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Nicholas Kusnetz Profile
Nicholas Kusnetz

@nkus

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I cover oil and gas and other issues for @InsideClimate. Formerly @Publici and @ProPublica. Also teaching journalism @BaruchCollege

Joined February 2009
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
25 days
A shadowy corner of international law is threatening climate action, many political leaders and advocates say. It also could bankrupt one of the poorest countries in Latin America.
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insideclimatenews.org
Using a secretive arbitration system, multinational companies could bankrupt Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the world. A recent advisory opinion from a human-rights court calls for an...
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
2 months
House Republicans gutted tax credits for renewable energy and electric vehicles last month. The Senate is poised to mostly keep those changes and add billions in new tax breaks for fossil fuels, too.
insideclimatenews.org
Draft legislation released by the Senate Finance Committee includes $18 billion in new tax benefits for oil and gas companies and guts those for renewable energy and electric vehicles.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
3 months
The Trump administration has been canceling FEMA grants and trying to make it harder for states to get disaster relief. Congressional Democrats warn the changes tell local governments: “You’re on your own.”.
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insideclimatenews.org
The agency’s acting head faced questioning by lawmakers over canceled grants, plans to limit relief and a projected $8 billion disaster fund deficit.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
4 months
A plan by Bolivia and a U.S. company to sell “carbon securities” could unleash a wave of carbon offsets. Will the idea help fight climate change or just drive greenwashing?.
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insideclimatenews.org
The South American nation has partnered with an American company to sell “carbon securities” under Paris Agreement rules. Experts say the approach could prompt a global wave of corporate greenwashing.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
4 months
Last week, we learned that the petrochemical industry asked the EPA for a blanket, two-year waiver from hazardous air pollution limits. Yesterday, I spoke to some people in fenceline communities to hear what that would mean for them.
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insideclimatenews.org
The Biden administration placed landmark limits on toxic pollutants from petrochemicals and other industries. Now, the Trump administration is offering to waive the requirements.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
5 months
As Republicans in Congress look for revenue to pay for huge tax cuts, advocates have a modest proposal: Start with oil industry tax breaks.
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insideclimatenews.org
With a $4.5 trillion fight over tax cuts looming, the oil and gas industry wants to protect billions of dollars in tax benefits it enjoys and get new ones, too.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
6 months
While the Trump administration works to slash the federal workforce and cancel grants and funding, Congress is acting quickly to rollback climate regulations. Two big ones are on the schedule this week.
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insideclimatenews.org
Two bills scheduled this week would roll back rules to limit methane emissions from oil and gas operations and efficiency standards for water heaters. They would also bar similar rules in the future.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
6 months
RT @DylanBaddour: Texas is aggressively pushing to deploy the next generation of atomic energy that would power big industrial operations.….
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
6 months
Sound familiar? This began eight years ago, when Energy Transfer filed a federal lawsuit, which I wrote about at the time. That case was dismissed, prompting the one that's only now reaching trial in state court.
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insideclimatenews.org
On a bright afternoon in May 2016, two men in a silver SUV pulled into Kelly Martin’s driveway. One of them, tall and beefy with a crew cut, walked up to her front door. “The guy said, ‘Is Joshua...
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
6 months
A long-running lawsuit from the developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline against Greenpeace is going to trial. Some legal experts say it could have grave impacts on environmental and social movements.
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insideclimatenews.org
“This case and its outcome should be the concern of every American,” a legal expert says as the Dakota Access Pipeline trial is set to begin.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
7 months
New York’s congestion pricing is meant to ease traffic and improve air quality. But it could make conditions worse in the South Bronx, one of the city’s poorest areas.
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insideclimatenews.org
The city has begun charging drivers to enter a central business district, aiming to reduce traffic and improve air quality. The plan is expected to route more vehicles through the South Bronx.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
8 months
My latest story with @Katie_Surma on a shadowy legal system that allows corporations to sue governments and seek huge awards. In this story, we delve into the little-known role of financial firms that bankroll cases.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
8 months
Wall Street firms have made hundreds of millions of dollars investing in lawsuits against governments. Now, they're eyeing an increase in cases as nations phase out fossil fuels.
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insideclimatenews.org
Investors buying into claims against governments are winning huge payouts. Developing nations, and the environment, are losing big.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
9 months
The oil industry has published its energy proposals for the Trump administration, looking to remove limits on drilling and roll back efforts to shift toward electric vehicles.
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insideclimatenews.org
The American Petroleum Institute’s list of requests to the incoming Trump administration would remove many of the available federal tools to rein in deadly global warming.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
10 months
Meanwhile, oil and gas companies pay millions to help get politicians elected in the United States. Including, as @psskow writes, the very people who regulate them in Texas.
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insideclimatenews.org
Republican incumbent Christi Craddick has raised upwards of $10 million in her campaign for a third term on the Railroad Commission of Texas. Her campaign focuses on fighting federal regulations and...
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
10 months
For the first time, American oil companies are disclosing tens of billions of dollars in payments to governments around the world. The information could help deter or detect corruption, advocates say.
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insideclimatenews.org
New reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission reveal payments around the globe. One takeaway? The U.S. government might be getting a bad deal.
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
10 months
The Inflation Reduction Act is the nation’s largest single investment in cutting climate pollution. Would it survive if Republicans win November’s election?.
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insideclimatenews.org
The Inflation Reduction Act was enacted in a hyper-partisan environment, but it has gained support among Republicans. Will its emissions-cutting programs endure?
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
10 months
Honduras has been plagued by violence, corruption and drug trafficking. Now it’s facing up to $14 billion in legal claims from foreign investors, too.
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insideclimatenews.org
Investor-state dispute settlement allows foreign investors to sue governments for billions of dollars. A new report alleges a wave of ISDS claims against Honduras are tied to “mafia-style” investme...
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@nkus
Nicholas Kusnetz
11 months
A 14-story tower, $25,000 gene therapy and a brawl: How foreign investors’ legal claims could “break” one of Latin America’s poorest and most climate-vulnerable nations.
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insideclimatenews.org
One of Latin America’s poorest countries faces a wave of claims from foreign investors seeking billions of dollars. Chief among them is an American company looking to build a semi-autonomous “startup...
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