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Last year, Congress passed the most ambitious climate bill ever enacted, the Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation committed nearly $400 billion to support, among other things, wind and solar power, battery storage, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies that will make a significant dent in US heat-trapping emissions.
Replacing gasoline with electricity greatly reduces the carbonemissions from driving. And for the first time, we find that for everyone in the US, driving the most efficient EV produces less global warming emissions than any gasoline-only vehicle available (including non-plug-in hybrids).
is a serious blow to the EPA’s ability to fight climatechange—and could have dangerous repercussions beyond this case. The timing of the decision feels especially harsh, as the nation is in the throes of the “ Danger Season ” for hazards such as heat waves, drought, wildfires and hurricanes, all worsened by climatechange.
According to the latest EIA data, wind power, the leading source of US renewable electricity, may have supplied 7% more generation in 2024 than in 2023, and accounted for almost 11% of the countrys total electricity. It added up to 24% of total electricity generation in 2024, compared with 23% in 2023. One of 2024s new crop.
Residential electricity rates for many Californians have increased significantly over the last year, making it more expensive to charge an electric vehicle (EV) at home. It’s still cheaper to recharge an EV than buy gasoline, but those savings have been eroded by surging electric rates. to $9.54.
With economic growth have come carbonemissions. As of 2016, half of its total emissions are from the power sector, with 20% from industry and 15% from transportation, and. South Korea also agreed to join the Global Methane Pledge and cut emissions one third by 2030. At the moment, South Korean climate policy is in flux.
Limiting climatechange will require the rapid reduction in these emissions from the vehicles we drive. Electric vehicles (EVs) can eliminate tailpipe emissions altogether and so are an attractive option for reducing both global-warming and smog-forming air pollution.
This June, I had the opportunity to testify at the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee’s hearing on “Hydrogen Hubs and ClimateChange.” My name is Julie McNamara, and I am a senior analyst and deputy policy director for climate and energy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Electric transportation is essential for a cleaner and healthier world. Replacing gasoline vehicles with electric can reduce emissions that cause climatechange and illnesses. Let’s talk solutions A solution to decreasing pollution is moving away from gasoline-based modes of transportation to electric.
Extreme weather, which is increasing due to climatechange , can degrade the electricity system and cause these failures. Power outages are costly, can have extreme impacts on both the health and safety of a population, and can happen at any point in the process of electricity generation, distribution, and usage.
This marked a career shift toward direct climate and equity advocacy, where I could use my background in electrical engineering to more directly tackle the climate challenges threatening our planet’s critical resources, including the glaciers I would soon visit.
In a few days, the Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) will release its latest synthesis report that provides a comprehensive assessment of the current state of scientific knowledge on climatechange, including its causes, impacts, and potential solutions. The result is a world that is rapidly warming.
All told, they represent 56 percent of the US population, generate 62 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, and are responsible for 43 percent of the country’s annual carbonemissions. Under current policies and plans, carbon dioxide emissions would decline by only 12 percent. EN: What were your top findings?
February 12, 2025 In parts of the United States, theres no relief from climatechange. Some intriguing initiatives this week that caught our interest: Small modular nuclear reactors to generate electricity are steadily moving to market. They produce no carbonemissions that cause climatechange, and can be air-cooled.
This being Cinco de Mayo, it seems like an appropriate time for a look at Mexico’s climate challenges. Mexico’s carbonemissions are about the same as those of Texas, the highest-emitting US state. Per capita emissions, however, are far lower, given Mexico’s much larger population.
Now it’s on to the state Senate, where the question is: Will this be the year Minnesota sets a path toward 100-percent carbon-free electricity? Now, with climate and clean energy majorities in both chambers, Minnesota is poised to join other leading states in updating its clean energy policies equitably with benefits for all residents.
February 12, 2025 In parts of the United States, theres no relief from climatechange. Some intriguing initiatives this week that caught our interest: Small modular nuclear reactors to generate electricity are steadily moving to market. They produce no carbonemissions that cause climatechange, and can be air-cooled.
Carbon-reduction plans, if not well designed, can worsen water scarcity and pollution. Plans to reduce carbonemissions should take water into account. Some low-carbon energy options require significant amounts of water. Water can also be a climate solution. Carl Ganter/Circle of Blue.
In a recent column , Paul Krugman argued that cutting carbonemissions doesn’t have to mean an end to economic growth. Carbonemissions and growth aren’t joined at the hip. The numbers are really clear about the disconnect between the trajectories of GDP and emissions. He’s right about that.
Minnesotans are facing concurrent crises of climatechange, high energy prices and inflation, and the inequitable public health impacts of fossil fuel air pollution. Most Minnesotans are familiar with their local electricity utility, since that’s who bills them for electricity they provide.
The Liberals had done as little as possible to address climatechange. So the change in government is more than welcome. The outgoing Liberals weren’t helped electorally by their foot-dragging about climatechange. Polling showed broad public support for more aggressive cuts in carbonemissions.
In short, what’s the extinction cost of carbon? There are uncertainties in climate modeling, and greater uncertainties in estimating the number of species impacted by climatechange. megaton reduction in emissions. What does a rise to 2° require in terms of carbonemissions? The answer is 7.8
They just released their 2022 “Annual Energy Outlook” (AEO), which is a big deal: it tells us where electricity is headed over the next 30 years. Here are five key takeaways from this year’s AEO, focused primarily on the electricity sector: 1. CO 2 emissions remain mostly level through 2050—nowhere close to meeting US climate goals.
Standards for carbon and methane emissions from new sources Permitting requirements for carbonemissions from new stationary sources of major sources of existing pollutants. Standards for existing stationary carbon sources (focused on power plants to date). Standards for emissions from new vehicles.
The bad news is that we’re not yet on track to avoid dangerous climatechange. climate policy. New California legislation will require corporations to disclose their carbonemissions. Climate policy has been boosted by dramatic changes in the economics of clean energy.
California’s air pollution regulator, the Air Resources Board, is poised to adopt one of the most important steps that the state has ever taken to reduce exposure to air pollution and limit climatechangingemissions. California is already experiencing climatechange with extreme drought and destructive wildfires.
In terms of climate policy, however, it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as China. That’s understandable in terms of India’s current carbonemissions, which are now only a quarter of China’s. The national electricity plan projected that renewables will exceed coal in 2027. But we need to be more forward-looking.
As electric vehicle charging stations sprout like mushrooms along our roads and clusters of new wind turbines come online, these two clean energy solutions to the climate crisis are becoming more commonplace. Also more commonplace are the obvious , dangerous , and destructive effects of climatechange on people and communities.
The possibility of snagging some of this funding may also help nudge some lagging states to think seriously about cutting carbonemissions. Another development with multi-state implications involves electric vehicles. There are some aggressive milestone requirements: 35% of new vehicles must be electric by 2026 and 68% in 2030.
An extensive report from the Stockholm International Water Institute describes how freshwater systems and their management have been neglected by global climatechange agreements. The report’s authors claim that success in lowering carbonemissions will be determined by how well the world manages its water.
A device that can generate electricity while desalinating seawater has been developed by researchers in Saudi Arabia and China, who claim that their new system is highly efficient at performing both tasks. In many parts of the world, climatechange and population growth are putting huge demands on freshwater supplies.
Chicago’s new CAP aims to remedy those problems and chart an equitable path to cut the city’s carbonemissions by at least 60 percent by 2040. Residential, commercial and industrial buildings account for nearly 70 percent of Chicago’s carbon footprint. Building Retrofits. What’s Still Needed in the Plan.
In December 2018, after having successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector by 53.3%, a majority of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) jurisdictions announced plans to design a program to address carbonemissions from the combustion of transportation fuels.
Fossil fuels are the root cause of climatechange, of long-standing environmental injustices, and are also frequently connected to geopolitical strife and violent conflicts. These data are alarming—underscoring how far off track the world continues to be in cutting the heat-trapping emissions fueling climatechange.
A federal court in Australia ruled that the government had a “duty of care” toward its young people to protect them from climatechange. Historically, Exxon has been the most recalcitrant of all the major oil companies, and it has been a major funder of climatechange denial.
Riding a mile by bus in this country, on average, contributes 30% less to climatechange than riding in a gas car alone. Riding a bike or walking lowers your emissions down to zero. Public transit can provide another way of getting around that is more accessible to all and reduces transportation emissions.
One set of issues relates to applying existing statutes to climatechange. Consider this list of examples: Given that coal has larger carbonemissions than other sources of energy can EPA adopt a strategy of phasing out its use in the electric power sector? Here, a host of problems have come up.
The upshot was that the US resisted any effort to address climatechange and embraced a “drill baby drill” energy policy. Carbonemissions stayed about constant under Bush, with an average around 5.6 billion tons: The average gas powered car today produces about 55 tons of carbon over its dozen-year life.
The Pittsburgh 2030 District , a project of the Green Building Alliance , has released its 2022 Progress Report , revealing District property partners have reduced carbonemissions by 44.8% This achievement moves the District within range of reaching its target goal of 50-65% reduction in carbonemissions before the 2030 deadline.
These new protections will include updates to power plant standards on carbonemissions , mercury pollution , and toxic coal ash pollution , just to name a few. Last year, for the first time ever, US renewable electricity generation surpassed coal-fired electricity generation.
It’s not surprising to see companies lobbying to try to optimize this lucrative credit for their profits rather than ensuring the produced hydrogen is genuinely low-carbon, but it is astounding to see regulators at risk of following suit. But, as important as those considerations are, even that broader perspective is insufficient.
A quarter of carbonemissions from transportation come from heavy-duty trucks. Addressing these emissions will be challenging and will require a multi-prong strategy. California and fourteen other states plan to make 30% of new heavy-duty truck sales zero emission by 2030. The UK is ahead of us here.
It’s not an environmental law case, but the ruling could impact the authority of states to address climatechange. Many state climatechange regulations have impacts on other states. For example, the Ninth Circuit upheld California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard against a similar legal attack.
Gavin Newsom Can Learn from China’s Response to ClimateChange.” Yes, the governor was the talk of the town at NY Climate Week where he announced several big California climate initiatives. million electric vehicles , with sales in 2022 accounting for 29% of all auto sales in China. He even got to address the U.N.
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