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United Nations climate conference, COP26 postponed

from United Nations Climate Change Highlights COP26, the next United Nations climate change conference that was set to take place in Glasgow in November 2020 has been postponed until 2021. This conference, which brings leaders from all around the world together to coordinate climate initiatives, was postponed due to the current coronavirus pandemic  Various climate … Read more

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Unexpected surge in methane emissions has scientists worried

from Climate Nexus Highlights There is a noticeable global surge in methane emissions with the U.S. accounting for the largest source of growth.  If this trend continues, all progress made towards reaching Paris Agreement climate goals will be lost.  Though tropical wetlands may play a role, scientists agree that large methane emissions are from the … Read more

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New study supports distributed clean energy and community energy resilience

by Brian Bienkowski, Environmental Health News Highlights Small-scale energy projects are likely to help the world reach climate goals more effectively than larger-scale projects, according to a new study from Science Magazine. The study used existing technologies to see what would help countries lower emissions all the way down to net-zero by 2050 and examined … Read more

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Electrify everything, or aim for beneficial electrification?

My how things have changed. Back in the day, when most of the electricity we used was derived from fossil energy sources, any reduction of electricity use was considered a good thing by those concerned about emission. Now that the grid is on a trajectory toward ever cleaner sources, the dynamic has changed. Fuel switching … Read more

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE – March 27, 2020

Due to the COVID-19 disruption, the legislature has gone into recess until April 13 at the earliest. While the legislature is on recess, The Climate Center continues to analyze the bills that were introduced in February, and is in the process of determining positions on many of them. Below are several, but not all, of … Read more

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New study reveals electric cars really are greener than fossil fuel vehicles

Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)

By Adam Vaughan, New Scientist Highlights A new comprehensive study finds that electric cars are much more climate-friendly than their gas and diesel counterparts. Florian Knobloch at Radboud University in the Netherlands and his colleagues looked at the average emissions across many classes of car and the projected carbon emissions generated on average over a … Read more

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Electric vehicles are the future – economics, climate change, and public health require it

by Jock Gilchrist and Buddy Burch Of all the problems we face in the wake of COVID-19, the slowdown of China’s EV manufacturing may not seem that important. However, this slowdown comes at a particularly bad time– when scientists are realizing just how deadly fossil fuel pollution actually is in the face of the pandemic. … Read more

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Building a clean, affordable, resilient, equitable, and safe energy system to meet this moment

Rooftop PV installation on the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe administration building

As we reel from the COVID-19 pandemic and think about the longer-term consequences, many of us are likely wondering how things will be in the fall. Many of us remember the Public Safety Power Shut-offs of 2019 that meant no electricity for refrigeration, heat, the internet, and in some cases, vital medical equipment. It was … Read more

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U.S. fracking giants prepare for repeat of 2016 collapse, expect little help from Wall Street

by David Wethe, Bloomberg Highlights: Major fracking companies are expecting to crash and don’t anticipate receiving financial help from Wall Street, potentially paving the way for more renewable energy projects. Though drilling rig numbers have dropped in the past, the current decline could come much faster this time according to fracking giant Schlumberger Ltd. Halliburton, … Read more