other health problems. And when spills and blowouts occur, the lack of chemical disclosure means first responders and medical professionals are left guessing about what people were exposed to.
India’s push to nearly double its steel output by 2030 — largely using coal — could drive up greenhouse gas emissions and undermine international goals to green the carbon-heavy industry.
A new report from Global Energy Monitor warns that India’s coal-reliant steel expansion could double the sector’s carbon emissions within five years, threatening its own climate targets and global decarbonization milestones.
India plans to boost steel capacity from 200 million to over 330 million tonnes per year by 2030, with more than half of the new capacity relying on coal-based technologies.
While much of this capacity is still on paper, analysts say India has a narrow window to pivot toward cleaner production methods like electric arc furnaces and scrap-based steelmaking.
Key quote:
“India is now the bellwether of global steel decarbonization. If the country does not increase its plans for green steel production, the entire sector will miss an important milestone. So goes India, so goes the world.”
— Astrid Grigsby-Schulte, project manager, Global Iron and Steel Tracker at GEM
Why this matters:
Steelmaking is one of the world’s most polluting industries, accounting for nearly 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. India’s deepening reliance on coal in this sector puts it at odds with climate goals it helped shape, including net-zero pledges and clean energy targets. As the second-largest steel producer, India wields outsized influence over whether the global industry can decarbonize quickly enough to avoid the worst climate impacts. The environmental stakes go beyond CO₂: steel plants are major sources of air and water pollution, with documented effects on respiratory health and local ecosystems. Coal combustion also emits toxic substances like mercury and fine particulate matter, contributing to premature deaths and chronic illnesses. India’s decision to greenlight massive coal-based capacity now could lock in emissions for decades.
Tropical forest destruction surged in 2024 due to record-breaking wildfires, just as the European Union moved to postpone a key anti-deforestation regulation.
Nearly seven million hectares of primary tropical forest were lost in 2024, with almost half due to wildfires, according to data from the World Resources Institute and the University of Maryland.
Fires also devastated boreal forests in Russia and Canada, contributing to 30 million hectares of tree cover loss worldwide and releasing 4.1 gigatons of greenhouse gases.
The EU postponed the start of its anti-deforestation law to 2025, with conservative lawmakers pushing further delays and exemptions for European producers, citing red tape and economic impacts.
Key quote:
“This is a dangerous feedback loop we cannot afford to trigger further.”
— Peter Potapov, research professor at the University of Maryland
Why this matters:
Wildfires — worsened by climate change — are now turning forest carbon sinks into carbon bombs. When trees burn, they release stored carbon back into the atmosphere, amplifying global warming and increasing the chances of future fires. The loss of tropical forests in places like Brazil, Colombia, and the Congo Basin also threatens biodiversity, water cycles, and the livelihoods of Indigenous and local communities. Delaying regulations that hold companies accountable for deforestation-linked supply chains risks undermining global pledges to reverse forest loss by 2030. As political momentum stalls in Brussels, every scorched acre makes it harder to meet climate goals and protect critical ecosystems.
States and provinces across the globe are forging ahead with aggressive climate policies and forest protections while national governments remain gridlocked or retreating from international commitments.
Subnational leaders from tropical regions are spearheading forest conservation and climate action efforts, often outpacing national governments in ambition and execution.
U.S. governors, united in the U.S. Climate Alliance, represent over half the nation’s population and economy as they enact emissions-cutting policies despite federal rollbacks.
Programs in places like Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia are reducing deforestation through community partnerships, carbon markets, and sustainable economies.
Key quote:
“It’s no wonder that philanthropic and business leaders from many sectors are turning to state and provincial policymakers, rather than national governments.”
— Mary Nichols, distinguished counsel, Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the University of California, Los Angeles
Why this matters:
The planet’s tropical forests, including the Amazon and rainforests in Indonesia and Central America, are vital to regulating the global climate, soaking up carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. Yet they are rapidly disappearing. With national governments often mired in political gridlock or reversing course on climate commitments — as seen with the U.S. exit from the Paris Agreement — states and provinces have emerged as unlikely climate leaders. These subnational entities, closer to the consequences of climate disasters and equipped with real authority over land use and development, are showing that targeted policies and local collaboration can slow forest loss. Their work offers a roadmap for how climate resilience and economic development might go hand in hand, even in regions under tremendous environmental pressure.
American clean energy factories have created over 120,000 jobs and $33 billion in annual economic activity, but upcoming federal policy decisions could stall that growth.
A new report from the American Clean Power Association (ACP) finds that 200 clean energy factories across 38 states generate $33 billion in annual economic activity and support 122,000 jobs.
Over 70% of these facilities are in states that voted for Donald Trump in 2024, where tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act have driven a surge in solar, wind, and battery manufacturing.
Proposed cuts to clean energy tax credits by Republicans in Congress could undermine future growth, with the ACP warning that current plans could lead to factory closures and job losses.
Key quote:
“If they are implemented as currently drafted, which we certainly hope they are not, we will see factories shutting down.”
— MJ Shiao, vice president of supply chain and manufacturing, American Clean Power Association
Why this matters:
Clean energy manufacturing isn’t just a climate solution — it’s an economic engine that’s transforming local economies, especially in conservative-leaning states. Factory jobs in solar, wind, and battery production pay well above the national average and help anchor small towns and mid-sized cities left behind by globalization. These factories generate ripple effects through construction, logistics, hospitality, and materials supply chains. In Texas, Georgia, and elsewhere, this activity helps stabilize local economies and give young workers reasons to stay close to home. Proposals to weaken the tax credits that undergird this sector — many introduced by Republican lawmakers whose districts benefit most — could slow or reverse this momentum.
