Five years ago, China’s leader Xi Jinping made two significant commitment to fight climate change in line with the Paris climate accord. At the 2021 Leaders Climate Summit, Xi pledged to “strictly control” coal power generation until 2025 and then gradually phase out coal power plants. In addition, Xi promised to reduce China’s dependency on carbon dioxide-producing energy to drive expansion of his nation’s Gross Domestic Product.
(“As It Boasts Recyclables, China Still Can’t Break Its Coal Addiction,” Yale 360, March 26, 2026)
Over the last year, conservative Republicans and the Trump administration used a little-known law called the Congressional Review Act to push for coal mining in Montana, oil drilling in Alaska and overturning a mining ban near the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.
(“Republican Target Public Lands Protections in a New Way,” Stateline, March 9, 2026)
Only steps away from the scenic Hudson River and popular hiking and biking trails, activists in the northern New York state town of Fort Edwards are fighting a proposed industrial incinerator. The Clean Earth waste management company is seeking a state permit to treat 5,000 tons of PFAS contaminated soil, using a process called “Thermal Desorption” to heat large volumes of toxic soil to 600 degrees. Barn Raiser Media reports that opponents worry that the plan to incinerate PFAS-polluted soil from throughout the Northeast in Fort Edwards will produce emissions that contaminate their air, water and soil.
(“Small Towns Say ‘No’ to PFAS Treatment Plant,” Barn Raiser, March 15, 2026)
