Skip to main content

Climate change

See All Stories
Get the best local deal from Electrek
  • New
  • Used
Powered By CarsDirect logo

NASA says July 2023 was the hottest month ever; here’s why

Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York have officially confirmed that July 2023 held the hottest global temperature ever in recorded history.

It’s quite obvious at this point that we’re feeling the effects of climate change, but what specifically contributed the most to July’s unprecedented heatwave?

Expand Expanding Close

In US first, Montana youth win lawsuit requiring state to consider climate change

held v montana youth climate lawsuit win

A youth-led climate lawsuit won a historic decision today, with a Montana court ruling that the state must consider climate change and environmental protections in the approval process for new energy projects.

It’s the first youth-led climate lawsuit to have this level of success in the US, possibly setting precedent for others around the country.

Expand Expanding Close

‘Electrification is not enough.’ Polestar and Rivian report calls for urgent action to save planet

Rivian Polestar

EV automakers Rivian and Polestar have collaborated on a “Pathway Report” which has concluded that the automotive industry, which currently accounts for 15% of all greenhouse gas on Earth, is on pace to overshoot the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPPC) pathway by at least 75% by 2050. The report calls for urgent action and lays out a three-lever approach with hopes the entire industry can collaborate while it still has time to get back on track with the Paris Agreement.

Expand Expanding Close

EU market commissioner encourages ICE vehicle exports as if global climate change doesn’t affect Europe

EU market

EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton is publicly urging automakers to consider continuing internal combustion engine vehicle production over fears of lost jobs and a future in which middle class consumers cannot afford EVs. Breton may want the EU to remain a “export force” in combustion vehicles, but will anyone still be interested in them as more and more countries set expiries in order to combat the vicious acceleration of global climate change?

Expand Expanding Close

Here’s why US real estate investors should see climate change as an opportunity

US real estate climate change

Equally important as adopting renewables is ensuring the buildings they power are also sustainable. Electrek spoke with Breana Wheeler, US director of operations at BREEAM, the world’s first green building certification program, about what the ideal decarbonized building looks like and how US real estate investors should see climate change as an opportunity.

Expand Expanding Close

Now that the US climate bill is law, here’s how states can quit fossil fuels

US President Joe Biden today signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, and that’s going to give the transition of the United States to clean energy a big boost. According to the American Clean Power Association, the new law could add up to an additional 550 gigawatts (GW) of electricity from wind, solar, and other clean energy sources. Electrek spoke with Enrico Viale, head of renewable energy company Enel North America, about the challenges that states face as they move away from fossil fuels and how Enel is working with states to help them deploy clean energy, distributed energy resources, and energy storage.

Expand Expanding Close

The new climate bill abandoned the type of electric vehicle that can make the biggest difference

The Senate’s passing of the Inflation Reduction Act should be applauded as a major step toward protecting our planet. However, it is important to note that while this agreement offers big incentives for electric cars, it also abandoned on the side of the road a critically important class of electric vehicle: electric bicycles.

Expand Expanding Close

Senate improves EV tax credit in largest climate bill ever

The Senate has voted to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes nearly $400 billion over 10 years in funding for climate and energy related programs, and an extension and improvement of the US electric car tax credit.

Update: Since many EVs may lose access to tax credits within a week or so, we’ve posted an article to help you find out how best to navigate these changes for most affected EVs in the US.

Major Update: The bill has been signed. It is now law.

Expand Expanding Close

The real reason Joe Manchin is sabotaging the US clean energy plan [update]

Site default logo image

Coal investor and US Senator Joe Manchin III (D-WV) opposes his own political party’s clean energy program. And since not a single Republican will support the infrastructure bill that contains the program, Manchin has disproportionate power to sink the US plan to decarbonize in order to slow global warming and meet the Paris Agreement target of net-zero by 2050. Why does he oppose it?

Expand Expanding Close

World’s largest direct air carbon capture facility will reduce CO2 by .0001%

climeworks direct air capture plant iceland carbon

The world’s largest carbon direct air capture facility has started construction in Iceland, run by Swiss startup Climeworks AG.

When construction finishes in 18-24 months, their facility, named “Mammoth,” will be able to remove 36,000 tons of CO2 from the air per year – which is .0001% of the 36 billion tons of CO2 emitted per year by humanity.

Expand Expanding Close

Exxon CEO says no new gas cars globally by 2040, goes wolf in sheep’s clothing about CO2

darren woods exxon ceo 2040 no gas cars electric carbon capture

Every new passenger car sold in the world will be electric by 2040, according to Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods in an interview aired this weekend by CNBC.

The interview also covered the company’s climate ambitions, putting a flashy coat of paint on an organization that is the world’s fifth-largest historical polluter and has pushed climate denial at a high level for half a century.

Expand Expanding Close

Polestar 0 Project announces partners and invites others to join the effort to deliver a climate-neutral EV by 2030

Polestar 0 Project

Swedish EV automaker Polestar has begun sharing its initial list of potential collaborators for its Polestar 0 Project – the company’s initiative to change the way cars are made by eliminating emissions from the entire supply chain. In addition to announcing the industry suppliers on board, Polestar is extending a global call for collaboration over the next month to garner even more support.

Expand Expanding Close

COP26 Daily Briefing: 3 big things that happened on November 12

COP26

The COP26, aka the United Nations Climate Change Conference UK 2021, has officially finished in Glasgow. But the final agreement has not yet been put in place, and that will likely come over the weekend. Here’s Electrek‘s daily roundup of the key happenings at the world’s most important summit ever.

Expand Expanding Close