All posts by media-man

Trump’s USAid cuts will have huge impact on global climate finance, data shows

Campaigners say funding halt is a ‘staggering blow’ to vulnerable nations and to efforts to keep heating below 1.5C

Donald Trump’s withdrawal of US overseas aid will almost decimate global climate finance from the developed world, data shows, with potentially devastating impacts on vulnerable nations.

The US was responsible last year for about $8 in every $100 that flowed from the rich world to developing countries, to help them cut greenhouse gas emissions and cope with the impacts of extreme weather, according to data from the analyst organisation Carbon Brief.

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Ridiculous DOGE Policies Threaten An End To US Research Efforts In Antarctica

By now, most people have seen the video of a drug crazed serial philanderer carpetbagger from South Africa wielding a giant chainsaw at a recent CPAC conference, an obvious reference to what he and his stooges at DOGE plan to do to the federal government, having been given carte blanche ... [continued]

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Debunking the Myth: Hydrogen’s Abundance Does Not Equal Accessibility

Saying hydrogen is abundant is like saying gold is easy to get—it’s out there, but extracting it is hard, expensive, and energy-intensive. The problem isn’t scarcity; the problem is accessibility. Hydrogen advocates often parrot the line that hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, implying that it’s naturally ... [continued]

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Fighting for Breath: Wildfire Smoke, Climate Change, & the Urgency of Adaptation

Wildfire season is arriving earlier, lasting longer, and burning more intensely than ever before. Communities that once thought of wildfires as rare, late-summer events now find themselves choking on smoke as early as spring. Per FireSmoke.ca there are over 200 wildfires burning in North America already, and it’s the beginning ... [continued]

The post Fighting for Breath: Wildfire Smoke, Climate Change, & the Urgency of Adaptation appeared first on CleanTechnica.

How To Flip Marketing That Promotes A False “Future Of Energy” Vision

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, emissions need to be reduced by almost half by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050. The future of energy must focus on renewables. A clean energy transition is powerful and necessary to stabilize the planet, and strong leadership to promote ... [continued]

The post How To Flip Marketing That Promotes A False “Future Of Energy” Vision appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Valerie drove her bright red Suzuki into the eye of Alfred. Now she’s heading home to the northern rivers

Experience has taught many residents in flood-prone areas around Lismore and northern New South Wales the value of leaving early

Valerie Thompson is heading home to Brunswick Heads in an hour. The 52-year-old lives in a low-lying area just north of Byron Bay and was among those who got out early before Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

The idea that the climate crisis may generate a cyclone that ploughs into south-east Queensland was already a “nightmare scenario” for the country’s insurance industry – the same companies that wanted to charge Thompson $30,000 a year to insure her home. If they were taking it seriously, why shouldn’t she?

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The End of Diesel: Europe’s Buses Are Going Fully Electric — Fast

Electric buses are transforming Europe’s public transportation system faster than many policymakers expected. In 2024, nearly half of all new city buses sold in the European Union were battery-electric, according to a new report from Transport & Environment (T&E). This shift marks a decisive moment in the debate over how ... [continued]

The post The End of Diesel: Europe’s Buses Are Going Fully Electric — Fast appeared first on CleanTechnica.

The Great American Insurance Retreat: Climate Change, Uninsurable Homes, & The Future Of Real Estate

The United States insurance industry is in crisis. And if you’re a homeowner or business owner in certain parts of the country, your ability to get coverage — let alone afford it — may soon disappear entirely. This isn’t some far-off projection for the 2040s. It’s happening now. From 2017 ... [continued]

The post The Great American Insurance Retreat: Climate Change, Uninsurable Homes, & The Future Of Real Estate appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Honda & Toyota Introduce New Battery Electric SUVs In China

With the exception of Nissan, Japanese car companies have been famously reluctant to bring competitive electric cars to market. On the other hand, the Japanese have always been good at tailoring their offerings to local markets. The EV revolution is in full swing in China, so if Honda and Toyota ... [continued]

The post Honda & Toyota Introduce New Battery Electric SUVs In China appeared first on CleanTechnica.

‘A new phase’: why climate activists are turning to sabotage instead of protest

Tougher laws said to be inspiring clandestine attacks on the ‘property and machinery’ of the fossil fuel economy

It was raining and the sparkling lights of the City of London shone back from the cold, wet pavement as two young men made their way through streets deserted save for a few police and private security. In the sleeping heart of the global financial system, they felt eyes on them from the city’s network of surveillance cameras, but hoped their disguise of high-vis vests and hoods hiding their faces would conceal them.

Reaching Lime Street, they stopped by a maintenance hole and looked around to make sure no one was watching. One took off the cover, located a bundle of black cables and started hacking away. Hours later, an email was circulated to news desks: “Internet cut off to hundreds of insurers in climate-motivated sabotage.”

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How Many Electric Cars Will The World Buy In 2025, 2027, 2030?

Last year, the world bought 17.2 million plugin vehicles, and 10.8 million pure battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). Overall, 22% of new auto sales were plugin vehicle sales, more than one out of five, and 14% were BEV sales, almost one out of seven. That’s “a robust rise from the 16% (10% ... [continued]

The post How Many Electric Cars Will The World Buy In 2025, 2027, 2030? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

US Agency Says Congress Can’t Repeal California’s 2035 ZEV Mandate

Under the Clean Air Act, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has historically granted California waivers to set stricter air pollution regulations on vehicles, power plants, and industry within its borders. That deal was reached decades ago so that California wouldn’t be dragged down by more lax federal regulations. Donald ... [continued]

The post US Agency Says Congress Can’t Repeal California’s 2035 ZEV Mandate appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Churches in Louisiana Installing Solar + Storage as Hurricane Prep

As a Floridian, I am quite used to the threat and destruction of hurricanes. However, it seems like one state — a much smaller state — is hit even more and worse than Florida. That would be Louisiana. Interestingly, an unexpected sector of society is taking it into their own ... [continued]

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Super Long EV Charging Network in Australia Now Open

The WA EV Network (Western Australia electric vehicle network) recently “opened.” The EV charging network is the longest in Australia, extending 7,000 kilometers. The network includes 110 charging points across 49 locations. “The initiative is part of the State Government’s Electric Vehicle Strategy and aims to boost EV uptake in ... [continued]

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Who Pays For The Environmental Damage When A Starship Falls In My Backyard?

Hubby and I were sitting at our dining room table, eating our dinner and watching the sun dip over the Intracoastal Waterway. Then a ball appeared in the sky, heading west to east — a swirling mass of vapors with what looked like a nebula around it. Gold sparks were ... [continued]

The post Who Pays For The Environmental Damage When A Starship Falls In My Backyard? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

EPA Reinstates Environmental Justice Staff Amid Workforce Turmoil

Dozens of previously sidelined agency staffers are now being recalled but lack access to essential information. Will they be able to do their jobs?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recalled dozens of environmental justice staffers who were previously placed on administrative leave pending possible termination, three former senior agency officials told Inside Climate News.

Earth’s orbital rhythms link timing of giant eruptions and climate change

An international team of scientists has synchronized key climate records from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to unravel the sequence of events during the last million years before the extinction of the dinosaurs at the Cretaceous/Paleogene boundary. New high resolution geochemical records for the first time reveal when and how two major eruption phases of gigantic flood basalt volcanism had an impact on climate and biota in the late Maastrichtian era 66 to 67 million years ago.

US exits fund that compensates poorer countries for global heating

Trump pulls out of Cop28 loss and damage deal that recognises harms done by richer, polluting economies to vulnerable nations

The Trump administration has withdrawn the US from a global agreement under which developed nations most responsible for the climate crisis pledged to partly compensate developing countries for irreversible harms caused by global heating.

The loss and damage fund was agreed at the Cop28 UN climate summit in Dubai – a hard-won victory after years of diplomatic and grassroots advocacy by developing nations that bear the brunt of the climate crisis despite having contributed least to greenhouse gas emissions. The fund signalled a commitment by developed, polluting countries to provide financial support for some of the irreversible economic and noneconomic losses from sea level rise, desertification, drought and floods already happening.

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Hydrogen Buses Keep Failing — De Lijn Is Just The Latest To Cut Losses

Founded in 1947 in Belgium, Van Hool was a storied name in bus and coach manufacturing, known for producing a range of vehicles spanning diesel, hybrid, battery-electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell models. For decades, it supplied public and private transport fleets across Europe and beyond, cementing its reputation as an innovative ... [continued]

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