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As the Arctic melts, oil companies are moving in to drill for more oil. Next year, the Norwegian owned oil company Statoil will drill further north than ever - unless we stop them. An unprecedented case was filed this morning that could do just that. This case is about holding back the oil industry at this final frontier, it is about protecting the beautiful Arctic, and it is about people stepping up to hold governments to account. If we win, millions of barrels of oil could be kept in the ground. We will argue in court that we must take action to keep the Paris climate agreement on track, and we will invoke Norway's constitutional right to a healthy and safe environment for future generations.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top official at the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday the ongoing legal fight over regulating carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants won't delay the nation's accelerating shift to cleaner sources of energy. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy spoke at Climate Action 2016, a conference in Washington on efforts to curb global warming. Seeking to reassure her international audience, McCarthy said the United States will absolutely meet its obligations to cut carbon emissions as agreed to in the landmark climate treaty signed in Paris last December.

While national leaders spout optimistic platitudes celebrating the great achievement of the globally unifying Paris Agreement on climate, environmentalists note that there is little in the way of substantial action plans behind the many promises made last December. Meanwhile, the most intense El Niño in history is leaving in its wake a world gripped by 7 months of record high temperatures; drought, water shortages, and famine (especially in India and Africa); wildfires (Fort McMurray, Canada); record coral bleaching; and a fast shrinking Arctic ice cap that set stunning early melt records this winter and spring.

President Barack Obama officially committed the US to the goals of the Paris climate accord on Saturday. Under the deal, the US has until 2025 to curb its carbon emissions by 26% to 28% below 2005 levels.

the European Commission (EC) announced it will begin phasing out coal subsidies and reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 under a new clean energy package. The new clean energy plan outlines a series of legislative proposals and measures designed to help the EU meet its Paris Agreement climate goals, and why EU officials are optimistic, the green business community remains skeptical.

The European Commission released "Clean Energy for All Europeans," a new clean energy package that lays out plans to help the EU meet its climate targets under the Paris Agreement. The plans outlined in the package include cutting carbon emissions by 40% and increasing energy efficiency by 30% by 2030, phasing out coal subsidies, and more.

According to a new report by Germany's Öko-Institut, Europe will need to cut global warming transport emissions by 94% by 2050 if it intends to keep its Paris commitments - an undertaking that will require reductions of 2% or 3% per year, as well as full participatio from all Member States.

Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi announced that India would work towards ratifying the Paris Agreement by the end of this year, following a meeting with President Obama. The state leaders also launched two initiatives to deploy $20 million to provide clean and renewable electricity to as many as 1 million households by 2020 and deploy $40 million to support small-scale renewable energy projects in India.

The Paris climate agreement will likely be ratified on Earth Day, when it will be signed by more than 130 nations, the UN said on Friday. Only 55 signatures are needed to ratify the document. If approved, the climate accord is expected to encourage countries to curb their greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately holding global warming to an increase of no more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, through the next two decades.

Beth Stevens, senior VP of environmental affairs at Disney Worldwide Services, is in charge of making strides in the direction of sustainability. How does the iconic brand not only tell an engaging sustainability story but walk the talk? Disney's sustainability goals are serious. It aims to halve its emissions by 2020 from 2012 levels. It signed on to the White House American Business Act on Climate Pledge ahead of COP21 and the Paris Agreement. It even maintains an internal carbon price. Stevens sees all this as a natural expression of the company's culture.

The citizens of four major European countries think the impacts of climate change such as severe floods and storms are already affecting them, according to a major new polling study. The research dispels the idea that global warming is widely seen as a future problem, and also shows strong support for action to tackle global warming, including subsidies for clean energy and big financial penalties for nations that refuse to be part of the international climate deal signed in Paris in 2015 - as US president Donald Trump has threatened.

Just 12% of the global population lives in cities with acceptable air quality, and half of all urbanites are subjected to air pollution levels more than 2.5 times the recommended threshold, according to a new study from the World Health Organization. Mexico City, Karachi and Delhi are among the worst offenders, and researchers also found poor air quality in the U.S. and in European metropolises such as Paris and London

Pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors in France will be required to disclose how they are managing climate change risks. The announcement was made by France's finance minister Michel Sapin at the Climate Finance Day conference in Paris on May 22.

The joint announcements set a powerful precedent for other countries to emulate, and could foster ambitious international action in the near term. Many have their eye on international climate negotiations in Paris next year, where the U.S. and China's bilateral cooperation could lay necessary groundwork for a potential future international climate treaty.

For our annual trends report, we honed in on key issues and opportunities that will define the field - including global geopolitical instability, Paris Agreement implementation, growing importance of sustainable finance, and the continuing rise of cities and regions - via SustainAbility's ongoing issue tracking plus interviews with two dozen international sustainability experts.

Nuclear energy's resilience was never more apparent than during the COP21 climate talks in Paris. It was there that a famed environmentalist and the one who has cautioned against the effects of global warming said that the carbon-free energy form should figure a lot more prominently into utility power generation. Read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2016/02/11/scientists-say-climate-change-should-propel-nuclear-energy-to-prominence/#ixzz40U6A0Uhv

As the COP 21 United Nations conference on climate change in Paris approaches, an increasing number of companies are pledging to reduce their own emissions and carbon footprints - and seeing cost savings from these actions.

State leaders, delegates, business leaders, and other stakeholders have convened in Paris for the U.N. Conference of the Parties (COP 21). Here are a few highlights from last week: 

Ahead of the UN 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21), Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo became the latest major banks to pledge to eliminate their support for the coal industry in support of reducing carbon pollution associated with the industry. Morgan Stanley said that it "recognizes that climate change poses significant risks to the global economy and that reducing carbon emissions is critical to our success in addressing the challenges presented by a changing climate."