Q&A: Five key climate questions for China’s next ‘five-year plan’
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China’s central and local governments, as well as state-owned enterprises, are busy preparing for the next five-year planning period, spanning 2026-30. The top-level 15th five-year plan, due to be published in March 2026, will shape greenhouse gas emissions in China – and globally – for the rest of this decade and beyond. The targets set under the […]
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Climate Skeptics Rush to Misuse Texas v. BlackRock
Texas v. BlackRock (E.D. Tex.) (BlackRock), a case in which 11 states claim that the institutional-investor defendants colluded to profit through coordinated output reductions at coal companies they partially owned, remains in its early stages, with discovery continuing through 2027. Already however, opponents of climate-risk mitigation have rushed to extract specious theories of antitrust harm […]
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£6.23 million funding package will support new biorefinery in Grangemouth
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Celtic Renewables’ commercial demonstrator biorefinery in Grangemouth Scottish green chemicals firm Celtic Renewables, has secured £6.23 million in new funding from the Scottish Government to scale its business producing green chemicals made from by-products and waste from the food and drink industry. Celtic Renewables will put the funding towards the planning and construction of a […]
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The deadly trade-off of electronic waste recycling in Ghana
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An informal settlement called Agbogbloshie has sprung up near an informal electronic waste recycling site in Accra, Ghana (image credit: Brandon Marc Finn/University of Michigan) People in Ghana and across the Global South who recycle electronic waste face a difficult paradox: earning livelihoods to ensure survival comes at the cost of severe long-term exposure to […]
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Study shows promise for acid mine drainage recycling
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Image credit: Vhahangwele Masindi A novel method for converting hazardous acid mine drainage into a valuable resource for drinking water treatment offers hope for communities living near polluted mining areas. Acid mine drainage (AMD), a toxic byproduct of mining, is notorious for contaminating rivers and groundwater with high concentrations of metals such as iron, aluminium, […]
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Plastics dominate UK litter as rural and outdoor spaces emerge as pollution hotspots
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A new study by the University of Portsmouth shows that plastic items make up more than seven in ten pieces of litter recorded across the UK, with countryside locations and public recreation areas carrying some of the heaviest burdens. The research draws on ten years of citizen science data collected between 2015 and 2024, using […]
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Autonomous drifting robot survives under East Antarctic ice shelf to take first-of-its-kind measurements
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Aerial view of the Denman Glacier (image credit: Pete Harmsen, AAD) A robotic float has been used to measure the temperature and salinity within a hitherto mysterious realm of the ocean, underneath massive floating ice shelves in East Antarctica. This kind of Argo float – a free-drifting, torpedo-shaped autonomous robot – is normally used in […]
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New materials could boost the energy efficiency of microelectronics
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MIT researchers have developed a new fabrication method that could enable the production of more energy efficient electronics by stacking multiple functional components on top of one existing circuit. In traditional circuits, logic devices that perform computation, like transistors, and memory devices that store data are built as separate components, forcing data to travel back […]
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Net-zero scenario is ‘cheapest option’ for UK, says energy system operator
A scenario that meets the “net-zero by 2050” goal would be the “cheapest” option for the UK, according to modelling by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). In a new report, the organisation that manages the UK’s energy infrastructure says its “holistic transition” scenario would have the lowest cost over the next 25 years, saving […]
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Analysis: What are the causes of recent record-high global temperatures?
The past three years have been exceptionally warm globally. In 2023, global temperatures reached a new high, after they significantly exceeded expectations. This record was surpassed in 2024 – the first year where average global temperatures were 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Now, 2025 is on track to be the second- or third-warmest year on record. […]
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First ship-to-ship bio-LNG refuelling completed in Italy
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Italy’s first ship-to-ship bio-LNG bunkering operation has been carried out at the Port of Genoa by Swiss energy solutions firm Axpo and Italian ferry operator GNV (MSC Group), supported by the Maritime Authority of Genoa. The ship-to-ship bunkering operation involved the refuelling of new ferry GNV Virgo (pictured, above), the first Italian long-distance ro-pax vessel […]
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Interview: How ‘mid-level bureaucrats’ are helping to shape Chinese climate policy
Local officials are often viewed as relatively weak actors in China’s governance structure, largely implementing policies issued from the central level. However, a new book – “Implementing a low-carbon future: climate leadership in Chinese cities” – argues that these officials play an important role in designing innovative and enduring climate policy. The book follows how […]
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How Technology Reduces Environmental Impact
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A decade ago, when I was touring a paper mill in Finland, the plant manager showed me a wall of clipboards holding last month’s energy readings. Each clipboard represented one part of the process: pulping, drying, and rolling. If a machine ran hotter or longer than planned, someone might notice it weeks later, long after […]
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MIT affiliates named 2025 Schmidt Sciences AI2050 Fellows
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Two current MIT affiliates and seven additional alumni are among those named to the 2025 cohort of AI2050 Fellows. Zongyi Li, a postdoc in the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, and Tess Smidt ’12, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science (EECS), were both named as AI2050 Early Career Fellows. Seven […]
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US highway trial demonstrates wireless charging of electric HGVs moving at speed
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An electric Cummins heavy-duty truck charges as it drives along a test segment on US Highway 52 in West Lafayette, Indiana (image credit: Purdue University photo/Kelsey Lefever). A US research team has successfully wirelessly charged a heavy-duty electric truck while it was travelling at full motorway speeds, in a seemingly important milestone for global efforts […]
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Scotland’s newest offshore wind farm wins at Scottish Green Energy Awards
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Comedienne Rachel Parris presented the awards in Edinburgh on 4 December. Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) Offshore Wind Farm, located 15.5km off the coast of Fife, which became fully operational earlier this year, has been handed a top award by Scotland’s renewable energy industry. The 450MW wind farm has scooped the ‘Outstanding Project Award’ at this […]
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Rainwater-only irrigation system launches at premiership club, with accompanying awareness campaign
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In what seems an important advance, and a relatively rare one with UK sports infrastructure, Manchester City has announced that its City Football Academy, home to the club’s 16 training pitches, now irrigates exclusively with rainwater. The facility therefore has zero reliance on external water sources, conserving local water supplies, and reducing the club’s environmental […]
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MIT researchers “speak objects into existence” using AI and robotics
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Generative AI and robotics are moving us ever closer to the day when we can ask for an object and have it created within a few minutes. In fact, MIT researchers have developed a speech-to-reality system, an AI-driven workflow that allows them to provide input to a robotic arm and “speak objects into existence,” creating […]