New electric cars from BMW and Mercedes target the hottest segment of the new car market -- family capable SUVs.

The post BMW & Mercedes Offer Family Friendly Electric Cars appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Scientists have uncovered a missing feedback in Earth’s carbon cycle that could cause global warming to overshoot into an ice age. As the planet warms, nutrient-rich runoff fuels plankton blooms that bury huge amounts of carbon in the ocean. In low-oxygen conditions, this process can spiral out of control, cooling Earth far beyond its original state. While this won’t save us from modern climate change, it may explain Earth’s most extreme ancient ice ages.

VinSpeed High-Speed Railway Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, a unit of Vietnam’s Vingroup conglomerate, has signed a strategic cooperation and technology transfer agreement with Siemens Mobility GmbH to advance high-speed rail development in Vietnam. The accord, agreed in Hanoi on December 17, establishes a framework for technology transfer, design ... [continued]

The post High-Speed Train Coming to Vietnam Soon appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Go behind the scenes with managing editor Jamie Smith Hopkins and reporter Kiley Bense as they discuss how Pennsylvania is failing to track toxic oil and gas waste, while the amount sitting in landfills grows every year.

By Kiley Bense

Pennsylvania is ground zero for the fracking boom. It’s increased natural gas production there 37-fold since 2008. That production generates a lot of waste, but the state’s ability to track it has failed to keep up.

Old military air samples turned out to be a treasure trove of biological DNA, allowing scientists to track moss spores over 35 years. The results show mosses now release spores up to a month earlier than in the 1990s. Even more surprising, the timing depends more on last year’s climate than current spring conditions. It’s a striking example of how fast ecosystems are adjusting to a warming world.

People in rural Michigan are celebrating the defeat of a proposed solar farm that would power an Oracle data center.

The post A Tale Of Two Michigans — Solar vs. Data Center Battle Intensifies appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The discovery, late in the year, that yet another hydrogen transit scheme turned out to be high emissions rather than low emissions was not surprising, but it was clarifying. The Dijon hydrogen bus project followed the same pattern seen repeatedly over the past several years. It was presented as zero ... [continued]

The post Why Hydrogen Transit Often Emits More Than Diesel Once You Count Everything appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Lhyfe’s recent press release—another just before Christmas, end of the week, hope no one notices effort like others I’ve assessed in recent days—reported on in the usually excellent Hydrogen Insight industry publication, claims that revenues doubled in 2025 and that the company is now strategically refocusing and cutting expenses for ... [continued]

The post Hydrogen Firm Lhyfe Pretends Minor Revenue Gain Overcomes Strategy Failures & Massive Net Losses appeared first on CleanTechnica.

You’ve got someone in your life who you love and appreciate but you just don’t know what to get them for Christmas? Perhaps they’ve just got everything they need, and even a bit more. We’ve all been there. An idea hit me this week as a result of a few ... [continued]

The post Last-Minute Christmas Present Idea — A Rivian! (Hopefully) appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Golden State’s clean energy use hit new highs in 2025. As the Trump administration abandons US climate initiatives, can California fill the void?

As officials from around the world met in Brazil for the Cop30 climate summit last month, the US president was nowhere to be found, nor were any members of his cabinet. Instead, the most prominent American voice in Belém was that of the California governor, Gavin Newsom.

During the five days he spent in Brazil, Newsom described Donald Trump as an “invasive species” and condemned his rollback of policies aimed at reducing emissions and expanding renewable energy. Newsom, long considered a presidential hopeful, argued that, as the US retreated, California would step up in its place as a “stable, reliable” climate leader and partner.

Continue reading...

I was looking out the window the other day and saw a middle-schooler biking home from school with her mom and dad. They were all on electric bikes (ebikes). It hit me at that moment that ebikes were really helping to increase school commuting by bike. Also of note: we ... [continued]

The post Ebikes Are Cutting Car Commutes To & From High Schools & Middle Schools appeared first on CleanTechnica.

November’s auto sales saw plugin EVs at 65.4% share in Sweden, up from 61.7% year-on-year. BEVs were up in share, while PHEVs were flat. Overall auto volume was 21,016 units, down by some 15% YoY. The Volvo EX40 was the best-selling BEV. November’s auto sales showed combined plugin EVs at ... [continued]

The post EVs At 65.4% Share In Sweden – Incentive Scheme Incoming appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Heating means pests breeding and spreading faster, warn scientists, with simplified current food system already vulnerable

• How climate breakdown is putting the world’s food in peril – in maps and charts

The destruction of food supplies by crop pests is being supercharged by the climate crisis, with losses expected to surge, an analysis has concluded.

Researchers said the world was lucky to have so far avoided a major shock and was living on borrowed time, with action needed to diversify crops and boost natural predators of pests.

Continue reading...

The Trump administration is working to systemically unravel protections for endangered species. Environmental groups are pushing back. 

By Kiley Price

A polar bear stood outside the Department of the Interior’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., Thursday with a message: “Stop Trump’s Extinction Plan.” 

November’s auto sales saw plugin EVs take 32.9% share in France, up from 26.2% year-on-year. BEVs grew volume by almost 50% YoY, while PHEVs fell. Overall auto volume was 132,927 units, flat YoY. The Renault 5 was (by far) the best-selling BEV, with its highest ever volume. November’s auto sales ... [continued]

The post EVs Take 32.9% Share In France – Renault 5 Record Volume appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Flawed Fish and Wildlife Service Opinion Underestimates Effects on Threatened Species WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Sierra Club, represented by its Environmental Law Program, and allied organizations represented by Trustees for Alaska filed a notice flagging ESA violations by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife ... [continued]

The post Sierra Club Notice of Intent to Sue Flags Agency Failures to Protect Arctic Polar Bears from Oil & Gas Activities appeared first on CleanTechnica.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Today, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has approved the water and air permits for Transco’s proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project pipeline. The NCDEQ approved the air permit on Dec. 18 and the water permit on Dec. 19. The SSEP project includes 55 miles of new pipeline ... [continued]

The post North Carolina DEQ Approves Water, Air Permits for SSEP appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Today, the Georgia Public Service Commission approved Georgia Power’s plan to build the most expensive gas plants in the country. The commission unanimously approved an agreement between Georgia Power and PSC Staff — released an hour before hearing testimony from the public and advocacy groups — which is expected to ... [continued]

The post Georgia Public Service Commission Issues Final Order on Data Center Power Plan appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Chevy is on a mission to spread holiday cheer, connect with customers, and help make family memories that will last a lifetime – in and out of their Chevy vehicles. That’s why for five years running, Chevy’s “Holiday Card to America” campaign has warmed hearts coast to coast. And this ... [continued]

The post Chevy Powers Holiday Magic Across America appeared first on CleanTechnica.

By Scott Koskinen, product marketing director, GM Connected Services This summer, I did something every parent looks forward to — and must mentally prepare for: I loaded up the kids, packed a questionable amount of snacks, grabbed the tablets, and hit the road for a 500-mile family trek to Michigan’s ... [continued]

The post EV Road Tripping with Kids: A Dad’s Blueprint for Holiday Season Success appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The EV news of the week, without a doubt, was Ford’s big pullback of its EV plans. It was disappointing, and perhaps even a bit shocking. Yes, following Donald Trump’s widespread attacks on cleantech, and electric vehicles in particular in this story, we expected legacy automakers would scale back their ... [continued]

The post Did GM Just Troll Ford? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Dijon is a useful hydrogen transportation case study because it was serious, early, and well funded. This was not a symbolic pilot. The city committed real capital, built infrastructure, signed supply agreements, and intended to operate hydrogen vehicles at scale across buses, refuse trucks, and light municipal fleets. The intention ... [continued]

The post Hydrogen Can’t Cut The Mustard, Even In Dijon appeared first on CleanTechnica.

In an uncharacteristic move, I got up early a few days ago. (We usually like to stay in bed till we have to get up — retirement has to have some rewards.) So, I thought I would check the NEM Widget and see where our electricity was coming from at ... [continued]

The post Love the Smell of Wind in the Morning appeared first on CleanTechnica.

It’s been a while since the $7,500 US tax credit for electric vehicles was ended, but the story is not over yet. As we noted a few months ago, a loophole was added, or confirmed, toward the end of the 3rd quarter. People who bought an EV before October 1 ... [continued]

The post US EV Tax Credit Loophole — Make Sure You Complete The Loop appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Gov. Kathy Hochul struck down a decades-old provision that raised gas bills for millions of New Yorkers. The move could help curb the use of fossil fuels.

Nissan is electrifying its popular Juke model. About a month ago, spy shots of a camouflaged Juke EV were spotted in England. Now we also have intel that the Juke electric SUV will be based on the same platform as the new LEAF, a larger electric SUV. Nissan is using ... [continued]

The post New Nissan Juke EV To Use New Nissan LEAF Platform appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Once on the brink of extinction, these birds are expanding their grounds on an isolated stretch of the Gulf Coast in Texas.

By Dylan Baddour

On an isolated stretch of Texas coastline, conservation groups have acquired more than 3,000 acres of nearly pristine prairie to preserve as habitat for endangered whooping cranes, one of the rarest birds in North America.

Latest Cohort Is Program’s Biggest Yet, With Broad Geographic Representation By Justin Daugherty, NLR Remote and island communities face unique energy challenges—but these challenges also present unique opportunities to increase energy affordability, reliability, and security. In their efforts to address their energy challenges, 38 coastal, remote, and island communities will ... [continued]

The post 38 Coastal, Remote, & Island Communities To Pursue Energy Reliability via Energy Technology Innovation Partnership Project appeared first on CleanTechnica.

We’ve all seen the news of the disastrous SPEED Act and the Trump administration’s constant attacks on solar power. What’s the solution? Aside from tossing out the fossil-soaked politicians that run our country, we need state and local leadership. That’s our best hope for the next few years. The good ... [continued]

The post New Jersey Sides With Solar! More State Leadership Needed appeared first on CleanTechnica.

For the first time in the agency’s 55-year history, Congress has ceded its responsibility to oversee the EPA to a single politician who sanctioned its “wholesale demolition,” former staff charge.

By Liza Gross

Over the past year, environmental experts who have dedicated their lives to public service have watched the partisan, unilateral destruction of the agency they once helped run.

Fossil fuel companies like Exxon see powering data centers as an important new revenue source and are making promises they can't keep.

The post Supported By Big Oil, Data Center Boom Faces Growing Local Opposition appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Wilson’s Gulf Coast environmental group filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue Dow for chronic discharge of plastics from its enormous Seadrift chemical complex.

By Dylan Baddour

Diane Wilson, the prominent Gulf Coast environmentalist, filed a legal notice of intent on Wednesday to sue Dow for alleged large-scale discharges of plastic pellets from its 4,700-acre petrochemical complex outside Seadrift, Texas. 

A delayed environmental review cleared the Dakota Access Pipeline to continue operating. Separately, a North Dakota judge expressed unusual exasperation over the tangled legal battles.

The White House plans to break up a key weather and climate research center in Colorado, a move experts say could jeopardize the accuracy of forecasting and prediction systems.

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla)

Rivian seems to be on a roll. As part of a new workforce development push (anticipating the need for more employees, no doubt), the all-electric automaker is scoring big points in a bipartisan way. It is now training veterans in technical trades in Fort Benning, Georgia. “Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) and ... [continued]

The post Rivian Training Veterans in Georgia appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Floor mats are a funny thing. If they are too fluffy like the shag carpet in a 1970s split level house, they look swell but are impossible to keep clean. If they are tough and durable, they are easy to keep clean, but they make the inside of your car ... [continued]

The post 3Wliners Tesla Floor Mats — All The Protection For Your Car You Want appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Climate change, overfishing, and aid cuts are all impacting Ghana’s fishing sector, writes Nick Ferris. A new bill designed to safeguard against these threats is accused of ignoring the work of women in the sector, who make up 60 per cent of the workforce

Games such as Dragon Quest used to mobilize workers to back corporate goals including relaxing environmental rules

Toyota, the world’s biggest carmaker, is using retro-style video games to rally its US workforce behind its corporate goals, including lobbying to relax environmental rules, the Guardian can reveal.

Through an internal platform called Toyota Policy Drivers, employees can play games with names such as Star Quest, Adventure Quest and Dragon Quest, earning prizes by engaging with company messaging about policy and by contacting federal lawmakers using company-provided talking points.

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The most recent US labor force analysis shows a four-year low — the unemployment rate is at 4.6%. Not since the end of the Covid-era pandemic has the job rate been so abysmal. But there’s a bright point in the employment equation: energy efficiency jobs continue to assist a flaccid ... [continued]

The post Energy Efficiency Labor Force Is On The Rise — But More Workers Are Needed appeared first on CleanTechnica.