Big Oil is Feeling the Heat, One Year After the East Palestine Train Derailment, and Wall Street Warming to Climate Tech?

Hey, eco warriors! Welcome back to Beyond Neutral, where we dish out the latest in climate news faster than you can say "renewable energy". We're sharing our usual mix of sunshine and storm clouds in the climate world, so buckle up and let's dive in!

The Good Stuff:

Big Oil is Feeling the Heat: Chicago has joined the growing list of cities taking legal action against fossil fuel companies for their climate crimes. Chicago's lawsuit targets major oil companies BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66 and Shell, alleging they intentionally misled the public about the impact of their products despite longstanding knowledge of the climate dangers of oil and gas. Read more via The Guardian.

Nothin' but Net Zero in the EU: Europe's legislators forged a deal to establish an EU-level certification framework for carbon removals and carbon farming in a bid to accelerate its net-zero goals. The provisional agreement sets a path for the EU to create the world's first registry for CO2 removal and scale up this nascent sector. Read more via S&P Global.

Buffelgrass and Bullfrogs Beware: The U.S. Interior Department will infuse $10.3 million into efforts to restore Arizona lands and water this year, offering a particular boost to projects battling non-native species in this park on Tucson’s edge. The money comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is meant to enhance local resilience in the face of climate change. Read on via AZ Central.

The Bad Stuff:

Climate-Fueled Fires Ravaging Central America: Deadly wildfires ravaging central Chile have killed at least 133 people this month, becoming Chile's deadliest natural disaster since a 2010 earthquake that killed about 500 people. Strong winds and high temperatures, fueled by climate change helped drive the rapid advance of the blazes into populated areas around the cities of Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. Read more via Reuters.

An Off the Rails Toxic Tale: Over one year after the Norfolk Southern train derailment released mass amounts of hazardous materials into the air and water, residents in East Palestine, Ohio and those near the Pennsylvania border are still experiencing mysterious health symptoms. Many of those affected are women and children... but why? Find out via Inside Climate News.

Breathing Easy? A new report finds that one in four people in the U.S. are breathing unhealthy air as rising temperatures and bigger fires roll back decades of work to improve air quality nationwide. And, just as the sources of air pollution are unevenly distributed, so too is people’s ability to respond. Read on via Grist.

On The Horizon: Wall Street Warms to Climate Tech

Graphyte, a startup specializing in carbon removal, recently launched a potentially groundbreaking carbon removal facility with significant backing from investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures led by Bill Gates. This success highlights a growing trend of financial support for climate technologies, with Wall Street and Washington stepping up to accelerate climate solutions. Despite recent declines in overall investment, major players like BlackRock and Apollo remain optimistic, citing favorable economic trends and supportive U.S. policies. This surge in investment presents a promising opportunity to drive meaningful change in combating climate change. While we recognize the harm that major investors and corporations have done to our planet, it is essential that we keep the climate crisis in the spotlight and public pressure on them to use their deep pockets to fund climate ventures.

What do you think about historically problematic investors funding climate tech: Is it greenwashing or is it necessary for the funding of these essential projects?

Carbon Conscious Community Spotlight:

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