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May 10, 2024 - Resources

Climate Links: 5/10/2024

MoFo’s weekly Climate Links provide the latest industry updates from thought leaders and third-party sources. This week:

A whale makes a comeback off Argentina’s coast 100 years after vanishing

  • Giant blue-grey sei whales that vanished from Argentina’s Patagonian coast a century ago due to hunting are starting to flourish once again, demonstrating how species can recover when measures to protect them are put in place.

Green transition is stitched into the tax code: White House economist

  • White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Lael Brainard dismissed the notion that Republicans would be able to easily reverse the sustainable energy provisions passed in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, even if they win majorities in the general election this fall.

Carbon Dioxide Levels at Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory Make Record Leap

  • Researchers have recorded the largest jump in global average carbon dioxide emissions leading to a record level of climate-warming gases in the atmosphere. This unprecedented rise comes as the Earth has experienced its 11th month in a row of record-breaking temperatures and a string of climate change-fueled disasters.

Tornadoes tear through the southeastern U.S. as storms leave 3 dead: NPR

  • Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could march through parts of the South after storms spawned damaging tornadoes and massive hail, leaving two dead in Tennessee and one dead in North Carolina.

The week in climate policy: 4 updates you need to know

  • Twenty-five Republican-led states filed a lawsuit against the EPA’s new rule requiring coal and natural gas-fueled power plants to start eliminating their carbon emissions by 2032; the U.S. Energy Information Administration released new numbers that demonstrate rising U.S. demand for energy is being almost entirely met by renewably generated electricity; and more.

ESG & Climate News: Europe’s Green Deal Finalized

  • After a green voting marathon, the EU Parliament closed its final plenary of this term before its June elections. The huge voting sessions yielded a plethora of new policies, including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. There was also an amendment to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, an EU version of the Inflation Reduction Act, and a host of other agreements.