‘Rush’ for new coal in China hits record high in 2025 as climate deadline looms
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Proposals to build coal-fired plants in China reached a record high in 2025, finds a new study. The report, released by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM), says that, in 2025, developers submitted new or reactivated proposals to build a total of 161 gigawatts (GW) of […]
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How generative AI can help scientists synthesize complex materials
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Generative artificial intelligence models have been used to create enormous libraries of theoretical materials that could help solve all kinds of problems. Now, scientists just have to figure out how to make them. In many cases, materials synthesis is not as simple as following a recipe in the kitchen. Factors like the temperature and length […]
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Cost-sharing model unlocks growth opportunities for connecting biomethane to the gas network
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Image credit: Cadent Gas distribution network Cadent says it has taken a major step towards removing one of the biggest obstacles facing developers of biomethane – the high cost of reinforcing the gas network – by introducing the UK’s first cost-sharing model for entry connections capacity. The group, the UK’s largest gas distribution network, has […]
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Late January arrests made over Oxfordshire illegal waste dump
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A 2025 photograph of the site (image credit: Thames21). Four further arrests have been made in late January in connection with a large illegal waste dump occurring in Kidlington, Oxfordshire last Summer, which was widely reported in November. In a joint raid early on Tuesday 20 January, officers from both the Environment Agency and the […]
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The Material You Never Notice: The Rise of Polycarbonate
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Image Source: Pixabay People walk beneath roofs, walkways and canopies every day without giving much thought to the clear sheet above them. Polycarbonate blends into the background, it keeps the space bright and stays strong in rough weather. It’s an incredible material, but most passersby still assume they are standing under glass. That quiet presence […]
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Tips for Managing Mobile Workers Effectively
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Field service businesses hemorrhage money through inefficient mobile workforce management, not from hiring mistakes or lazy employees, but from supervisory systems designed for cubicles, not service trucks. Dozens of pest control and field service operations adopt the latest pest control scheduling software, implement GPS tracking, and roll out new communication platforms, only to see technician […]
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The philosophical puzzle of rational artificial intelligence
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To what extent can an artificial system be rational? A new MIT course, 6.S044/24.S00 (AI and Rationality), doesn’t seek to answer this question. Instead, it challenges students to explore this and other philosophical problems through the lens of AI research. For the next generation of scholars, concepts of rationality and agency could prove integral in […]
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DeBriefed 30 January 2026: Fire and ice; US formally exits Paris; Climate image faux pas
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change. This week Fire and ice OZ HEAT: The ongoing heatwave in Australia reached record-high temperatures of almost 50C earlier this week, while authorities “urged caution as three forest fires burned out of control”, reported the Associated Press. Bloomberg said […]
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Factcheck: What it really costs to heat a home in the UK with a heat pump
Electric heat pumps are set to play a key role in the UK’s climate strategy, as well as cutting the nation’s reliance on imported fossil fuels. Heat pumps took centre-stage in the UK government’s recent “warm homes plan”, which said that they could also help cut household energy bills by “hundreds of pounds” a year. […]
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Met Office: A review of the UK’s climate in 2025
The UK’s climate saw a record-breaking 2025, with the year being both the warmest and sunniest seen since observations began. The year 2025 has joined 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2014 in the UK’s top-five warmest years. In this review, we take a look back at the UK’s climate in 2025 and place the record-breaking year […]
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Experts: Will Chinese wind power help or hinder Europe’s climate goals?
The European Union and the UK are not on track to meet their 2030 offshore wind targets. At the same time, Chinese wind-turbine manufacturers – who account for more than half of global wind-turbine capacity – are looking to grow their footprint in the European market, where their presence is currently tiny. To some, the […]
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Community-led data tool to help build picture of river health in Thames Basin
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Citizen scientists at Thames21’s training session at Hackney Marshes (image credit: Thames21). Environmental charity Thames21 has launched a new online dashboard that – for the first time – brings together key datasets on river health gathered by citizen scientists across London and the Thames Basin. The ‘Citizen Science Dashboard’ currently holds more than 6,000 water […]
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Climate change and La Niña made ‘devastating’ southern African floods more intense
“Exceptionally heavy” rainfall that led to deadly flooding across southern Africa in recent weeks was made more intense by a combination of climate change and La Niña. This is according to a rapid attribution study by the World Weather Attribution service. From late December 2025 to early January, south-eastern Africa was hit hard by intense […]
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Cropped 28 January 2026: Ocean biodiversity boost; Nature and national security; Mangrove defence
We handpick and explain the most important stories at the intersection of climate, land, food and nature over the past fortnight. This is an online version of Carbon Brief’s fortnightly Cropped email newsletter. Subscribe for free here. This is the last edition of Cropped for 2025. The newsletter will return on 14 January 2026. Key developments […]
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Climate change could lead to 500,000 ‘additional’ malaria deaths in Africa by 2050
Climate change could lead to half a million more deaths from malaria in Africa over the next 25 years, according to new research. The study, published in Nature, finds that extreme weather, rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns could result in an additional 123m cases of malaria across Africa – even if current climate pledges […]
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Comment: Why predictive intelligence is non-negotiable for UK water
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Ryan Pearson is head of business development at Metasphere, a Grundfos company. By Ryan Pearson of water technology firm Metasphere. The Independent Water Commission’s (IWC) Final Report, delivered in July 2025, is being called the water sector’s 21st century “Great Stink” moment. For a multi-billion-pound industry defined by challenges including sewage spills, failing infrastructure, and […]
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Government awards £181k to four sustainable aviation fuel innovators
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The Department for Transport (DfT) has awarded £181,000 through the UK Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) Clearing House to four UK innovators: Avioxx, Clean Planet Technologies, Green Lizard Technologies, and Zero Petroleum. The funding will accelerate the testing, certification, and commercialisation of next-generation sustainable aviation fuels, a key part of the UK’s strategy to decarbonise aviation. […]
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Biochar is emerging as a key material with uses in clean water, carbon capture and renewable energy
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Biochar1 has long been valued for improving soil health. A new review explores the fact that it is also rapidly evolving into a powerful multifunctional material with the potential to tackle some of the world’s most urgent environmental challenges, from water pollution and nutrient loss to carbon emissions and clean energy production. The review brings […]