Natural gas is a source of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases. And natural gas is not a ‘clean-burning’ fuel on account of its pollutants.
> - The life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas power plants are lower than those from coal and oil, but still significantly higher than those from hydropower, solar, wind, or nuclear. > - The largest component of natural gas is methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Any use of natural gas invariably leaks methane into the atmosphere. There is evidence that we are underestimating how much methane-containing natural gas enters the atmosphere. > - Natural gas is not a ‘clean-burning’ fuel on account of the numerous pollutants that it produces, including nitrous oxides, particulates, sulfur dioxide, and mercury. These pollutants are linked with respiratory problems. > - Building new gas power plants is a commitment to using gas well into the future, which many researchers believe can slow decarbonization.
States have powerful legal tools to counter federal environmental rollbacks, from enacting stronger local regulations to forming interstate coalitions that protect natural resources and public health.
> States have powerful legal tools to counter federal environmental rollbacks, from enacting stronger local regulations to forming interstate coalitions that protect natural resources and public health.
> Why do cold snaps persist if the Earth is warming? This question has popped up in various forms online, especially on social media. Climate contrarians often use it as a rhetorical question to make the false claim that ‘global warming must not be happening if we still experience cold weather’. > > Others may ask this question out of genuine curiosity – after all, it might be confusing to hear that the planet is warming if you are shivering in a cold spell. > > But does anything actually prevent global warming and cold snaps from coexisting? Not at all. Cold snaps (short periods of very cold weather) occur when there are large southward dips in the jet stream – strong winds 5 to 7 miles (8 to 11 kilometers) above Earth’s surface that blow west to east
China will need to install around 10,000 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity to reach carbon neutrality by 2060, according to new research.
> This huge energy transition – with the technologies currently standing at 1,408GW – can make a “decisive contribution” to the country’s climate efforts and bring big economic rewards, the China Energy Transformation Outlook 2024 (CETO24) shows. > > The report was produced by our research team at the Energy Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research – a “national high-end thinktank” of China’s top planner the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). > > The outlook looks at two pathways to meeting China’s “dual-carbon” climate goals and its wider aims for economic and social development. > > In the first pathway, a challenging geopolitical environment constrains international cooperation. > > The second assumes international climate cooperation continues despite broader geopolitical tensions. > > We find that, under both scenarios, China’s energy system can achieve net-zero carbon emissions before 2060, paving the way to make Chinese society as a whole carbon neutral before 2060. > > However, the outlook shows that meeting these policy goals will not be possible unless China improves its energy efficiency, sustains its electrification efforts and develops a power system built around “intelligent” grids that are predominantly supplied with electricity from solar and wind.
Groups now worry about FBI probes as they struggle to rebound from federal spending freeze enacted under President Donald Trump
> Groups now worry about FBI probes as they struggle to rebound from federal spending freeze enacted under President Donald Trump
> New research finds the industry’s campaigns to confuse the public about beef’s climate impact go back longer than previously recognized.
Breakthrough Energy is winding down its policy and advocacy office, depriving the Inflation Reduction Act of a powerful defender.
> Breakthrough Energy is winding down its policy and advocacy office, depriving the Inflation Reduction Act of a powerful defender.
This 2025 edition of the State of the Birds report is a status assessment of the health of the nation’s bird populations, delivered to the American people by scientists from U.S. bird conservation groups.
> Long-term Population Trends for America’s Birds > > ! > ~† Shorebirds indicator trend data has not been updated since 2019.~ > > - 5 Years After the 3 Billion Birds Lost Research, America Is Still Losing Birds: A 2019 study published in the journal Science sounded the alarm—showing a net loss of 3 billion birds in North America in the past 50 years. The 2025 State of the Birds report shows those losses are continuing, with declines among several bird trend indicators. Notably duck populations—a bright spot in past State of the Birds reports, with strong increases since 1970—have trended downward in recent years. > - Conservation Works: Examples spotlighted throughout this report—from coastal restoration and conservation ranching to forest renewal and seabird translocations—show how proactive, concerted efforts and strategic investments can recover bird populations. The science is solid on how to bring birds back. Private lands conservation programs, and voluntary conservation partnerships for working lands, hold some of the best opportunities for sparking immediate turnarounds for birds. > - Bird-Friendly Policies Bring Added Benefits for People, and Have Broad Support: Policies to reverse bird declines carry added benefits such as healthier working lands, cleaner water, and resilient landscapes that can withstand fires, floods, and drought. Plus birds are broadly popular—about 100 million Americans are birdwatchers, including large shares of hunters and anglers. All that birding activity stimulates the economy, with $279 billion in total economic output generated by birder expenditures.
A study in the United States found a dramatic 22% decline in butterfly populations between 2000 and 2020. Previous research has focused on a specific butterfly species or regions of the country. For this study, researchers wanted to understand overall butterfly population trends across the U.S. They...
> A study in the United States found a dramatic 22% decline in butterfly populations between 2000 and 2020.
> The US clean electricity transition continued as wind and solar generated more than coal for the first time. Electricity demand growth sped up and solar generation rose more quickly than gas to help meet it.
UK greenhouse gas emissions fell by 3.6% in 2024 as coal use dropped to the lowest level since 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London
With more extreme weather events comes the possibility of more harm from sewage-associated viruses.
But how do we ensure everyone has equal access to shade? Tucson, where heatwave mortality has soared, shows a path forward.
> But how do we ensure everyone has equal access to shade? Tucson, where heatwave mortality has soared, shows a path forward.
Nearly a tenth of global climate finance could be under threat as US president Donald Trump’s aid cuts risk wiping out huge swathes of spending overseas
> Nearly a tenth of global climate finance could be under threat as US president Donald Trump’s aid cuts risk wiping out huge swathes of spending overseas, according to Carbon Brief analysis. > > Last year, the US announced that it had increased its climate aid for developing countries roughly seven-fold over the course of Joe Biden’s presidency, reaching $11bn per year. > > This likely amounts to more than 8% of all international climate finance in 2024. > > However, any progress in US climate finance has been thrown into disarray by the new administration. > > Trump has halted US foreign aid and threatened to cancel virtually all US Agency for International Development (USAid) projects, with climate funds identified as a prime target. > > USAid has provided around a third of US climate finance in recent years, reaching nearly $3bn in 2023, according to Carbon Brief analysis. > > Another $4bn of US funding for the UN Green Climate Fund (GCF) has also been cancelled by the president’s administration. > > One expert tells Carbon Brief that more climate funds will likely end up on the “cutting block”. > > Another warns of an “enormous gulf” to meeting the new global $300bn climate-finance goal nations agreed last year, if the US stops reporting – let alone providing – any official climate finance. > > Carbon Brief’s analysis draws together available data to explain how the Trump administration’s cuts endanger global efforts to help developing countries tackle climate change.
In 2018, Louis Robert, an agronomist in Québec, was fired after releasing research about the limited effectiveness of neonicotinoid pesticides.
Greenhouse emissions are changing the environment of near-Earth space in ways that, over time, will reduce the number of satellites that can safely operate there, according to new MIT research.
> Increasing greenhouse gas emissions will reduce the atmosphere’s ability to burn up old space junk, MIT scientists report.
> There are still hurdles to overcome, but growing the seaweed industry in a state known for lobster could be a win for local fishermen, dairy and cattle operations, and the planet.
The US government has scrapped paper straws to go back to plastic. So why are the plastic variety restricted in many countries around the world in the first place?
> The US government is eschewing paper straws and going back to plastic. So why are the plastic variety restricted in many countries around the world in the first place?
> The terminology will be stricken in classes for future officers in a service that confronts global warming every day, a move some say will weaken it.
