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Warming U.S. Cities Face Higher Cooling Demand and Energy Bills
Analysis of cooling degree days (CDD) shows that 97% of 241 major U.S. cities experienced increased cooling demand since 1970, with an average increase of 37%. This trend, combined with a 31% rise in residential electricity prices between 2020 and 2025, increases the financial burden on households, particularly low-income families. In 2020, the ten states with the highest cooling costs saw average household expenditures between $378 in Hawaii and $712 in Arizona. Future projections suggest U.S. household cooling demand will rise 43% by 2050. The report also highlights systemic risks, including electricity grid strain, increased carbon emissions from fossil-fuel-reliant cooling, and the urban heat island effect caused by waste heat from air conditioners.
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Document type: Report
The Fraud of “Clean” Natural Gas
The report details a 50-year campaign by the natural gas industry to brand its product as "clean energy" and a "bridge fuel." It argues that this was a strategic fraud designed to protect residential markets from electrification and later to facilitate a massive expansion of infrastructure. The document highlights the role of industry-funded research, specifically the Gas Research Institute (GRI), and a flawed 1996 joint study with the EPA that underestimated methane emissions to legitimize gas as a climate solution. It further describes how the industry used voluntary programs like Natural Gas STAR to fend off mandatory regulations and co-opted environmental organizations to lend credibility to its claims.
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Document type: Report
The Fraud of “Clean” Natural Gas
The provided text consists of appendices to a report by the Center for Climate Integrity. Appendix A lists trade associations, research institutes, and PR firms—such as the American Gas Association (AGA), the Gas Research Institute (GRI), and J. Walter Thompson—that collaborated to promote natural gas. Appendix B outlines a timeline from 1968 to 1996, detailing how the industry was alerted to methane's climate impact as early as 1968, launched a "clean energy" marketing campaign in 1972, and later promoted gas as a "bridge fuel" in 1990 despite internal uncertainties regarding methane leakage rates. It specifically highlights a 1996 GRI/EPA study that reported a 1.4 percent methane emission rate, which the document claims was heavily influenced by the industry and lacked independent technical review by the EPA.
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Document type: Report
vague-chaleur-mai-2026-couverture-mediatique
The report finds that while the May 2026 heatwave triggered a spike in media attention, coverage often lacked depth regarding the causes of climate change and structural adaptation solutions. Public broadcasters and specific press outlets like Le Monde and L'Humanité more consistently linked the event to global warming, whereas private channels like CNews and BFMTV frequently omitted this connection. The analysis highlights a preference for palliative adaptation measures, such as air conditioning, over structural solutions like urban greening or thermal renovation, and notes the emergence of climate disinformation narratives on certain platforms.
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Document type: Report
Burundi Combined Agenda 2063: Current Path vs scenario
The document models the potential for Burundi to achieve significant growth and poverty reduction through a combined policy push across sectors like governance, health, and agriculture. While the 'Combined scenario' predicts a dramatic increase in GDP and a sharp decline in extreme poverty by 2043, it also forecasts a higher increase in carbon emissions compared to the current path.
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Document type: Research paper
WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE?
The fact sheet asserts that a small number of fossil fuel corporations are primarily responsible for climate change, having known about the dangers of their products since the 1950s but choosing to mislead the public and lobby against climate action to maintain profits. It highlights that legal action is currently being taken by various US jurisdictions to hold these companies accountable for deceptive practices and climate damages.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Canada’s industrial carbon pricing systems
The document argues that industrial carbon pricing in Canada has a negligible impact on consumer costs and household consumption due to the nature of global commodity markets and the design of the pricing systems. It highlights that these systems target only the largest emitters and that a significant portion of their output is exported, preventing costs from being passed to domestic consumers. Specific examples include minimal price increases for consumer goods like refrigerators and pickup trucks, and low per-barrel costs for oil sands producers.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Methane 101: Why It Matters, Where It Comes From, and How to Tackle It
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes approximately 0.5°C to global temperature increases. Human-made sources—including the fossil fuel industry, landfills, livestock, and agriculture—account for about 55% of methane pollution, while natural sources like wetlands and permafrost account for 45%. Mitigation strategies focus on stopping leaks in the oil and gas supply chain, improving landfill waste management, and altering livestock diets. International efforts include the Global Methane Pledge, aiming for a 30% reduction from 2020 levels by 2030, and EU regulations banning venting and flaring. RMI supports these goals through data tools like the Oil Climate Index plus Gas (OCI+), WasteMAP, and the MiQ certification standard.
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Document type: Guide
State-Level Climate Security Education: Hawaiʻi
Hawaiʻi faces significant economic and security risks from sea level rise, wildfires, and drought, which threaten both civilian infrastructure and critical US military hubs like Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. While federal agencies provide essential monitoring and recovery support, proposed FY 2026 budget cuts would eliminate key programs such as the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant and the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center, potentially reducing disaster relief and hindering climate adaptation efforts.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Sustainable agriculture on the agenda: the Great Barrier Reef case
The document details Project Catalyst, a partnership launched in 2009 by WWF-Australia and The Coca-Cola Foundation to implement sustainable sugarcane farming practices in Queensland. The project focuses on reducing nitrogen run-off, which contributes to Crown of Thorns starfish outbreaks and coral deterioration. Since 2019, the initiative has prevented 36.2 metric tons of dissolved inorganic nitrogen from entering the Great Barrier Reef across the Wet Tropics, Burdekin, and Mackay Whitsunday regions.
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Document type: Case study
Climate Change FAQs
The document explains that human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, have increased average global temperatures by approximately one degree Celsius since 1880. It details the resulting impacts, including more frequent extreme weather, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification. The text outlines strategies for addressing these challenges through climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, while describing the roles of the U.S. government, corporations, and the United Nations in implementing these solutions.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Climate Change FAQ
The document explains that global warming, driven primarily by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels and agriculture, has increased average global temperatures by approximately 1 degree Celsius since 1880. It details the resulting impacts, including more frequent extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification. The text outlines various responses, such as the transition to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the roles of the United Nations and the U.S. government in international agreements like the Paris Agreement. It also defines key concepts such as climate adaptation, mitigation, and resilience, and discusses the role of climate finance in supporting these efforts.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Climate Change Driving 55-Year Rise in Extremely Hot Summer Days
An attribution analysis reveals that 88% of 247 major U.S. cities have seen an increase in extremely hot summer days strongly influenced by climate change since 1970. On average, these cities now experience six such days annually, compared to zero in the 1970s, with the most significant increases occurring in the South, particularly in Texas and Louisiana.
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Document type: Report
The Amazon in the New PAC: Recommendations to Promote Sustainable Infrastructure
The report analyzes the New PAC's infrastructure plans for the Amazon, finding a disconnect between project distribution and actual regional needs. It highlights contradictions between the program's green growth discourse and its inclusion of high-impact projects like the Ferrogrão railroad and BR-319 highway, as well as investments in natural gas power plants. The authors argue that the New PAC lacks transparency and fails to align with the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAM). Recommendations include creating a comprehensive regional development plan, prioritizing infrastructure in the 'Deforested Amazon', and shifting energy investments toward solar and wind power.
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Document type: Report
Earth Day: Fastest-Warming U.S. Cities and States
Analysis of NOAA data shows that all 50 U.S. states and 99% of 242 analyzed cities have warmed since 1970. Alaska was the fastest-warming state (+4.3°F), while Reno, Nevada, saw the highest city-level increase (+7.8°F). The contiguous U.S. has warmed by approximately 2.8°F, exceeding the global warming limit of 2.7°F (1.5°C). The document advocates for a clean energy transition through zero-emission vehicles, solar and wind power, and heat pumps to mitigate these trends.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Proposed Survey Activities in Blocks 9 and 11B/12B South Coast, South Africa
Main Street 1549 (Pty) Ltd proposes 'downscaled and non-invasive' surveys in Licence Blocks 9 and 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin to inform future oil and gas production infrastructure. The surveys involve seafloor mapping, sampling, and the use of Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), with a 500-metre exclusion zone around vessels. Potential impacts include disruption to marine life (specifically whales, dolphins, and migratory fish), noise and water pollution from vessel discharges, and negative effects on local livelihoods tied to fishing and tourism. The document also highlights risks to the cultural and spiritual heritage of indigenous groups who view the area as 'living' waters. Public comments on the Draft Scoping Report are requested by 3 April 2025.
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Document type: Guide
UBULUNGISWA BEZOLWANDLE
The document is a comprehensive guide for small-scale fishing communities in South Africa to exercise their environmental rights. It details the legal framework—including the Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA)—and explains how communities can engage in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and legislative processes. It specifically warns against the risks of offshore oil and gas exploration, mining, and the impacts of climate change, using case studies like the Deepwater Horizon spill and the 2022 Durban floods to illustrate environmental and socio-economic vulnerabilities. The guide provides practical steps for accessing information via the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) and highlights successful legal challenges against companies like Shell and Searcher to demonstrate the power of collective community action.
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Document type: Guide
REGULATIONS FOR THE USE OF WATER FOR EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION OF ONSHORE NATURALLY OCCURRING HYDROCARBONS THAT REQUIRE STIMULATION, INCLUDING HYDRAULIC FRACTURING AND UNDERGROUND COAL GASIFICATION, TO EXTRACT, AND ANY ACTIVITY INCIDENTAL THERETO THAT MAY IMPACT DETRIMENTALLY ON THE WATER RESOURCE
The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) argues that the proposed 2024 regulations for unconventional hydrocarbon extraction in South Africa are insufficient to protect water resources and the climate. The CER highlights the extreme water intensity of fracking, the risk of groundwater contamination from toxic chemicals and radioactive materials, and the lack of state capacity for compliance monitoring. They specifically warn that fracking in the semi-arid Karoo region would violate constitutional rights to water and a healthy environment. The document calls for the adoption of the precautionary principle, the implementation of long-term monitoring (up to 300 years) for well integrity, and the requirement for meaningful public participation and community development provisions.
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Document type: Statement
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S FIRST WEEK EXECUTIVE ACTIONS
The document details a series of executive orders and memorandums aimed at increasing fossil fuel production, reducing environmental regulations, and restricting water conservation and diversity initiatives. It highlights the disproportionate risks these actions pose to Latino populations, including increased exposure to pollution, loss of green jobs, and exclusion from disaster relief.
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Document type: Fact sheet
GUÍA PARA NO EXPERTOS
The document serves as an educational tool to explain the technical and economic aspects of Colombia's energy system and the transition toward a low-carbon economy. It distinguishes between energy sources and forms, details the electricity value chain, and explains the environmental necessity of decarbonization and 'Net-Zero' goals. The guide emphasizes that a 'just energy transition' requires both a shift in energy sources and a parallel economic transition to ensure labor reconversion and regional sustainability.
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Document type: Guide