Earth.Org

This Week in Climate News (March 2026, Week 1) | Earth.Org This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including Greenpeace's $345 Dakota pipeline verdict.

This Week in Climate News (March 2026, Week 1)

Have Economists Underestimated the Cost of Climate Change? A new study suggests global warming could slash global GDP by up to 30% per degree of warming and reshape climate policy debates.

Have Economists Been Underestimating the Cost of Climate Change?

US Eyes Rollback of Protections For Critically Endangered Whale The National Marine Fisheries Service is planning to loosen speed-limit rules protecting the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Trump Administration Mulls Rollback of Lifesaving Protections For Critically Endangered Whale

Iran War: What the Gulf Conflict Means for Energy Security The US-Israeli military campaign in Iran is embedded in a broader struggle over energy security and great-power rivalry. 

Iran War: What the Gulf Conflict Tells Us About Energy Security

Can We Cut CO2 Emissions By Capturing and Valorizing Them? Valorizing CO2 involves turning it into a useful resource instead of just removing it. Advances are making more applications possible.

The Case for Capturing and Valorizing CO2 Emissions

Hong Kong Sees Warmest Winter on Record | Earth.Org February, which saw "unseasonably warm" weather and mean temperatures 3C above the normal, marked the end of the city's warmest winter.

Hong Kong Sees Warmest Winter on Record

Scientists Decry Climate Chapter Removal from US Judges Manual On February 6, Judge Robin Rosenberg, the Director of the Federal Judicial Center, removed a climate chapter from the US Reference Manual.

‘Political Attack’: Scientists Condemn Removal of Climate Chapter From US Judges’ Reference Manual

Greenpeace Vows to Fight $345mn Verdict in Dakota Pipeline Suit A judge has finalized a $345 million judgement in a lawsuit over Greenpeace's role in protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

‘Our Voices Will Only Grow Louder’: Greenpeace Vows to Fight $345 Million Verdict in Dakota Pipeline Suit

Lawyers Condemn 'Flawed', 'Biased' Greenpeace $660 Million Trial A jury's verdict that found Greenpeace liable for more than $660 million was "patently biased," according to a group of human rights lawyers.

Human Rights Lawyers Condemn ‘Deeply Flawed’, ‘Biased’ Greenpeace $660 Million Trial

Are Wildfires Coming to the Eastern US? | Earth.Org Human activity is transforming landscapes in the eastern US, raising the risk of destructive wildfires that threaten people and ecosystems.

Are Wildfires Coming to the Eastern US?

This Week in Climate News (February 2026, Week 4) | Earth.Org This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including new weakened US standards for mercury from power plants.

This Week in Climate News (February 2026, Week 4)

How Does Climate Change Threaten Polar Bears? | Earth.Org Populations of polar bears hover between 22,000 and 31,000 individuals, threatened by the ongoing and rapid loss of sea ice habitat.

Arctic Giants in Peril: The Polar Bear’s Fight Against Climate Change

Sports Industry Faces Revenue Decline Due to Climate Impacts Climate change and physical inactivity could cost the sports industry 18% of its annual revenue by 2050, according to the report.

Sports Industry Faces Revenue Decline Due to Climate Impacts, Report Warns

How Recent Conservation Wins Proved Nature Can Bounce Back Conservation wins in 2025 included green sea turtles coming back from the brink of extinction and wild horses returning to central Asia.

How Recent Conservation Wins Proved Nature Can Bounce Back

Who Will Pay to Clean Up Space Junk? | Earth.Org The volume of space junk is expanding at an alarming rate, creating a hazardous landscape that makes a coordinated cleanup necessary.

Who Will Pay to Clean Up Space Junk?

US EPA Weakens Mercury, Air Toxins Standards From Coal Plants The EPA repeal effectively allows coal-fired power plants to emit more brain-damaging mercury and other heavy metals such as nickel and lead.

‘Needless Cruelty’: Trump’s EPA Weakens Standards Limiting Mercury, Air Toxins From Coal Plants

US Supreme Court to Hear Big Oil's Bid to Toss Climate Suits The US Supreme Court's decision will likely have implications for dozens of deception lawsuits filed by local governments around the country.

US Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Big Oil’s Bid to Toss Climate Lawsuits

Inside the Rhino Forest Fund’s Reforestation Mission in Borneo The Rhino Forest Fund is proving that a science-based approach to reforestation in Borneo can create an outsized impact.

Rebuilding Borneo’s Rainforests: An NGO’s Fight Against Habitat Loss and Fragmentation

Paris Court Hears Arguments in Climate Case Against TotalEnergies It is the first climate lawsuit in France seeking to require a multinational oil company to reduce its fossil fuel production.

Paris Court Hears Arguments in Climate Case Against TotalEnergies; Ruling Expected in June

Grasslands Could Shrink by Half As Climate Change Intensifies Grasslands supporting over 1.5 billion grazing animals could shrink by 36–50% by the end of the century due to climate change.

Grasslands Could Shrink by Half As Climate Change Intensifies, Study Warns

Fire-Prone Weather Days On the Rise As Planet Heats Up The annual number of synchronous days with fire-prone weather went from an average of 22 between 1979-1984 to more than 60 days in 2023-2024.

Fire-Prone Weather Days On the Rise As Planet Heats Up: Study

Winter Olympics: Athletes Urge IOC to Drop Polluting Sponsors A group of Olympic and Paralympic athletes have published a new open letter appealing to the IOC to cut ties with fossil fuel sponsors.

Winter Olympics: Athletes Call on IOC to End Fossil Fuel Sponsorships

This Week in Climate News (February 2026, Week 2) | Earth.Org This weekly round-up brings you key climate news from the past seven days, including Trump's rollback of the 2009 endangerment finding.

This Week in Climate News (February 2026, Week 2)

Green Groups Decry 'Unlawful' Rollback of Endangerment Finding Environmentalists say Americans will be less safe and less healthy because of the Trump administration's repeal of the endangerment finding.

Endangerment Finding: Trump Administration Hails Repeal as Green Groups Decry ‘Unlawful’ Move

Trump's Massive Offshore Drilling Expansion Plan Faces Backlash Critics argue the proposal to expand offshore drilling ignores the catastrophic legacy of spills like Santa Barbara and Deepwater Horizon.

Trump Administration Faces Legal and Public Backlash Over Massive Offshore Drilling Expansion

Why the US Endangerment Finding Matters | Earth.Org The US will repeal the endangerment finding, the legal framework that underpins the government's power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Why the US Endangerment Finding Matters

Why This Costa Rica Court’s Ruling on Wildlife Electrocutions Matters A Costa Rican court found that the authorities in Nosara did not take mitigation measures to protect howler monkeys from electrocution.

Why the Costa Rican Constitutional Court’s Ruling on Wildlife Electrocutions Matters

Climate Change Fueled January's Wildfires in Argentina, Chile Human-induced climate change made the weather that accompanied recent wildfires in Chile and Argentina about 2.5 to 3x more likely.

Climate Change Fueled Deadly January Wildfires in Argentina, Chile: Study

EU Bans Destruction of Unsold Clothes and Shoes | Earth.Org The European Commission has introduced new rules that will prevent companies from destroying unsold clothes and footwear.

EU Bans Destruction of Unsold Clothes and Shoes

Bridging the Gap Between Soil Science and Collective Action The Save Soil movement converges spiritual vision, digital infrastructures, and transnational advocacy mobilizing people at scale.

This Movement Is Bridging the Gap Between Soil Science and Collective Action