- Orlando beat Atlanta in MLS playoffs to set up Red Bulls clash
- American McNealy takes first PGA title with closing birdie
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as angry fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Chiefs edge Panthers, Lions rip Colts as Dallas stuns Washington
- Uruguayans vote in tight race for president
- Thailand's Jeeno wins LPGA Tour Championship
- 'Crucial week': make-or-break plastic pollution treaty talks begin
- Israel, Hezbollah in heavy exchanges of fire despite EU ceasefire call
- Amorim predicts Man Utd pain as he faces up to huge task
- Basel backs splashing the cash to host Eurovision
- Petrol industry embraces plastics while navigating energy shift
- Italy Davis Cup winner Sinner 'heartbroken' over doping accusations
- Romania PM fends off far-right challenge in presidential first round
- Japan coach Jones abused by 'some clown' on Twickenham return
- Springbok Du Toit named World Player of the Year for second time
- Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on Friday
- Mbappe on target as Real Madrid cruise to Leganes win
- Sampaoli beaten on Rennes debut as fans disrupt Nantes loss
- Israel records 250 launches from Lebanon as Hezbollah targets Tel Aviv, south
- Australia coach Schmidt still positive about Lions after Scotland loss
- Man Utd 'confused' and 'afraid' as Ipswich hold Amorim to debut draw
- Sinner completes year to remember as Italy retain Davis Cup
- Climate finance's 'new era' shows new political realities
- Lukaku keeps Napoli top of Serie A with Roma winner
- Man Utd held by Ipswich in Amorim's first match in charge
- 'Gladiator II', 'Wicked' battle for N. American box office honors
- England thrash Japan 59-14 to snap five-match losing streak
- S.Africa's Breyten Breytenbach, writer and anti-apartheid activist
- Concern as climate talks stalls on fossil fuels pledge
- Breyten Breytenbach, writer who challenged apartheid, dies at 85
- Tuipulotu try helps Scotland end Australia's bid for Grand Slam
- Truce called after 82 killed in Pakistan sectarian clashes
- Salah wants Liverpool to pile on misery for Man City after sinking Saints
- Berrettini takes Italy to brink of Davis Cup defence
- Lille condemn Sampaoli to defeat on Rennes debut
- Basel backs splashing the bucks to host Eurovision
- Leicester sack manager Steve Cooper
- IPL auction records tumble as Pant, Iyer break $3 mn mark
- Salah sends Liverpool eight points clear after Southampton scare
- Key Trump pick calls for end to escalation in Ukraine
- Tuipulotu try helps Scotland end Australia's bid for a Grand Slam
- Davis Cup organisers hit back at critics of Nadal retirement ceremony
- Noel in a 'league of his own' as he wins Gurgl slalom
- A dip or deeper decline? Guardiola seeks response to Man City slump
- Germany goes nuts for viral pistachio chocolate
- EU urges immediate halt to Israel-Hezbollah war
- Far right targets breakthrough in Romania presidential vote
- Basel votes to stump up bucks to host Eurovision
- Ukraine shows fragments of new Russian missile after 'Oreshnik' strike
- IPL auction records tumble as Pant and Iyer snapped up
US plans to end leasing in its largest coal-producing region
President Joe Biden's government on Thursday announced a plan to end coal leases in the Powder River Basin, the nation's largest coal-producing region, drawing condemnation from the mining sector and praise from environmentalists.
It comes as the world's second largest economy continues its shift away from coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel, which has seen its output decline by more than 25 percent since 2017 as it struggles to compete with lower cost natural gas and with renewable energy.
Biden has also targeted coal power plants with tough new rules requiring them to almost eliminate all their carbon dioxide output in the 2030s using carbon capture technology or shut down altogether.
The Group of Seven countries last month likewise set a time limit for phasing out coal-fired power plants in the middle of the next decade.
The proposed amendment to the Buffalo Field Office's land use plan was made without fanfare in a statement from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), kicking off a 30-day protest period, with a final order due later.
It won't affect current coal leases in the region, which spans southeast Montana and northeast Wyoming.
The statement noted the Powder River Basin coal industry has been in decline since 2008.
Still, Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, called the plan "outrageous," adding it "damages American energy security and affordability and is a severe economic blow to mining states and communities."
But the move was celebrated by green groups. Earthjustice's Drew Caputo hailed it as "a monumental decision that will save lives, safeguard our environment, and significantly cut carbon emissions in the United States."
"For years, conservation groups have litigated to get to this point -- arguing that the federal government cannot simply lease away our public lands to coal companies while ignoring the impacts to public health," he added.
Democratic incumbent Biden is facing a tough reelection against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in November, with climate action seen as key to galvanizing youth and progressive voters.
A victory for climate change skeptic Trump would all but assure a wholesale reversal of green policies, from unfreezing permits on new liquefied natural gas exports to reversing restrictions on drilling in the Alaskan Arctic.
C.Kovalenko--BTB