2026 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #08

Stories we promoted this week, by category:

Climate Policy and Politics (13 articles)

• States push climate superfund bills despite Trump’s opposition "The legislation would make oil and gas firms pay for climate damages from burning their products. Trump has referred to such laws as 'extortion'.” Canary Media, Sarah Shemkus, Feb 17, 2026.
• Data Centers Are Not a License to Drill Union of Concerned Scientists, Laura Peterson, Feb 18, 2026.
• Why rejecting the endangerment finding also rejects climate science Chemical & Engineering News, Leigh Krietsch Boerner, Feb 18, 2026.
• The reckless repeal of the Endangerment Finding Union of Concerned Scientists, Opinion by John Holden , Feb 19, 2026.
• ‘Irreversible on any human timescale’: Scientist revea‘Irreversible on any human timescale’: Scientist reveals best and worst-case scenario for Antarcticals best and worst-case scenario for Antarctica "Despite being far away from civilisation, a melting Antarctic’s "disastrous" consequences will ripple across the world, researchers warn." euronews.com, Liam Gilliver, Feb 20, 2026.
• Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy "The US is lowering its standards for power plant pollution while generative AI and the Trump administration revive old coal plants." The Verge, Justine Calma, Feb 20, 2026.
• Health and Climate Consequences of EPA’s Endangerment Finding Repeal ‘Cannot Be Overstated’Interview by Jenni Doering "In short: the agency will no longer be able to regulate carbon pollution or greenhouse gases—though a couple of scenarios might prevent President Trump from getting his way." Inside Climate News, Interview by Jenni Doering, Feb 21, 2026.
• Under water, in denial: is Europe drowning out the climate crisis? "Even as weather extremes worsen, the voices calling for the rolling back of environmental rules have grown louder and more influential" The Guardian, Ajit Niranjan, Feb 21, 2026.
• Why the endangerment finding mattered so much for health and the climate Harvard School of Public Health, Karen Feldscher, Feb 24, 2026.
• China cashes in on clean energy as Trump clings to coal "The Trump administration has rolled back environmental protections and blocked green energy development, China is forging ahead." Deutsche Welle (DW), Sarah Steffen, Feb 24, 2026.
• Here’s a reality check on Trump’s AI pledge "Trump’s promise to protect power customers’ wallets from data centers covers only part of the costs of expanding AI." Politico, Zack Coleman & Peter Behr, Feb 25, 2026.
• Trump touts ‘drill, baby, drill’ agenda – but no mention of climate crisis "President derided Biden’s ‘green new scam’ during State of the Union address, and hailed the rise in US oil production" The Guardian, Analysis by Dharna Noor, Feb 25, 2026.
• Trump is dismantling climate rules. Industry is worried. Brookings, Commentary by Samantha Gross & Ryan Beane, Brookings, Feb 26, 2026, Aug 26, 2026.

Climate Change Impacts (8 articles)

• Guest post: The challenges in projecting future global sea levels "It is well understood that human-caused climate change is causing sea levels to rise around the world." Carbon Brief, Dr Till Bruckner & Dr Tore Hattermann, Feb 17, 2026.
• Limiting warming to 2C is ‘crucial’ to protect pristine Antarctic Peninsula "Keeping global warming to less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures is 'crucial' for limiting damage to the Antarctic Peninsula’s unique ecosystems, according to a new study." Carbon Brief, Giuliana Viglione,, Feb 20, 2026.
• Under water, in denial: is Europe drowning out the climate crisis? "Even as weather extremes worsen, the voices calling for the rolling back of environmental rules have grown louder and more influential" The Guardian, Ajit Niranjan, Feb 21, 2026.
• How Climate Change Is Threatening to Melt Away the Future of the Winter Olympics "From warming temperatures to evolving energy infrastructures, the list of potential host cities continues to dwindle."{ Sports Illustrated, Bob Steiner, Feb 23, 2026.
• Fossil fuel pollution’s effect on oceans comes with huge costs "A new study details the vast price society is paying for burning coal, oil, and gas." Yale Climate Connections, Dana Nucitelli, Feb 23, 2026.
• Groundbreaking' model can calculate true impact of climate change and it’s bad news for Europe "Researchers have created a new mathematical solution to analyse how emission-intensive actors are responsible for increasing climate damage." Euronews, Liam Gilliver, Feb 24, 2026.
• ‘Dangerous disasters’: How human-made climate change ‘intensified’ Europe’s winter downpours "Previously 'manageable' storms are transforming into 'dangerous disasters' due to human-generated emissions, a new report warns." Euronews, Liam Gilliver, Feb 26, 2026.
• Birds Aren’t Just Declining. They’re Declining Faster, a New Study Finds. "Scientists studying data collected over more than three decades found accelerating losses. Their research offers clues about the causes." The New York Times, Catrin Einhorn, Feb 26, 2026.

Climate Science and Research (3 articles)

• The ice on Greenland is acting strangely. Researchers believe they finally know why "The findings could change how the future rise in sea level is calculated." Partner Science Norway, Linn Therese Nicolaysen Hauan, Feb 24, 2026.
• Major blind spot in ocean carbon research could undermine global climate predictions University of Exeter News, Alex Morrison, Feb 25, 2026.
• Could Melting Glaciers Actually Slow Climate Change? "It’s a comforting idea, but a new study did not find evidence to support it." Gizmodo, Ellyn LaPointe , Feb 26, 2026.

Climate Law and Justice (2 articles)

• Supreme Court to Decide Key Issue in Fate of State and City Suits Against Oil Companies Over Climate Change "The nation’s highest court has agreed to hear a case that raises questions about climate lawsuits across the country and amplifies concerns about the participation of Justice Samuel Alito, who holds significant fossil fuel investments."Supreme Court to Decide Key Issue in Fate of State and City Suits Against Oil Companies Over Climate Change Inside Climate News, Lee Hedgepeth, Feb 23, 2026.
• How Trump’s big climate finding repeal could actually hurt big oil "Without federal climate regulation, fossil fuel industry may be more vulnerable to local lawsuits" The Guardian, Dharna Noor, Feb 24, 2026.

Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation (2 articles)

• Injecting particulates into the atmosphere isn’t a magical fix for the climate crisis "Geoengineering does little to defuse most of the risks that really matter for people – and it runs the risk of making some harms worse" The Guardian, Mike Hulme, Feb 20, 2026.
• The Health and Climate Benefits of Slow Living Time Magazine, Simmone Shah, Feb 24, 2026.

Public Misunderstandings about Climate Solutions (1 article)

• Fact brief - Do solar panels work in cold or cloudy climates? Yes - Solar panels still generate electricity on cloudy days and in cold weather, albeit less. Skeptical Science, Sue Bin Park, Feb 24, 2026.

Miscellaneous (1 article)

• 2026 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #08 A listing of 28 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 15, 2026 thru Sat, February 21, 2026. Skeptical Science, Bärbel Winkler John Hartz & Doug Bostrom, Feb 22, 2026.

Posted by BaerbelW on Sunday, 1 March, 2026

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