DeBriefed 22 May 2026: UN adopts landmark resolution | Trump takes on ‘RCP8.5’ | Climate migration
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Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change. This week UN adopts landmark opinion ICJ OPINION: The UN has adopted a resolution backing a landmark world court opinion stating that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change, reported the Guardian. Some 141 countries voted in […]
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Guest post: How CMIP7 will shape the next wave of climate science
Hundreds of scientists in dozens of institutions are embarking on the next phase of the world’s largest coordinated climate-modelling effort. Climate-modelling groups use supercomputers to run climate models that simulate the physics, chemistry and biology of the Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans. These models play a crucial role in helping scientists understand how the climate […]
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Technology usually creates jobs for young, skilled workers. Will AI do the same?
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At any given time, technology does two things to employment: It replaces traditional jobs, and it creates new lines of work. Machines replace farmers, but enable, say, aeronautical engineers to exist. So, if tech creates new jobs, who gets them? How well do they pay? How long do new jobs remain new, before they become […]
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New coal plants hit ‘10-year’ global high in 2025 – but power output still fell
The number of new coal-fired power plants built around the world hit a “10-year high” in 2025, even as the global coal fleet generated less electricity, amid a “widening disconnect” in the sector. That is according to the latest annual report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM), which finds that the world added nearly 100 gigawatts […]
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Cropped 20 May 2026: Deforestation roadmap | Melanesian Ocean Summit | Returning pet parrots to the wild
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 Deforestation talks COP30 ROADMAP: Brazil’s global roadmap away from deforestation will involve countries producing their own voluntary […]
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Making storm overflow data make Sense
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With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. (Words: Metasphere). Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.” Metasphere, […]
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£58 million Water Breakthrough Challenge winners include water-purifying mushrooms, 3D printed infrastructure and AI-enabled microphones to monitor river life
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Nineteen pioneering solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the water sector have been awarded £58 million, as the winners of the sixth Water Breakthrough Challenge are announced. The successful projects, which span technological, engineering and nature-based approaches, will receive the funding from Ofwat’s Water Innovation Fund, which is investing £600 million between 2020 […]
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AD & Biogas Industry Awards 2026 finalists announced
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The finalists for the AD and Biogas Industry Awards 2026 have been announced. Run by the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) and the World Biogas Association (WBA), the Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in the global anaerobic digestion (AD) and biogas sector across 10 categories. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on 8 July at […]
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Specialty chemicals supplier supports breakthrough Aqua-Ammonia energy research
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This article contains sponsored content. Blended Products is proud to announce its role as an industrial partner in a significant clean energy research programme led by the University of Nottingham, focused on the development of Aqua-Ammonia (A-A) as a practical, scalable, low-carbon alternative to natural gas. Aqua-Ammonia — a liquid mixture of ammonia and water […]
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Firm to showcase thermal efficiency solutions at World Biogas Expo
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This article contains sponsored content. Heat transfer specialists HRS Heat Exchangers will return to the World Biogas Expo this July, highlighting the importance of thermal and operational efficiency in biogas production. The event takes place during a period of heightened global energy volatility – underlining the role that anaerobic digestion and biomethane can play in […]
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CCC warns UK unprepared for escalating climate risks
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Flooding in Malmsbury, Wiltshire in 2012. The UK must urgently accelerate climate adaptation measures and invest in new skills and training across the economy to cope with rising risks from heatwaves, flooding and drought, according to the Climate Change Committee’s latest assessment and industry leaders. In the new report, A Well-Adapted UK, the Climate Change […]
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Building AI models that understand chemical principles
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Among all of the possible chemical compounds, it’s estimated that between 1020 and 1060 may hold potential as small-molecule drugs. Evaluating each of those compounds experimentally would be far too time-consuming for chemists. So, in recent years, researchers have begun using artificial intelligence to help identify compounds that could make good drug candidates. One of those researchers […]
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CCC: Investing in ‘urgent’ UK adaptation action ‘cheaper than climate damages’
Investing in flood defences, air conditioning and other measures to protect the UK from climate change will provide “long-term savings” for the country, according to the Climate Change Committee (CCC). The government’s climate advisors have proposed a set of climate-adaptation actions that would require at least an extra £11bn per year in spending, largely from […]
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Justin Solomon appointed associate dean of engineering education
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Justin Solomon, associate professor in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), has been appointed associate dean of engineering education in the MIT School of Engineering, effective July 1. In this new role, Solomon will focus on advancing innovation in engineering education across the school. He will help shape new pedagogical approaches […]
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Factcheck: Trump’s false claims about the IPCC and ‘RCP8.5’ climate scenario
Among a flurry of posts on social media last weekend, US president Donald Trump declared “good riddance” to a specific emissions scenario used in global climate projections. The “RCP8.5” scenario, which envisages a future of very high carbon emissions, was “wrong, wrong, wrong”, the president wrote in block capitals. This was “just admitted” by the […]
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How Smarter Ecommerce Fulfillment Is Shrinking the Industry’s Carbon Footprint
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Most people don’t think about the carbon trail behind a two-day delivery. You click “buy,” and two days later a box appears on your doorstep. What happened in between – the warehouse energy, the packaging materials, the trucks, the failed delivery attempts, the returns – is largely invisible to consumers, and until recently, to many […]
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Factcheck: US and Iran are world’s only major emitters without net-zero targets
Many right-leaning figures have tried to push the idea that the UK is an outlier on net-zero. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed that other countries are “not following us” in aiming to cut emissions to net-zero, while GB News owner Paul Marshall said in March that the UK is “pursuing a path of unilateral […]
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How the Columbia Gorge Advanced Manufacturing Sector Is Using Environmental Workforce Training to Rebuild a Region the Rest of America Forgot
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Something quiet is taking place in a section of the Columbia River Gorge, which features striking basalt cliffs, wind turbines whirling above the highway, and small towns that are half defiant and half asleep. Not loud enough to garner national attention. Not glamorous enough for a press release from Silicon Valley. However, real, in the […]