Q&A: What does the Iran war mean for the energy transition and climate action?
-
The US and Israel’s war on Iran has caused oil and gas prices to soar, with the world now preparing for the possibility of another energy crisis. The conflict, which has seen Iran respond with missile strikes across the region, has killed more than 1,000 people so far and sent global markets into disarray. With […]
-
Building Greener With Steel: Why Prefab Metal Buildings Are Getting A Second Look
by
When people talk about sustainable buildings, the conversation usually starts with the visible upgrades: rooftop solar, high-efficiency HVAC, LED lighting, smart controls. Those features matter, and they often deserve the attention they get. But they are only part of the environmental story. A building’s real sustainability profile starts earlier and runs deeper. It begins with […]
-
Modern buildings “not fit for future climate”, warns architecture academic
by
Road questioned the cost and usefulness of large glass office building types. A leading climate‑resilience architecture academic has warned that new thinking is needed in how modern buildings are designed to cope with a warming climate. (Words: Heriot-Watt University). Professor Emeritus at Heriot-Watt University Susan Roaf says most modern public and private buildings are simply […]
-
Recovery after 2025 drought, but risks remain, says SEPA
by
Glen Finglas reservoir in the Trossachs, with soil Layers visible due to low water level. Parts of eastern Scotland have seen improvements in water resources over the winter following the 2025 drought, although some areas could still face water scarcity later this year if spring rainfall is lower than normal. According to the Scottish Environment […]
-
Study links falling phosphorus levels to ecological improvements in English rivers
by
The report examines changes in plant communities to assess whether reductions in phosphorus are helping freshwater ecosystems recover. A new report from the Environment Agency and the University of Stirling looks at the links between phosphorus concentrations and ecology in English rivers. It offers evidence that reductions in phosphorus pollution in these rivers are associated […]
-
Can Europe’s Largest Emitters Be Sanctioned for Climate Harm?
One of the most fundamental questions in climate justice is also one of the most difficult to answer: how can the climate impacts of carbon dioxide emissions generated in one country be made legally sanctionable in another? Those most affected by climate change often lack access to effective remedies, while major emitters remain largely shielded […]
-
Firms recast aluminium recycling possibilities with advanced multi-sensor sorting technology
by
Historically, Cusiana’s business model was based solely on the melting and production of aluminium ingots, but the company has “strategically transformed its business model”. A strategic partnership between firms in the recycling technology and aluminium refining space has pioneered a multi-stage sorting line that is said to make it possible to move beyond traditional ingot […]
-
EfW operator expands use of AI tool to identify non-conforming waste
by
Energy-from-waste (EfW) operator enfinium has expanded its use of advanced visual artificial intelligence (AI) technology across all its operational facilities. Supplied by German software specialist Wasteer, the system uses cutting-edge analytics to identify non-conforming waste entering the processing facilities. Following installation and machine learning calibration, the technology will help to process waste more efficiently by […]
-
‘Extinct’ butterfly seen across England in suspected de-extinction process
by
A large tortoiseshell in Sussex in March 2026 (image credit: Graham Hubbard) A butterfly classed as extinct in the UK for more than 30 years has been seen at sites across southern England. Eagle-eyed nature lovers have captured photographs of Large Tortoiseshells in Kent, Hampshire, Sussex, Dorset, Cornwall and the Isle of Wight in the […]
-
Circular Construction Hub launches in London
by
The opening of Tipping Point East (image credit: Stephen Norman Young) What’s said to be the UK’s first Circular Construction Hub has been launched in the Royal Docks in London, which will aim to ensure construction waste is recycled and re-used instead of going to landfill. Its creators say the new hub is set to […]
-
Improving AI models’ ability to explain their predictions
by
In high-stakes settings like medical diagnostics, users often want to know what led a computer vision model to make a certain prediction, so they can determine whether to trust its output. Concept bottleneck modeling is one method that enables artificial intelligence systems to explain their decision-making process. These methods force a deep-learning model to use […]
-
5 Essential Security Patterns for Robust Agentic AI
by
-
Vector Databases vs. Graph RAG for Agent Memory: When to Use Which
by
-
Heatwaves driving recent ‘surge’ in compound drought and heat extremes
Drought and heatwaves occurring together – known as “compound” events – have “surged” across the world since the early 2000s, a new study shows. Compound drought and heat events (CDHEs) can have devastating effects, creating the ideal conditions for intense wildfires, such as Australia’s “Black Summer” of 2019-20 where bushfires burned 24m hectares and killed […]
-
DeBriefed 6 March 2026: Iran energy crisis | China climate plan | Bristol’s ‘pioneering’ wind turbine
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change. This week Energy crisis ENERGY SPIKE: US-Israeli attacks on Iran and subsequent counterattacks across the Middle East have sent energy prices “soaring”, according to Reuters. The newswire reported that the region “accounts for just under a third of global […]
-
Q&A: What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?
China’s leadership has published a draft of its 15th five-year plan setting the strategic direction for the nation out to 2030, including support for clean energy and energy security. The plan sets a target to cut China’s “carbon intensity” by 17% over the five years from 2026-30, but also changes the basis for calculating this […]
-
Pace of global warming has nearly doubled since 2015, reveals study
An acceleration in human-caused global warming could see the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C limit breached before 2030, a new study suggests. The paper, published in Geophysical Research Letters, finds that, over the past decade, the planet has been warming at its fastest rate on record. The authors isolate the trend of human-driven warming in the long-term […]
-
Uncertain Remedies for Frozen Federal Climate Funding
On February 24, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held oral arguments in the case Climate United Fund v. Citibank to consider the future of almost $20 billion in climate funding appropriated under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Now before the full court of appeals, at issue is […]