climate

National

Despite all the rain, California's drought isn't over

4:45pm October 28, 2021

by Nathan Rott

A welcome early season deluge of rain in California has not ended the drought which persists in other parts of the West as well. The warming climate makes it harder to replenish rivers and reservoirs.

President Biden seeks to reaffirm his leadership at G20 summit

4:45pm October 28, 2021

NPR's Sarah McCammon talks with White House economic and national security advisor Daleep Singh about President Biden's goals for the G20 Rome summit as he faces economic and political challenges.

House climate crisis chair says spending plan is 'transformative,' despite cuts

4:45pm October 28, 2021

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., who chairs the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26.

Donald Caesar, Jr., 49, stands in front of a pile of garbage. That's what's left of his family's home a month after Hurricane Ida ripped through LaPlace, La.

National

In hurricane-wrecked Southern Louisiana, longtime residents consider calling it quits

1:06pm October 28, 2021

For the people of LaPlace, La. the destruction of Hurricane Ida was on another level. And that has some residents considering moving away before the next one.

President Biden, pictured leaving the Oval Office on Oct. 15, is traveling to Rome and Glasgow during the second foreign trip of his presidency.

Here's who Biden will meet with when he goes to Rome and Glasgow this week

8:00am October 28, 2021

by NPR Staff

President Biden has been scrambling to make a deal at home with lawmakers in his own party before heading to the G-20 summit in Rome and the U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow.

Environment

Britain plans to phase out coal. Why then are there plans to open a new mine?

7:28am October 28, 2021

by Frank Langfitt

There are plans to open the U.K.'s first new coal mine in three decades — just as the government is trying to tout its environmental record as host of the U.N.'s climate meeting.

Politics & Government

As Biden preps for U.N. summit, how much credibility does he have on climate?

7:22am October 28, 2021

NPR's A Martínez talks to Carroll Muffett, president and CEO of the Center for International Environmental Law, about President Biden's involvement in next week's COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

House Oversight Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., says oil companies who have said they are working to use greener technologies have also disseminated misinformation about climate change.

Politics & Government

Oil companies face 'big tobacco moment' in Congress over their climate policies

5:00am October 28, 2021

by Deirdre Walsh

House Oversight Chair Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., called the CEOs of four oil companies to appear and answer questions about climate change. She says the companies have spread misinformation for decades.

Emissions rise from a smokestack in Ohio. The United States has contributed more heat-trapping pollution than any country over time and has been the prime driver of global climate change.

How decades of disinformation about fossil fuels halted U.S. climate policy

9:40pm October 27, 2021

Most Americans want the government to tackle climate change, but decades of industry lobbying and misinformation have repeatedly worked together to prevent meaningful action.

Tammy and Benny Alexie have been married for over 35 years. Until Hurricane Ida, they had lived in the same house in Barataria, La.

National

Benny watched his house drift away. Now, his community wants better storm protection

10:39am October 27, 2021

Residents of and around Jean Lafitte, La. say they haven't seen storm damage like this before. And they say the federal government could have done more for them as it did for the city upriver.