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Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment on Tuesday that would allow the federal government to allocate funds toward the UN Green Climate Fund. "The Green Climate Fund is the only multilateral institution that supports clean, resilient development around the world," said Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., adding that the US should be leading the initiative.

Wal-Mart and Sam's Club will switch to 100% cage-free eggs by 2025, with suppliers' compliance to be checked annually by a third-party certifier. The relatively long lead time for the transition will allow the retailers to keep prices down while improving conditions for chickens, officials said.

Carbon Brief analysis shows the UK's CO2 emissions fell by 5.8% in 2016, after a record 52% drop in coal use.

Carbon emissions in the UK are down to 420 million tons annually, or about what the country emitted more than 120 years ago, according to a report from Carbon Brief. A 52% decrease in coal consumption during 2016 fueled an overall decline in carbon emissions of 5.8% for the year.

Starting this year, Unilever is voluntarily disclosing online the fragrance ingredients included in individual products sold in the U.S. and Europe, down to 0.01 percent of the product formulation, along with details of the scent the fragrance ingredients bring to the product. The project is to be completed by 2018.

The eco-diapers business gDiapers has reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission on allegations that gDiapers' products aren't as easily compostable as the company claimed. The company will stop posting such claims unless they are verified

Drawing on a key example of successful stakeholder engagement between Rainforest Action Network and Mitsubishi Electric, Erik Wohlgemuth, Future 500's COO, draws important connections and breaks down how NGOs and corporations must continue to work together to confront irresponsible forest management and illegal deforestation across the globe.

Looking for ways to jump-start a sluggish fast food market in the US, more brands are tacking toward sustainability positioning and "clean" ingredients as the king of that approach, Chipotle, doubles down on its own efforts as profits continue to rise.

Chipotle has released a short film that touts the company's ethical-sourcing policies. The video features a scarecrow who wanders through a "Crow Foods Incorporated" factory, is horrified by the treatment of animals inside and decides to open his own ethically sourced eatery -- one that bears a marked resemblance to Chipotle

Hyundai and Honda both made fuel cell vehicle news at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week. Hyundai says it plans to offer its next-generation Tucson Fuel Cell vehicle for the US market for $499 per month for a 36-month term, with $2,999 down. This includes unlimited free hydrogen refueling and At Your Service Valet Maintenance at no extra cost. Availability will begin in spring 2014 at several Southern California Hyundai dealers.

To shrink the hole in the ozone layer, we need to cut down on dangerous substitutes for ozone-depleting substances

Coca-Cola, Target, DuPont, Honeywell and other major companies along with the White House have announced a series of commitments to curb emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), potent greenhouse gases used in refrigeration and air conditioning.

ESA's Clean Space initiative is looking at developing a satellite that can rendezvous with space debris and render it harmless by netting it like fish. According to ESA, there are 17,000 trackable objects larger than a coffee cup orbiting the Earth and many more down to the size of paint chips. This may not seem like anything very dangerous, but at orbital velocity, even a paint chip can hit like a bullet and a steel nut has the impact of a hand grenade.

The cost of doing business in California has risen for builders who, in the face of the severe drought, now need to find grey water to keep the dust down. In addition, many are building xeriscaping into home design to reduce water use. "We're addressing a social need -- that we have to find ways to live with less water," said Barry Grant, Northern California division president for Meritage Homes. American City Business Journals/Sacramento, Calif. (5/7) 

Revised government figures in Japan showed that greenhouse gas emissions were the second-highest on record for the year ended March 2014, with a total of 1.552 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The record emissions level was set in 2007 at 1.556 billion tons. Japan's 48 nuclear reactors provided 26% of the country's electricity in the past, but all have been shut down since September 2013

A few basic (and often profitable) changes in a factory's manufacturing process can go a long way in cutting down pollution. That's the takeaway from Clean by Design, a new alliance between NRDC, major clothing brands-including Target, Levi's, Gap, and H&M-and Chinese textile manufacturing experts.

The US Federal Trade Commission has taken action against six companies - ECM Biofilms, American Plastic Manufacturing, Champ, Clear Choice Housewares, Carnie Cap and AJM Packaging - for making false environmental marketing claims.

The key global goal of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius is already beyond reach as negotiators begin planning a 2015 climate treaty, experts say. "There is nothing that can be agreed in 2015 that would be consistent with the 2 degrees," said former United Nations climate chief Yvo de Boer. "The only way that a 2015 agreement can achieve a 2-degree goal is to shut down the whole global economy

Major food brands, including Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, have recently announced that they're going "natural" by ditching chemical additives, unsustainable palm oil and other potential nasties. The lack of a standardized definition for "natural" product claims will water down the impact of such efforts and make it easier for less conscientious rivals to jump on the bandwagon, writes Nick Stockton. 

Australian regulators are clamping down on egg and pork producers who deliberately misuse terms such as "free range" to describe animals that actually spend much of their lives indoors. "When claims such as 'free range' or 'bred free range' are misused, consumers may be misled into paying more for a product feature that doesn't exist," said Rod Sims of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. "Competitors are also harmed as legitimate free-range producers unfairly lose their competitive advantage." 

European climate policies are creating new demand for biomass, which power plants now have an incentive to burn instead of coal. That's leading to dramatically increased logging along the eastern coast of the U.S., even as researchers question the eco-friendliness of biomass-based power generation