China Briefing 12 December 2024: Export controls; Carbon concentration figures; ‘War on sand’
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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 Tariffs and trade restrictions US BAN: China has placed an export ban on shipments to the US of gallium, germanium and antimony, plus further restricted exports […]
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Record-breaking Philippines typhoon season was ‘supercharged’ by climate change
This year’s record-breaking typhoon season in the Philippines – which saw six consecutive storm systems hit the country in under a month – was “supercharged” by climate change, according to a rapid attribution study. The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to extreme weather. Between late October and mid November […]
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Revealed: English farmers received record-high flood relief after last winter’s extreme rain
English farmers received tens of millions of pounds more in flood-relief funding in 2024 than in any year over the past decade, following intense rainfall last winter. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) recently paid £57.5m from the farming recovery fund to farmers who were hit by extreme rain and floods between […]
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Explainer: How China’s renewables rollout boosts its ‘war on sand’
China’s effort to build large solar power “bases” in and around the desert is a major part of its current renewable plan. What is less known is that the initiative – which has expanded rapidly in the country’s arid north and northwest – is also a part of China’s campaign to combat desertification, an issue […]
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Scottish Water served £6,000 civil penalty for polluting Dunfermline burn
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Scottish Water has been served a civil penalty of £6,000 by Scotland’s environmental regulator for breaching a condition of their licence after a discharge of untreated sewage caused pollution of the Crossford Burn in Dunfermline. The Variable Monetary penalty (VMP) was issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) following an investigation by officers. The […]
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Comment: The misleading spin surrounding net zero
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Andrew Normand is business development director at Encora Energy. Andrew Normand of Encora Energy, explains why he believes talk of blackouts and rationing of energy use are being misused to stigmatize the opportunities of the energy transition In the latest round of political wars, Net Zero has become a hot topic amid conflicting views on […]
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Global shipping finance portfolio moves closer to alignment with net zero climate goals
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Data from financial institutions appear to show that the global finance portfolio for shipping has moved closer to alignment with ambitious decarbonisation trajectories set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which aim to remove emissions from international shipping by 2050. The new insights are contained in The Poseidon Principles’ fifth Annual Disclosure Report, which showcases […]
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Navigating the Legal Landscape of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement: Federal Preemption and State Authority
The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underscores the need for carbon dioxide removal (“CDR”) to complement emissions reductions in meeting global climate targets. Ocean-based CDR strategies, which aim to increase the ocean’s natural carbon sink capacity, are gaining attention. One such strategy, ocean alkalinity enhancement (“OAE”), involves adding alkaline […]
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Optimizing Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) for Real-Time 3D Rendering in E-Commerce Platforms
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The e-commerce industry has seen remarkable progress over the last decade, with 3D rendering technologies revolutionizing how customers interact with products online. Static 2D images are no longer enough to capture the attention of today’s consumers. Shoppers now expect immersive and interactive experiences that let them explore products as if they were physically present. For […]
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AI in Art: Everything You Should Know About Its Role and Future
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There is a famous quote by Albert Einstein that says, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” But what happens when intelligence is no longer just human? Then, it becomes an artificial intelligence (AI). Read on to learn how AI in art is making waves and why it has become the talk of the town. The following […]
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Bicycle tyres recycling scheme aims to double collection points by 2026
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Velorim, “the UK’s simple solution to recycling bicycle tyres and inner tubes”, has announced its ambition to double collection points across the UK by 2026, as it continues its mission to make cycling greener. With over 600 locations across the country already, the recycling service says it aims to make recycling bike tyres and inner […]
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Work concludes on AI-powered flood risk digital twin prototype
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QuantCube Technology and French space agency, CNES, have announced the successful delivery of a flood warning and risk mapping prototype, the SCO FloodDAM Digital Twin. The prototype, which can detect, monitor, assess and predict the financial and socio-economic risks related to flood events, harnesses continental water data from earth observation data, in-situ ground sensors and […]
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Investors shun long-term ESG rewards in quest for short-term gains, says EY survey
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A blinkered view of climate change and sustainability has taken hold across the world’s investor community and is fueling a focus on short-term performance at the expense of longer-term gains from environmental, social and governance (ESG) investments, according to consultancy firm EY, in summarising the findings of its latest EY Institutional Investor Survey. The survey, […]
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Institute of Physics awards ‘revolutionary’ waste heat-to-electricity technology
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A technology that converts low-temperature waste heat into electricity has earned the Institute of Physics (IOP) Business Innovation Award for FeTu, the Elland-based green energy business behind the approach. The award celebrates FeTu’s success in translating physics research into a viable commercial enterprise with a product that the IOP judges described as a “revolutionary heat […]
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Researchers reduce bias in AI models while preserving or improving accuracy
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Machine-learning models can fail when they try to make predictions for individuals who were underrepresented in the datasets they were trained on. For instance, a model that predicts the best treatment option for someone with a chronic disease may be trained using a dataset that contains mostly male patients. That model might make incorrect predictions […]
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Speak Secures $78M Series C Funding at $1B Valuation to Transform AI-Powered Language Learning
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Speak, a global leader in AI-powered language learning, has raised $78 million in Series C funding, achieving a $1 billion valuation. This funding milestone underscores the company’s mission to transform language education by prioritizing spoken fluency through innovative AI technology. Founded in 2016 by Connor Zwick and Andrew Hsu, Speak has become a trailblazer in […]
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Study: Some language reward models exhibit political bias
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Large language models (LLMs) that drive generative artificial intelligence apps, such as ChatGPT, have been proliferating at lightning speed and have improved to the point that it is often impossible to distinguish between something written through generative AI and human-composed text. However, these models can also sometimes generate false statements or display a political bias. […]
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How Business Leaders Can Achieve Their Goals in Both AI and Sustainability
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For companies, balancing AI adoption and environmental impact is an imperative. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the power needed to support AI’s growth is doubling every 100 days. By 2028, AI’s energy consumption could exceed the total power used by Iceland in 2021. AI can be a double-edged sword: while it can significantly […]