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IN TODAY’S RADIO REPORT: A healthy environment is a human right, U.N. world court says in landmark climate ruling; Trump Administration working overtime to Make America Polluted Again; Climate-intensified extreme weather is driving up food prices around the world; PLUS: New U.N. analyses find booming clean, renewable energy has hit a global tipping point… All that and more in today’s Green News Report!

Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen 7/24/2025

‘Green News Report’ – July 24, 2025  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...   · · · · ·   ‘Green News Report’ – July 24, 2025  |  With Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen...

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IN ‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (see links below): Trump EPA is said to draft a plan to end it ability to fight climate change; Courts banned this herbicide twice. The EPA wants to bring it back; White House unveils sweeping plan to remake electric grid to boost AI; Trump Admin cancels $4.9B loan for biggest transmission line in US; Court upholds a landmark clean-heat rule in Southern California; Hundreds of NASA employees, past and present, sign letter of formal dissent… PLUS: Gutting Chemical Safety Board endangers millions of Americans, groups warn… and much, MUCH more! …

STORIES DISCUSSED ON TODAY’S ‘GREEN NEWS REPORT’…

• World court rules that a healthy environment is a human right:
• UN’s top court says failing to protect planet from climate change could violate international law (AP):
  The United Nations’ top court in a landmark advisory opinion Wednesday said countries could be in violation of international law if they fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change, and nations harmed by its effects could be entitled to reparations.
• U.N. court rules countries have duty to limit greenhouse emissions (Washington Post):
  The ruling is nonbinding and won’t force any immediate policy changes. But it will put more pressure on industrialized countries to live up to their pledges. It will also more widely open the door to climate cases around the world, giving leverage to those trying to hold corporations and high-polluting nations to account. Courts across the world could cite the ICJ ruling in their decisions.
• Top UN court says treaties compel wealthy nations to curb global warming (Reuters)
• VIDEO: Failing to protect the planet from climate change could violate international law (France 24)
• VIDEO: Full session of International Court of Justice as it issues opinion in major climate change case (AP)
• VIDEO (short): World Court says climate change is an ‘existential threat’ (Yahoo News)
• Climate-intensified extreme weather driving up food prices globally:
• Weather extremes caused by climate change are driving up food prices: report (Inside Climate News):
  The researchers say weather-related food price spikes could lead to a cascading series of social consequences — nutritonal, economic and political — as people increasingly struggle to pay for food.
• Extreme weather caused by climate change is raising food prices worldwide, study says (CNN):
  “Until we get to net-zero emissions, extreme weather will only get worse, and it’s already damaging crops and pushing up the price of food all over the world,” Kotz, who also works for the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, said in a press release about the study.
• Trump EPA is Making America Polluted Again:
• Trump radically overhauls EPA mission and scope in first six months (Bloomberg Law)
• E.P.A. says it will eliminate its scientific research arm (NY Times)
• Dismantling of EPA’s scientific arm fulfills key chemical industry goal (Inside Climate News)
• Trump’s E.P.A. delays rules requiring cleanups of toxic coal ash landfills (Canary Media)
• Trump exempts scores of plants from Biden’s pollution rules (Bloomberg)
• Trump Interior Dept. adds new hurdles to block wind and solar projects:
• Interior Secretary Burgum must personally approve all wind and solar projects, a new order says (AP):
  Clean-energy advocates said the action could hamstring projects that need to be underway quickly to qualify for federal tax credits that are set to expire under the tax-cut and spending bill that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. The law phases out credits for wind, solar and other renewable energy while enhancing federal support for fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
• Trump administration taking new steps to block wind and solar projects, undisclosed memo says (Politico)
• Interior to put wind and solar projects through stricter review (NY Times)
• U.N. reports find global transition to clean, renewable energy has hit a tipping point:
• UN says booming solar, wind and other green energy hits global tipping point for even lower costs (AP):
  The global switch to renewable energy has passed a “positive tipping point” where solar and wind power will become even cheaper and more widespread, according to two United Nations reports released Tuesday, describing a bright spot amid otherwise gloomy progress to curb climate change.
• For hope on climate change, follow the money, UN chief tells AP (AP):
  In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Guterres hailed the power of market forces in what he repeatedly called “a battle” to save the planet. He pointed to two new UN reports showing the plummeting cost of solar and wind power and the growing generation and capacity of those green energy sources. He warned those who cling to fossil fuels that they could go broke doing it.
• Around 90% of renewables cheaper than fossil fuels worldwide, IRENA says (Reuters):
  Solar photovoltaic (PV) was 41% cheaper on average than the lowest-cost fossil fuel alternatives, such as gas, while onshore wind projects were 53% cheaper. The cost of battery energy storage systems has declined by 93% since 2010, the report added.
• VIDEO: Full Remarks: UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Clean Energy Transition (United Nations/Youtube)
• Secretary-General’s remarks on Climate Action “A Moment of Opportunity: Supercharging the Clean Energy Age” (United Nations)
• Tracking global data on electric vehicles (Our World In Data)
• REPORT: Seizing the moment of opportunity [PDF] (United Nations)
• REPORT: Renewable energy statistics 2025 (International Renewable Energy Agency)

‘GREEN NEWS EXTRA’ (Stuff we didn’t have time for in today’s audio report)…

For a comprehensive roundup of daily environmental news you can trust, see the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Daily Headlines page

• E.P.A. is said to draft a plan to end it ability to fight climate change (NY Time)
• Courts banned this herbicide twice. The EPA wants to bring it back (Washington Post)
• White House unveils sweeping plan to remake electric grid to boost AI (E&E News)
• Gutting Chemical Safety Board endangers millions of Americans, groups warn (The New Lede)
• Trump Admin cancels $4.9B loan for biggest transmission line in US (Canary Media)
• Activists opposing Nevada lithium mine were surveilled for years, records show (Pro Publica)
• Governments legally required to address climate change, global court says (Inside Climate News)
• Court upholds a landmark clean-heat rule in Southern California (Canary Media)
• FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resigns, citing agency chaos (NY Times)
• Hundreds of NASA employees, past and present, sign letter of formal dissent (NY Times)
• Trump Admin looks to slash environmental protection rules for rocket launches (Pro Publica)
• 10 Ways to Keep Your Home Cool This Summer (Bloomberg, no paywall)
• David Attenborough’s ‘Ocean’ is a brutal, beautiful wake-up call from the sea (AP)
• What’s missing from the U.S. debate on electric vehicles (CSIS)
• A guide to the 4 minerals shaping the world’s energy future (Grist)
• Wall Street Journal: Clean energy transition is unstoppable (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Can we avoid the enshittification of clean-energy tech? (David Roberts, Volts)
• Stop emissions, stop warming: A climate reality check (Dr. Andrew Dessler, Climate Brink)
• The Climate Fight Will Continue (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Who Will Care for Americans Left Behind by Climate Migration? (Pro Publica)
• Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? (The Oceanography Society)
• How Oil Companies Manipulate Journalists (Drilled)
• Abrupt reduction in shipping emission as an inadvertent geoengineering termination shock produces substantial radiative warming (Nature)
• How To Spot 5 Of The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Biggest Disinformation Tactics (Guardian)
• The Oceans We Knew Are Already Gone (The Atlantic)
• Plug-in hybrids vs. electric cars: We did the math on which is better for you (Washington Post)
• How to electrify your life when you rent (The Verge)
• Complete Series: Farmers Under Attack for Supporting Clean Energy (This Is Not Cool blog)
• Feeling Overwhelmed About Going All-Electric at Home? Here’s How to Get Started (Inside Climate News)
• Feeling Hopeless About the Climate? Try Our 30-Day Action Plan (The Revelator)
• Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration (Pro Publica)
• Exxon’s Snake Oil: 100 years of deception (Columbia Journalism Review)
• Project Drawdown: 100 Solutions to Reverse Global Warming (Drawdown.org)