Dozens of countries rallied around phasing out fossil fuel financing during global climate negotiations seven months ago. Yesterday, those efforts were weakened by the world’s most powerful economies. The shift illustrates how the fear of losing access to energy imports — due to Russia’s war against Ukraine — is testing the commitment of countries that have been among the most vocal advocates of curbing climate change.

India has experienced a series of unusually early and prolonged heat waves this year. To cool off, the country has leaned on the fuel most responsible for the blazing temperatures. Coal generation is surging to meet the demands of cooling systems like fans and some air conditioning, prompting a scramble by the Indian government to reopen mines and secure tons of coal imports. But the carbon-intense fuel also contributes to the initial problem.

Europe’s plan to slash Russian fossil fuel imports and accelerate renewable energy production will test its ability to find the minerals, metals and other components that are needed for a dramatic shift to clean power. The plan, outlined by the European Commission yesterday, would speed the continent toward a historic transition to wind and solar energy, while diversifying its sources of natural gas and expanding energy efficiency. But it could come at a high cost. The rapid switch to renewab

For much of last year, climate envoy John Kerry had one number on his mind: 1.5 degrees Celsius. That’s the amount of warming scientists say the world must not surpass if it hopes to prevent dangerous and irreversible climate impacts. But as new realities set in and hoped-for ambition fails to materialize in the U.S. and abroad, Kerry is scaling back.

The world’s food system was under strain even before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now — compounded by the war’s effect on trade and a corresponding spike in global fuel prices — it faces two dangerous and intertwined crises. In the short term, Russia’s war on Ukraine increases the risk of extreme hunger for millions more people. The danger is particularly acute for low-income countries that depend on food imports.

The pastoral village of Lützerath in western Germany will be bulldozed to make way for a coal mine, even as the country accelerates its plans to quit the world’s dirtiest source of energy. The impending demolition is raising questions about an anachronistic German law that prioritizes extractive industries over climate change mitigation, exposing the challenge a country built on coal will face as it transitions away from fossil fuels. “We still have an outdated mining law that says that lignit

Germany is under growing pressure to sever its ties to Russian gas and oil as more evidence of possible war crimes by Russian forces emerges from Ukraine. But Europe’s largest economy has resisted a complete and immediate end to Russian energy largely for one reason: It undergirds much of Germany’s industrial sector.

A drive to end European use of Russian fossil fuels is deepening concerns among green groups that the effort could slow rather than accelerate the region’s pursuit of clean energy. And a deal struck with the United States last week to divert more natural gas to Europe may only make the challenge greater.

Ahead of global climate talks last year, President Biden said the United States would dramatically increase its international investments in combating climate change. But the money Congress approved last week as part of its $1.5 trillion spending package falls far short of Biden’s vision. The setback will make it even harder for his administration to meet its pledge to boost climate finance and maintain its credibility as a climate leader in the eyes of the world, activists say.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has offered coal a European lifeline. Such a prospect would have seemed impossible only a few weeks ago. Before war broke out, European nations were rolling out increasingly ambitious plans to phase out the carbon-intensive fuel even as gas prices rose, power plants were going offline and some countries were exiting coal completely. But Russia’s brutal attack on Ukraine has upended European energy markets, exposing the continent’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and prompting a scramble for alternatives. Coal is one of the few short-term options available to parts of Europe, including its biggest economy, Germany.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is expected to add more urgency to Europe’s efforts to break its dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as compel Europe to accelerate its transition to cleaner energy, say experts and E.U. officials. But those efforts won’t come quickly or easily. And they’ll involve some difficult compromises.

One decision that came out of last year’s climate negotiations gained more attention than others for the pressure it puts on nations to cut planet-warming pollution faster. Rather than wait until 2025 to submit new plans for reducing emissions, each country would need to update their targets this year, according to the final pact sealed in Glasgow, Scotland. But even before the ink was dry on the Glasgow pact, questions about how many nations would actually honor their pledges were already circulating.

President Biden came to office 12 months ago promising an antidote to years of American climate denial and absenteeism. The U.S. would again lead the world “by the power of our example,” he said at his inauguration. But political gridlock at home has undermined his credibility abroad. And delays in corralling the money that poorer countries need for their own energy transitions and to repair climate damage have sown anger and disappointment.

ESSEN, Germany — In a coal heartland of Germany stands a monument to the source of its economic might: a giant mine more than a half-mile deep that once produced the largest amount of coal in the world. Built at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the Zollverein mine cemented Germany’s place as a coal behemoth. And its legendary Shaft XII was hailed as a feat of technology due to its high level of automation. Now Zollverein stands as a sprawling museum complex for coal’s history and is a dedicated UNESCO World Heritage site. The transformation of this region remains a work in progress. But it is often held up as an example of how a country that has built its fortunes on the world’s most polluting fossil fuel can untangle its addiction.

KEYENBERG, Germany — This pastoral village in the west of Europe’s economic powerhouse has been preparing for a death caused by coal. Tidy brick homes and old farmhouses stand vacant and shuttered. A long glass case in the deserted butcher shop is empty. The only business that remains is the local bakery, which has decorated its window for Christmas despite being open just half the week. Deep beneath the soil that has sustained generations of carrot and potato farmers lies a prize that has brought down homes, historic landmarks and entire highways: lignite, one of the world’s dirtiest sources of energy.

GLASGOW, Scotland — The biggest climate conference of the year appeared all but finished Saturday night as delegates here who had hardly slept for days goaded one another to accept the final agreement, warts and all. Then India’s top negotiator, Bhupender Yadav, suggested a one-word change. And two weeks of work at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference nearly fell apart. Rather than aim to phase “out” coal power, the proposal sought to phase “down” the carbon-intensive fossil fuel.

The United States committed today with other countries to stop financing fossil fuel projects abroad by the end of next year, in a seismic shift that could stem the construction of natural gas and oil facilities in lower-income nations. The pledge, announced at the global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, could take billions of dollars away from future fossil fuel production and redistribute it to low-carbon energy projects such as wind and solar.

The United States is holding up a process for determining how the world’s richest nations will deliver billions of dollars to poorer countries for combating global warming, according to sources close to the discussions. One major sticking point is whether the U.S. and other nations would have to make up shortfalls if they fail to provide $100 billion a year to developing countries.

Climate envoy John Kerry downplayed the potential failure of the reconciliation bill in Congress and suggested the U.S. could meet its goal of cutting emissions in half by 2030 in other ways. His comments to E&E News came as historic climate legislation struggles to gain traction in the Senate, just weeks before world leaders meet in Glasgow, Scotland, to hammer out a five-year plan for reducing global emissions.

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan scattered a team of officials who had been preparing to attend a global climate convention as extreme drought leaves the mountainous country staggering. Now those environmental hardships have been eclipsed by the sudden collapse of the Afghan government, sending some climate officials into hiding and disrupting their plans to attend the U.N. Conference of the Parties in Scotland this November.