Researchers combine plasma and cavitation in bid to destroy PFAS
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Illustrative image of a plasma discharge. Plasma-based techniques can provide the energy needed to break the exceptionally strong carbon-fluorine bonds found in PFAS compounds. Researchers in Germany have developed what appears to be a new approach to destroying persistent PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in contaminated water, using two complementary treatment techniques based on cold atmospheric plasma […]
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Roadmap paper outlines how superconductors can decarbonise transport sector
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The roadmap highlights advances in rail, including superconducting traction transformers and power cables that could improve energy efficiency. Superconducting technologies have the potential to supercharge the decarbonisation of transport, saving gigatonnes of emissions in the future, a new paper suggests. The ‘roadmap’ paper examines how the transport industry, which creates around a quarter of energy-related […]
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Retailer receives £2m fine after mouse infestations force emergency store closures
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Image credit: Richard OD / Shutterstock One of Britain’s largest discount retailers has been fined £2 million after admitting serious food hygiene offences linked to widespread mouse infestations at three Birmingham stores, in a prosecution likely to renew attention on the need for rigorous pest control and food safety management across large retail estates. B&M […]
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Q&A: What the EU’s carbon market review means for climate action
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Power pivot: AI data centres could help ease grid pressure, researchers argue
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AI’s expanding electricity needs could encourage greater deployment of energy storage and flexible grid infrastructure, argue researchers. AI’s unprecedented demand for power is turning big tech companies into builders of their own energy infrastructure – and under the right policies and market rules, data centre investment could help accelerate innovation and deployment of clean energy […]
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Water planning ‘out of step’ with Government growth agenda, warns Water UK
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Trade body says housing target, AI data centre expansion and wider economic growth all risk being constrained by outdated assumptions over future water demand England’s water planning framework is failing to keep pace with the Government’s ambitions for housing, artificial intelligence and economic growth, according to Water UK, which is calling for urgent reforms to […]
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Proposed Bill Would Provide $125 Million in Funding for Methane Removal Research
Last month, three Members of Congress introduced a bill to provide $125 million ($25 per year for five years) in funding for research into methane removal, a relatively novel set of proposed approaches aimed at mitigating climate change. This marks the first time such a bill has been introduced into Congress, and, if passed, it […]
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Q&A: What the EU’s carbon market review means for climate action
The European Commission has put forward new plans to cut emissions under the EU carbon market more slowly, from 2031 onwards. On 17 July, the commission presented its long-awaited proposal for reform of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS). It recommended a number of changes, including giving companies free allowances to cover their emissions for […]
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Transforming Transportation: Q&A With The Electrification Coalition
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The post Transforming Transportation: Q&A With The Electrification Coalition appeared first on Energy Innovation.
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India’s Fuel Security Risk Is A Billion-Dollar Aviation Fuel Opportunity
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The post India’s Fuel Security Risk Is A Billion-Dollar Aviation Fuel Opportunity appeared first on Energy Innovation.
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Following the questions where they lead
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Ever since she was a child playing on her family’s farmland in Wisconsin, Bailey Flanigan was guided by her own selective, yet wide-ranging, curiosity. Describing her young self as spirited and a bit unruly, she directed her energies to everything from building booby traps to doing experimental construction projects to exploring an intense interest in […]
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Debriefed 17 July 2026: UK ‘firewave’ | Fossil-fuelled heat deaths | London’s Natural History Museum spotlights climate
Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change. This week Heat and firewaves ‘FIREWAVE’: Wildfires ravaged Europe and North America this week. France utilised water-dumping planes collecting from the Seine to contain a fire in the Fontainebleau forest near Paris, according to the Associated Press. The Financial […]
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Q&A: Europe’s May and June heatwave deaths – and how they were counted
Recent weeks have seen a flurry of reports from public health authorities and scientists that estimate the deaths caused by Europe’s record-breaking summer heatwaves. In France, the national public health agency reported 2,025 excess deaths over the week where the heatwave peaked in June. Authorities in Germany and Netherlands put the excess death toll during […]
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A better way to turn 2D designs into 3D models for rapid prototyping
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Engineers often use vision-language models to produce new designs, such as for airplane or automobile components. To simulate how those components will perform in realistic situations, they’ll use tried-and-true computer-aided design (CAD) software to generate 3D models of those designs, which they can put through virtual crash or durability tests. Researchers from MIT and elsewhere […]
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3 Questions: Neural transparency and the future of AI design
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Millions of people are now designing their own personalized artificial intelligence companions, yet most have little idea how those creations will actually behave. In a new paper, MIT Media Lab Assistant Professor Pat Pataranutaporn and his graduate student researchers Anthony Baez and Sheer Karny introduce “neural transparency,” a tool that lets everyday users glimpse inside […]
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UK withdraws millions in funding from world’s second-largest rainforest in Congo
The UK has abandoned projects worth tens of millions of pounds that were meant to help protect Congo rainforests and support local people. Together, these initiatives would have made up around half of the £200m that the UK pledged to support conservation in the Congo basin – the world’s second-largest rainforest. When it hosted COP26 […]
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Cropped 15 July 2026: Uganda starves | Trump opens endangered habitats | UK cuts rainforest aid
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. Key developments Global drought and heat DRY THEN WET: A recent heatwave and months of low rainfall has led […]
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Government appoints single regulator to advance £175m Port of Tyne clean energy hub plans
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Entrance to the Port of Tyne The UK government has appointed the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) as Lead Environmental Regulator for the Port of Tyne’s proposed £175 million Clean Energy Park, in a move intended to accelerate approvals for a major offshore wind and clean energy development in North East England.1 The designation gives the […]