NPR's Leila Fadel asks Jesse Keenan of Tulane University about a new study that suggests New Orleans could become uninhabitable by the end of the century.

NPR's Leila Fadel asks Jesse Keenan of Tulane University about a new study that suggests New Orleans could become uninhabitable by the end of the century.

Removing clear targets for the use of remote sensing would severely undermine its air quality benefits. Dear TRAN MEPs, In April 2025, the European Commission published its proposal to revise the EU Roadworthiness Package, which introduced binding requirements for Member States to use remote sensing technology to screen vehicle emissions and noise. The ... [continued]

The post NGOs & Transport Businesses Call for Maintaining Remote Sensing Provisions in the Roadworthiness Package appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Europe punished Russian billionaires over the war in Ukraine. It should do the same to those abetting an ecocidal regime

The ecological disasters of the US-Israel war with Iran are already bad enough. The noxious smoke from bombed oil facilities, spills in the Gulf’s waters, the contamination of farmland and groundwater with toxic chemicals unleashed by explosions and their debris, the millions of additional tons of CO₂ spewed into the atmosphere. But as bad as it is, the Iran war hides another conflict: the ecological war that Donald Trump’s US is waging against the rest of the world.

When the EU and UK imposed individual sanctions, travel bans and asset seizures on Russian oligarchs, it wasn’t because most of them were individually responsible for Vladimir Putin’s colonial war of aggression against Ukraine. They were targeted because, as a class, they were viewed by many as inextricable from the apparatus of corruption and levers of power of the Russian state threatening global stability.

Alexander Hurst writes for Guardian Europe from Paris. His memoir Generation Desperation is out now

Continue reading...

In the lead-up to the first-ever EU truck CO2 target in 2025, major truckmakers have come to increasingly prioritise their shareholders over making the necessary investments in their own clean transition. In doing so, they risk losing out to new competition. The European Union adopted its first CO2 standards for trucks ... [continued]

The post Truckmaking Giants Favour Shareholder Payouts Over-Investing into the Zero-Emission Transition appeared first on CleanTechnica.

LAS VEGAS — Today, a group of environmental, health, and environmental justice advocates hosted a press conference outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo to highlight the benefits of a rapid transition to electric trucks and call out greenwashing by truckmakers such as Volvo and Daimler, ... [continued]

The post Advocates Host Press Conference Outside Las Vegas Advanced Clean Transportation Expo, Calling for Faster Transition to Electric Trucks appeared first on CleanTechnica.

High tech milling machines are among the tools at work at the Ford Electric Vehicle Development Center in Long Beach, California, where plans for a new, affordable EV are taking shape.

The post Ford Teases The Affordable EV Of The Future, But Where’s The Beef? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

HARTFORD, Connecticut — The Connecticut Senate has passed S.B. 319, An Act Concerning the Use of Battery-Powered Leaf Blowers and Similar Equipment by the State and Municipalities. In response, Sierra Club Connecticut Organizer Julianna Larue released the following statement: “With half of Connecticut’s counties receiving failing air quality grades and communities ... [continued]

The post Sierra Club Connecticut Statement on State Senate Passage of S.B. 319 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

I supervise the health of our condo community’s private, half-mile dune. Our dune height ranges anywhere from 12 to 14 feet, and the width varies along the entire dune but averages about 150 feet. Invasive wedelia — once upon a time, it was the landscaping choice of developers due to ... [continued]

The post To Glyphosate Or Not To Glyphosate — That Is The Question appeared first on CleanTechnica.

I first spotted the VinFast MPV 7 being delivered to a small dealership hidden inside a gasoline station in Sto Tomas, Batangas — a quiet, unassuming precursor to what has now become a full-scale national rollout. That early glimpse of the electric 7-seater in the provinces set the stage for ... [continued]

The post VinFast Scales Up In Asia As MPV 7 Electric 7-Seater Debuts In The Philippines appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A new loan program from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is positioning rooftop solar not just as a cost-saving option, but as a mainstream financing category for Filipino households. The state-run pension fund has earmarked ₱12.5 billion ($223 million) for the Ginhawa Solar Energy Loan (GSEL), allowing members to ... [continued]

The post Philippine Pension Fund for Gov’t Retirees Powers Solar Rooftops appeared first on CleanTechnica.

EV batteries are among the many applications for a new semi-solid electrolyte to be produced in Kentucky by the US startup Anthro Energy.

The post Defense Applications Help EV Batteries Over The Funding Hump appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Beijing International Automotive Exhibition marked a clear turning point in how China’s auto industry defines intelligence. What began over the past decade as a race toward electrification and software-defined vehicles is now expanding into what many exhibitors describe as Physical AI — the extension of artificial intelligence beyond the ... [continued]

The post Not Just Cars: Watch The Robotic Shift At Auto China 2026 appeared first on CleanTechnica.

A CleanTechnica reader wrote a comment on one of my articles about a small EV charger installation asking why bother writing about such a small development. Well, the answer is because every new public EV charger that is installed matters, and every installation is a success story. Every EV charger ... [continued]

The post Over 800 New EV Chargers May Be Coming To Philadelphia appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Story Spark: El Niño and ENSO

Last month, NOAA officially declared the end of a La Niña pattern and predicted an El Niño to form by mid-summer. Since then, climate models have aligned, highlighting that a strong El Niño is now likely — with some using adjectives such as “super” or “Godzilla” to describe this potentially historic event. 

This level of attention is appropriate as the natural cycle of warm and cool water in the equatorial Pacific, known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), is arguably one of Earth’s most influential climate patterns, driving changes to temperature and precipitation trends around the world, oscillating between La Niña, El Niño and neutral. The stronger an El Niño pattern is the more persistent and widespread its impacts are. And this is far more than just a weather story: El Niño events have had tremendous human and economic impacts, influencing catastrophic droughts, driving infectious diseases outbreaks, worsening food and water insecurity, and disrupting global commerce.

Climate scientists are particularly concerned about this year’s anticipated event, as its release of heat stored in the Pacific may boost global temperatures — which are already sky high as a result of human-caused climate change. The most recent El Niño helped make 2024 the hottest year recorded in human history, and forecast models predict a similar, if not more intense boost, by the end of this year and into 2027.

---

Expert Tips 

David Dickson, CCNow’s resident meteorologist and TV Engagement Coordinator, offers tips to help ensure your El Niño reporting is meteorologically factual. 

No two El Niño/La Nina events are exactly the same. While each ENSO phase generally follows a pattern of influencing weather around the world — each event varies in terms of strength, duration, time of year it develops, and interactions with other climate and weather patterns. ENSO is one of many variables impacting how weather plays out in a region. For example, while Southern California saw a deluge of rain during the 1997–1998 El Niño, it remained relatively dry during the most recent event, in 2024. 

Talk to a local meteorologist or climatologist. The impacts of El Niño on precipitation and temperatures vary across regions; meteorologists call this teleconnections. While studying maps of more consistent teleconnections associated with each phase of ENSO is a good place to begin getting a deeper understanding of these weather patterns, reach out to experts at your local weather or climate office to learn how previous El Niño events have played out in your area. 

Climate change makes things more complicated. As oceans absorb excess heat from Earth’s warming atmosphere, the natural swings from El Niño and La Nina’s have become more pronounced. Not only has climate change influenced ENSO, but ENSO is amplifying climate change’s impacts, with more instances of widespread excessive heat, flooding, and drought. With climate change, it’s like Earth is already on a hot stove burner, and El Niño nudges that dial a bit more!

Consider your phrasing. While it’s accurate to say that an El Niño is “brewing” or “imminent,” avoid words often used for describing storms. For example, while ENSO is a physical phenomenon, it is limited to the waters of the equatorial Pacific, and will not “hit” your city. 

---

Stories We Like

• In Southern Africa, record-breaking drought fueled by a recent El Niño has left millions in the region facing a hunger crisis made worse by climate change, Yale 360 reports.
• From Mexico City to Bogotá, cities grappled with reservoirs at risk of going dry as a result of El Niño’s impacts in 2024. Grist explores how these cities are taking inspiration from Cape Town’s municipal water management. 
• While El Niños come and go, this year’s anticipated event may trigger significant, lasting changes to our climate as stored heat in the oceans gets released into the atmosphere, Inside Climate News reports.
• Given that ENSO’s impacts are felt strongest in winter, Yale Climate Connections explored what a previous strong El Niños meant for US winters. 

---

Resources

• Find current ENSO conditions and updates on NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center website.
• Check out the (unfortunately now defunct) NOAA ENSO blog to better understand the science and impacts of past events.  
• Explore the history and global influences of El Niño with resources from NASA.
• Watch CCNow and Climate Central’s recent press briefing: “2026’s “Super El Niño” and Its Potential Global Impacts” for more information on what’s expected for this year’s event. 

---

Experts

• Tom Di Liberto, media director and climate scientist, Climate Central 
• Paul Roundy, atmospheric science professor, University of Albany

---

Before We Go…

The next Locally Sourced will revisit extreme heat. Have you reported on heat’s wide-ranging public health impacts, highlighted local cooling solutions, or examined climate change’s role in heatwaves? Send them to us at local[at]coveringclimatenow[dot]org. We’d love to consider them for the next edition of Locally Sourced and our media trainings and social platforms.

CCNow Office Hours. Are you a journalist who needs help finding the local angle to a climate story? Sign up for office hours with CCNow’s David Dickson for editorial and climate support.

Want more story ideas? Check out the Locally Sourced archive for more topics to explore, including AI data centers, coastal flooding, air transportation, and more. Know someone who might be interested in this newsletter? Forward Locally Sourced to a colleague!

---

Support Covering Climate Now

The post Covering El Niño and ENSO appeared first on Covering Climate Now.

Ford Motor has written off $20 billion in electric vehicle investments but says it is forging ahead with an electric pickup that will sell for $30,000 next year.

Proposal from group that worked with AOC and Bernie Sanders seeks to counter claim that climate policy is politically toxic

Americans do not care about the climate crisis, only economic issues: that’s the message some wonks have put forth in the past year, as the Trump administration has dismantled environmental protections. But the shift away from climate is misguided, an influential group of progressives is arguing.

“The climate crisis is a core driver of the cost-of-living crisis and instability we see across the economy,” says a new policy platform from left-leaning thinktank Climate and Community Institute (CCI).

Continue reading...

Gas and nuclear projects make up roughly 55 percent of the total capacity of the more than 800 new generation projects, a dramatic shift from the renewable-dominated queue PJM spent the last four years clearing.

By Aman Azhar

For the first time in four years, regional grid operator PJM Interconnection is adding new generation projects to its interconnection queue. 

As I sit at my computer, writing, the Queensland sun is pouring in the window. It is autumn and the expected high temperature is 28 degrees Celsius (82° Fahrenheit). My grandsons will visit this afternoon and at least one of them will hop in our pool. My solar panels are ... [continued]

The post Renewable Energy Transition Powers Ahead in Australia appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The first quarter of 2026 saw plugin EVs at 98.6% share in Norway, up from 95.2% in Q1 2025. BEV share grew year on year (YoY), and PHEV share declined. Overall Q1 auto volume was 27,175 units, down some 14% YoY. The Tesla Model Y was the best-selling BEV in ... [continued]

The post EVs At 98.6% Share In Norway – Tesla Model Y Best-Seller appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The IAA proposal is a solid start, but T&E’s position paper argues that many loopholes must be closed to effectively scale a European battery value chain. T&E supports strong Made-in-EU policies to build Europe’s economic resilience, safeguard jobs and advance its climate and security objectives. The EU should ensure a ... [continued]

The post Boosting Made-in-EU EVs & Batteries with the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Crops grown between food harvest cycles or on low-quality land are seen as green solutions for powering planes, but T&E’s new study shows that so-called “intermediate crops” or crops grown on “severely degraded land” could only meet 4% of the EU’s demand for bio-SAF by 2050. Intermediate crops, grown during ... [continued]

The post Intermediate & Degraded Land Crops No “Miracle” Solution for SAF, New Study Shows appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The permit contains significant flaws & inconsistencies that should prompt thorough review by LDEQ. Baton Rouge, LA — Today, Sierra Club submitted a detailed analysis to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality highlighting the flaws and errors in Hyundai Steel’s air permit application for its proposed steel plant in Ascension Parish. The ... [continued]

The post Hyundai Failed to Consider Cleaner Alternatives in Air Permit for Proposed Louisiana Steel Plant in Violation of the Law & Company Promises appeared first on CleanTechnica.

OMAHA, Nebraska — At Berkshire Hathaway’s first annual shareholder meeting since Warren Buffett’s retirement, CEO Greg Abel claimed 93% of MidAmerican Energy’s electricity comes from renewable sources built in an affordable way. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, MidAmerican only produced about 65% of its power from renewable sources in 2024, while ... [continued]

The post Sierra Club Response to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Meeting appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Sierra Club urges “NO” votes for directors Craver and Davis. Charlotte, NC — The Sierra Club is urging climate-conscious investors to vote against Duke Energy directors at May’s shareholders meeting due to the utility’s failure to follow through on stated climate goals. Specifically, Sierra Club is urging votes against Chair of the ... [continued]

The post Duke Lags on Goals, Should Concern Climate Investors Ahead of Shareholder Meeting appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The US startup Lucid Motors has hooked up with Uber and the autonomous mobility specialist Nuro in a robotaxi partnership supported by the new Hertz fleet management affiliate Oro.

The post Look Out Tesla, There’s A New Robotaxi In Town appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Apparently the United States can manage aircraft carriers, satellites, nuclear submarines, stealth bombers, hypersonic missiles, cyber commands, and a colossal defense budget, but it now needs emergency protection from farmers leasing land for wind turbines. That is the story Washington is asking Americans to take seriously. The Trump Administration has ... [continued]

The post America’s New National Security Threat: Farmers With Wind Leases appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Internal Interior Department documents show parks are imposing sweeping changes like expanding areas where firearms can be used and allowing game to be cleaned in restrooms.

Snow in May is not rare in the Rocky Mountains. But this year, any snow at all is unusual.

Manila Electric Company, commonly known as Meralco, is the largest private electric distribution utility in the Philippines, serving Metro Manila and surrounding provinces with a franchise area that covers more than seven million customers. Its role is comparable to a regulated distribution utility in the United States, responsible for delivering ... [continued]

The post “Guerilla” Solar Installations Discovered, Need To Be Controlled, Says Philippine Power Distributor appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Justice Department is seeking to block a lawsuit filed against major players in the fossil fuel industry over their role in climate change.

This Is Not A Test Drive I had myself listed to participate in the 63-plus kilometer drive from the north of Manila at the VinFast Caloocan dealership to a place called Nene’s Sanctuary hidden in a popular golf course in Laguna just 30 kilometers from my home. But the evening’s ... [continued]

The post First Impressions: A Quick Drive Aboard VinFast’s VF6 Proves More Than Satisfying appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The delays, which companies say have worsened significantly in recent weeks, are the latest step in the Trump administration’s efforts to block wind power.

Remove China from the equation and the global electric scooter market immediately fragments. What remains is not a single dominant force but a set of regional markets moving at different speeds, shaped by policy, cost pressures, infrastructure, and urban density. This analysis builds on recent industry data from Asia-focused mobility ... [continued]

The post Not Including China, Where Electric Scooters Are Actually Selling appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The traffic outside IMPACT Muang Thong Thani was, as usual, a stationary monument to the internal combustion engine. I was twenty minutes late for the first press conference of the 47th Bangkok International Motor Show (BIMS 2026), and as I scrambled through the Media Center doors, the air was thick ... [continued]

The post Did The Bangkok Motor Show Reveal An EV Tipping Point In Thailand? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The rapid evolution of Brazil’s public transit landscape has moved past the era of counting individual units on one hand. While zero emission buses were once a curiosity for market analysts, the sector has entered a phase of genuine industrial scaling. As of early 2026, the national fleet has expanded ... [continued]

The post Brazil’s Public Transit Skews To Electric appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The French firm EDF Group has not yet given up its leases to develop two offshore wind farms in the US through its subsidiary Atlantic Shores.

The post Yet Another Offshore Wind Farm Survives The Trump Chopper appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The word our of Germany is that Volkswagen is considering a radical new production process in Wolfsburg for the ID. Golf.

The post Volkswagen Pilots New Production Process In Wolfsburg appeared first on CleanTechnica.