The decision could have implications for a separate but related fight over the $20 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants.

The decision is a loss for green groups who claimed the commission should have done more to evaluate harm.

Previous El Niños have dried up freshwater lakes supplying the canal, causing the Panama Canal Authority to impose daily transit restrictions.

Wars and geopolitical tensions can disrupt shipping, energy supplies and agricultural inputs, increasing costs across food systems already strained by inflation.

Swollen rivers and flooded roads have stranded 104,271 people, officials reported, warning that overwhelmed rivers will remain a threat even when the rainfall eases.

Video footage from the provincial capital city of Parun showed scenes of utter devastation, with piles of mud, rocks and rubble where buildings used to be