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Valerie Volcovici
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 1, 2022
COP27 climate summit to test resolve of world battling war and inflation
With nations dealing with the fallout of urgent crises, questions loom over whether they will act quickly and ambitiously enough to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Jul 1, 2022
Biden forced to rethink climate game plan after U.S. Supreme Court limits EPA powers
The U.S. president came into office with the aim of slashing power sector emissions to net zero by 2035, using the EPA as his key tool in doing so.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 1, 2022
U.S. Supreme Court limits federal power to curb carbon emissions
The decision will constrain the EPA's ability to issue any regulations on power plants that push for an ambitious national shift in energy policy toward renewable sources.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 18, 2022
World far short of climate goals during 'decade of action'
Failing to meet the 2030 emissions target risks pushing the world toward irreversible climate impacts, even if a second goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 is met, scientists say.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 18, 2022
A U.N. pact may restrict plastic production. Big Oil aims to stop it.
U.N. members are set to meet this month to draft the blueprint for a global plastics treaty. That's a problem for Big Oil, with the plastic industry set to double output within 20 years.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Nov 15, 2021
How a dispute over coal nearly sank the Glasgow Climate Pact
As envoys prepared to take their seats to adopt the accord on Saturday night, an unresolved dispute over coal threatened to derail it, and most of the people in the room had no idea.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Nov 15, 2021
Was the Glasgow pact a win for the climate? Time will tell.
Success will be determined by the future actions of the governments that thrashed it out the deal, according to the summit's U.K. hosts, participants and observers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 1, 2021
Trash and burn: Big brands' new plastic waste plan faces skepticism
Experts say that burning plastic in cement kilns, a practice firms are promoting, emits harmful emissions and amounts to swapping one dirty fuel for another.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 11, 2021
To save the planet, focus on cutting methane, U.N. climate report says
Countries must make 'strong, rapid and sustained reductions' in methane emissions in addition to slashing carbon dioxide emissions, the report said.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Aug 2, 2021
The recycling myth: Big Oil’s plastic waste solution littered with failure
While residents have dutifully packaged up their trash, expecting it to be put to a green use, many have been left disappointed.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2021
150 years of spills: Philadelphia refinery cleanup highlights toxic legacy of fossil fuels
A U.S. refinery cleanup of the size and scope of the one in Philadelphia has no known precedent, remediation experts said.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Nov 2, 2020
Make Science Great Again: U.S. researchers dream of life after Trump
Dozens of U.S.-based climate scientists shifted their research to France, or sought refuge in academia or in left-leaning states after Donald Trump was elected in 2016.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 14, 2020
Tribe’s climate change plight highlights challenge for Native Americans
For several years, Fawn Sharp has seen her tribe on the coastline of Washington state lurch from crisis to crisis: rising sea levels have flooded the Quinault Indian Nation’s main village, and its staple sockeye salmon in nearby rivers have all but disappeared — a direct hit to the tribe’s finances...
WORLD / Science & Health
Jun 11, 2015
New U.S. plan to trim aviation emissions satisfies industry, worries greens
For two years, President Barack Obama has used his executive power to impose new rules to cut carbon emissions, targeting cars and power plants, buoying environmentalists and infuriating industry.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 15, 2014
Anti-coal dominoes theory hits BRICS wall
A year ago, President Barack Obama sought to mobilize the United States behind a grand plan: fight climate change by slashing carbon pollution at home, while prodding other countries to follow.

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