DeBriefed 30 May 2025: Earth eyes 2C; Why net-zero is not behind UK bill hikes; US academics stage climate science ‘fire hose’

Carbon Neutral Regulation in AI Training

Welcome to Carbon Brief’s DeBriefed. An essential guide to the week’s key developments relating to climate change. This week Earth eyes 2C TEMPERATURE WARMING: Global temperatures could hit nearly 2C above pre-industrial levels for the first time in the next five years, according to new data from the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) covered by the […]

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While everyone debates whether AI will replace marketers, something more interesting is happening behind the scenes. AI is finally bringing structured systems of scale and measurement to marketing’s most chaotic frontiers. After years of flying blind in spaces like social media and influencer marketing, marketers are getting their first real tools for systematic influence. This […]

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Have you ever looked at your living space and thought, “This could be so much better…” but didn’t know where to start? You’re not alone. According to a Houzz & Home Study, 92% of homeowners face challenges during renovation projects, with one-third struggling to find suitable service providers. Meanwhile, 28% encounter difficulties choosing the right […]

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Today’s hospitals and health systems are plagued by a conundrum: providers have too much data, but not enough data insights. Healthcare providers and administrative staff are often burdened by the sheer amount of information they must manage. A 2022 survey of 3,000 practicing nurses and doctors found that 69% were overwhelmed by the volume of […]

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Mauricio Vergara, CEO and Co-Founder of Kapwork, oversees the company’s operations, sales, and marketing. As a former small business owner, he experienced firsthand the strain that late payments place on growing companies. Later, during his time at Google and Unity, he saw how delayed payments negatively affected creators, stalling their ability to scale. Motivated to […]

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As generative AI explodes across workplaces, a new class of infrastructure is emerging to tame the chaos. Unbound, a San Francisco-based startup, has secured a $4 million seed round to help enterprises embrace AI on their own terms—safely, observably, and cost-effectively. The round was led by Race Capital, with support from Wayfinder Ventures, Y Combinator, […]

Welcome to Carbon Brief’s China Briefing. China Briefing handpicks and explains the most important climate and energy stories from China over the past fortnight. Subscribe for free here. Key developments Climate leadership and cooperation ENVOY REMARKS: Xinhua published an exclusive interview with Chinese climate envoy Liu Zhenmin, in which he spoke about how China-Europe cooperation could […]

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New research shows that the way AI services bill by tokens hides the real cost from users. Providers can quietly inflate charges by fudging token counts or slipping in hidden steps. Some systems run extra processes that don’t affect the output but still show up on the bill. Auditing tools have been proposed, but without […]

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Offshore platform and wind generators at Rampion wind farm off the coast of Brighton, Sussex. A recently published study from the University of Aberdeen has revealed a new approach to evaluating the ecological impacts of offshore activities. By integrating a dynamic ecosystem model with a comprehensive ecosystem services database, the team, which includes researchers from […]

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In fashion, visuals are everything. But behind every product description page is data. From the cut of a hem to the color name in a dropdown, product data dictates how items are discovered, displayed, purchased, and returned. When it’s accurate, it quietly powers the entire system. When it’s not, the consequences hit everything from logistics […]

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Creatify, the AI platform reshaping the video advertising landscape, has raised $15.5 million in Series A funding, co-led by WndrCo and Kindred Ventures. This latest round brings the company’s total funding to $23 million, with backing from early investors including NFDG, Millennium New Horizons, Creator Ventures, and Leadout Capital. In just 18 months since its […]

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Sarah Alnegheimish’s research interests reside at the intersection of machine learning and systems engineering. Her objective: to make machine learning systems more accessible, transparent, and trustworthy. Alnegheimish is a PhD student in Principal Research Scientist Kalyan Veeramachaneni’s Data-to-AI group in MIT’s Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS). Here, she commits most of her energy […]

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Laurence Sotsky is Incentify’s CEO and oversees all business and technical operations. He is a seasoned technology executive with extensive experience leading high-growth companies and driving innovation in the SaaS application sector. As an accomplished CEO, he has successfully built and managed high-performing organizations, has extensive international experience and has led three prior organizations to […]

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When it comes to real-time AI-driven applications like self-driving cars or healthcare monitoring, even an extra second to process an input could have serious consequences. Real-time AI applications require reliable GPUs and processing power, which has been very expensive and cost-prohibitive for many applications – until now. By adopting an optimizing inference process, businesses can […]

The ocean plays a vital role in regulating the climate, storing roughly 50 times more carbon dioxide (CO2) than the atmosphere. Marine life plays a significant part in this process, as organisms transfer carbon from the ocean surface to the deep sea upon death or as they migrate. Our new research, published in Nature Communications, suggests […]

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This article contains paid for content produced in collaboration with Bradshaw Electric Vehicles. Bradshaw Electric Vehicles, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of electric vehicles and waste management solutions, has launched a new range of Refuse Collection Vehicles which are specifically engineered to tackle the challenges of urban and food waste collection. The […]

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Following investigations by OFWAT, Thames Water has received two penalties totalling £122.7m, in effect “the largest fine ever handed to a water company in history”, according to Environment Secretary Steve Reed. Announced on 28 May, the fines – issued over environmental breaches involving sewage spills – were welcomed by Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of The […]

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The testing evaluated thermal treatment of fire-fighting foam in addition to PFAS-contaminated soil and other media. Resource recovery firm Veolia has published reportedly comprehensive testing on the incineration of PFAS compounds. The tests appear to demonstrate that high temperature incineration is a proven and reliable disposal solution for high concentrations of targeted PFAS, destroying greater […]