Police say a man was missing after he and his vehicle were washed away during a river crossing near the town of Warkworth
Critics accuse leading firms of sabotaging climate action but say data increasingly being used to hold them to account
Just 32 fossil fuel companies were responsible for half the global carbon dioxide emissions driving the climate crisis in 2024, down from 36 a year earlier, a report has revealed.
Saudi Aramco was the biggest state-controlled polluter and ExxonMobil was the largest investor-owned polluter. Critics accused the leading fossil fuel companies of “sabotaging climate action” and “being on the wrong side of history” but said the emissions data was increasingly being used to hold the companies accountable.
Continue reading...What does it really take to build a stronger, smarter, clean energy future? In this episode of CleanTech Talk, we delve into the forces shaping the next era of solar energy. With decades of experience leading in the global energy space, from ABB and Schneider Electric to Enphase and now ... [continued]
The post Scaling Solar Smarter: Innovation, Supply Chains, & the Future of Clean Energy appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Drought conditions threaten water supplies and could mean fire risks
Following up on the counterproductive decision to pull the plug on the US EV tax credit, Republicans in Congress are now looking to kill the giant US EV charging program that was created by Democrats during the Biden administration. Yes, this is the program Donald Trump tried to halt in ... [continued]
The post Republicans Set to Kill Giant EV Charging Program appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Reduce battery replacement frequency, contributing to improved maintainability and reduced environmental impact. Maxell, Ltd. (TOKYO: 6810) has developed an all-solid-state battery power module which matches the same size and output voltage as a lithium thionyl chloride battery (ER battery). ER batteries are widely used in industrial equipment backup systems, smart meters, and IoT ... [continued]
The post Maxell Develops All-Solid-State Battery Power Module Compatible with ER Battery Size appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Over a thousand electric buses will be introduced to Malaysia’s road network, starting with the capital Kuala Lumpur, as the country’s long-stalled push to decarbonize public transport is finally breaking out of pilot mode. In a report by the Malaysian Transport Ministry, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, the country’s dominant public transport ... [continued]
The post Malaysia Starts Initial Phase of Electric Bus Re-fleeting, Targeting 1,100 Units by 2030 appeared first on CleanTechnica.
BEVs represented 35% of the total Chinese car market in December. We saw plugins score another million-plus sales in December, reaching a record 1.34 million units (in a 2.26-million-unit overall market, down a harsh 14% YoY). Last month’s result put plugin vehicles’ market share at 59%, with BEVs reaching 35% ... [continued]
The post (Another) Record Month for EV Sales in China! appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Inter Partes Review applications denied as First Solar lawsuits continue to progress. First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) (“First Solar”) today announced that the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) denied three separate Inter Partes Review (IPR) applications seeking to invalidate the company’s Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (“TOPCon”) ... [continued]
The post US Patent & Trademark Office Rejects Attempts by Canadian Solar, JinkoSolar, and Mundra Solar to Challenge Validity of First Solar TOPCon Patents appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Rio Tinto has energized a new 25-megawatt solar plant at its Kennecott copper operations in Utah, showcasing a circular critical-minerals supply chain in which tellurium produced at the site is used to manufacture the panels now powering it. Together with the 5MW solar plant completed in 2023, Kennecott now has ... [continued]
The post Rio Tinto Expands Solar Power Capacity at Kennecott appeared first on CleanTechnica.
IRU, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and T&E urge the European Commission to ensure continuity of EU funding for heavy-duty vehicle charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, warning that a break in support in 2026–2027 would risk slowing the deployment of zero-emission vehicles. In a joint letter addressed to European Commission President ... [continued]
The post EU Cannot Afford to Pause Zero-Emission Heavy-Duty Charging Deployment appeared first on CleanTechnica.
The Trump administration last week established a new firefighting agency to combine operations at the Department of the Interior under one entity.
We’re in the midst of the worst political climate and political situation I’ve seen in my lifetime in the United States. I could go into all of those problems, but that would be counter to the actual point of this article. Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and I ... [continued]
The post MLK Jr. — The Type of Leader We Need appeared first on CleanTechnica.
It’s become a big contributor to the crisis of public trust in news media and is increasingly expected by journalists: public figures are regularly responding to reporters’ inquiries with “no comment.” A recent 60 Minutes segment pulled after relevant government officials refused interview requests is only the latest high-profile example of the trend and highlights its potential adverse effects on the industry.
After a landmark study of burnout in journalism that concluded in 2024, RJI is once again partnering with research firm SmithGeiger for a national survey of news professionals and — this time — members of the public to learn more about the evolving relationship between the industry and public figures. The goal is to spur the development of solutions with data on how audiences respond when news organizations disclose denied or hostile interviews.
The newsroom survey of working journalists and editorial leaders launched today, alongside a survey of 1,000 members of the public. Journalism professionals can access the survey here.
“When people see ‘no comment’ in a story, do they think the reporter is just being lazy, or do they think we’re not cooperating?” said Randy Picht, executive director of RJI. “On the newsroom side, how does this affect you doing your job? The experiments that come out of this are going to be research-based around potential solutions.”
“When people see ‘no comment’ in a story, do they think the reporter is just being lazy, or do they think we’re not cooperating? On the newsroom side, how does this affect you doing your job? The experiments that come out of this are going to be research-based around potential solutions.”
Randy Picht, executive director, RJI
The stakes are clear. Journalism is not a court of law, in which a key missing witness causes an entire case to collapse. But when crucial sources don’t engage in the journalistic process, audiences can be left with a less-than-complete picture of the news. Developing solutions to that conundrum depends not only on how those same audiences think about “no comment” situations but on gauging their receptiveness to alternative ways of presenting and reporting the affected stories.
In addition, professional journalists and industry innovators will be surveyed on their experience with how source disengagement impacts both individual stories and the journalistic process more broadly, while researchers will also review current examples of “no comment” stories to identify the various strategies news organizations already use to address such situations in their publications.
The surveys will also go beyond refusal to comment and examine related behaviors, such as increased hostility and even aggression toward journalists from potential sources. And though researchers expect the surveys to shed more light on the many facets of the issue, some of the consequences of that hostility and disengagement are already clear.
Informing audiences about government decision making at the local, state and national levels, for example, is more difficult without lines of communication between those decision makers and journalists. The resulting information vacuum leaves the public vulnerable to misinformation from dubious sources that claim to have the answers.
Picht added that journalists aren’t the only ones with a duty to serve the public interest.
“A lot of the folks who are responding with ‘no comment’ are people who are paid by taxpayers to comment,” he said. “Directors of communications and those kinds of roles — their job is to communicate. So it’s frustrating to have people who are paid to help us not doing their jobs.”
Fitzgerald, Austin (2026, Jan. 20). New research effort examines impact of ‘no comment’ by public figures in news articles — and what can be done about it. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/new-research-effort-examines-impact-of-no-comment-by-public-figures-in-news-articles-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/
The state of New York is supporting legislation to require intelligent speed assistant systems for repeat speeding offenders.
The post Lloyd Alter Advocates For Intelligent Speed Assistance appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Spain increased its total number of public EV charging points by about 10% in 2025, bringing the total number to 50,000. The number of high-power chargers (50–250 kW) doubled, and the number of chargers able to charge at over 250 kW increased by about 85%. (The source says the range ... [continued]
The post 50,000 Public EV Charging Points Operating In Spain Now appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Ecosystem destruction will increase food shortages, disorder and mass migration, with effects already being felt
The global attack on nature is threatening the UK’s national security, government intelligence chiefs have warned, as the increasingly likely collapse of vitally important natural systems would bring mass migration, food shortages and price rises, and global disorder.
Food supplies are particularly at risk since “without significant increases” the UK would be unable to compete with other nations for scarce resources, a report to ministers says.
Continue reading...As climate and geopolitics shocks bite, countries are rebuilding food buffers. The UK clings to neoliberal ideas while households pay the price
Food policy across much of the world is changing. But not in Britain. That may be a costly mistake as the prices of essentials rise because of the climate emergency, geopolitical tensions and the fragility of just-in-time supply chains. Many capitals are now reviving their strategic food reserves. European nations such as Sweden, Finland, Norway and Germany are rebuilding stocks dismantled after the cold war. Climate shocks have led to Egypt and Bangladesh boosting similar programmes. Countries such as Brazil and Indonesia – sensitive to the food needs of their vast populations – are also expanding their reserves.
The UK, by contrast, has no substantial public food reserves. Its strategy rests almost entirely on global markets and private intentions – an approach shaped by decades of liberalised trade. Even in the event of war, the official advice focuses on households stockpiling essentials. In Britain’s view, food security is about prices, not scarcity of supply.
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Continue reading...Overuse and pollution must end urgently as no one knows when whole system might collapse, says expert
The world has entered an era of “global water bankruptcy” that is harming billions of people, a UN report has declared.
The overuse and pollution of water must be tackled urgently, the report’s lead author said, because no one knew when the whole system could collapse, with implications for peace and social cohesion.
Continue reading...On January 8, XPENG dropped some interesting news about its product roadmap that actually reveals something bigger than just two new extended-range models. The company is doing something different with extended-range EVs — instead of treating them as a workaround for charging infrastructure problems, XPENG is building them as electric-first ... [continued]
The post Op-Ed: XPENG’s New Extended-Range EVs Are Actually About Ultra-Fast Charging & AI appeared first on CleanTechnica.
The US startup Material has developed a 3D printed battery that eliminates the "dead space" created by conventional energy storage systems.
The post Former US Oil Worker Invents 3D-Printed Battery, Nails $7.1 Million in Seed Funding appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Even 25% increase in meat and dairy consumption would require 100m more acres of agricultural land, analysis says
The Trump administration’s new dietary guidelines urging Americans to eat far more meat and dairy products will, if followed, come at a major cost to the planet via huge swathes of habitat razed for farmland and millions of tons of extra planet-heating emissions.
A new inverted food pyramid recently released by Donald Trump’s health department emphasizes pictures of steak, poultry, ground beef and whole milk, alongside fruits and vegetables, as the most important foods to eat.
Continue reading...This week marks the one-year anniversary of President Donald J. Trump’s second term. The Trump administration has rejected emissions-cutting policies in favor of enhanced burning of fossil fuels, and this is an existential threat to human health and the continued vitality of our planet. While the Trump legacy of authoritarianism ... [continued]
The post Trump 2.0 Is Killing Us With His Assault On Climate appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Man, 39, bitten by shark while surfing near a national park campground in New South Wales
Cheap gasoline, yes. Drill, baby, drill? Not so much. And electricity bills are going up, not down.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle)
Changing temperatures may be behind change in behaviour, which experts fear threatens three species’ survival
Penguins in Antarctica have radically shifted their breeding season, apparently as a response to climate change, research has found.
Dramatic shifts in behaviour were revealed by a decade-long study led by Penguin Watch at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, with some penguins’ breeding period moving forward by more than three weeks.
Continue reading...Earlier today, I wrote about the 8 electric cars that actually saw their sales increase quarter over quarter in the USA in the highly difficult 4th quarter, as well as the 11 electric cars that saw their 4th quarter sales increase year over year. Much more interesting to me, though, ... [continued]
The post 32 Electric Vehicles Increased in Sales in 2025 in USA appeared first on CleanTechnica.
If you’ve followed my towing adventures here at CleanTechnica, you know that hauling a load with an EV (especially a budget-friendly one like my Chevy Bolt EUV) is a physics bootcamp. You quickly learn the hard way that while torque is great, aerodynamics and weight are the real kings of ... [continued]
The post RV Show Season Is Here, & Manufacturers Are Thinking About EVs appeared first on CleanTechnica.
The US solar industry experienced a slowdown in growth during 2025, but investor activity still contributed $22.2 billion to the domestic economy.
The post Trump Or No Trump, The US Solar Industry Had A $22.2 Billion Year In 2025 appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Our sources are once again proven reliable. In our earlier exclusive a few days before the news broke globally, we spoke of how China’s automobile and industry organizations were pushing (caressing) the Canadian government to reduce EV tariffs so that they could export their EVs to Canada. EV makers in ... [continued]
The post Canada Opens Up To China’s EVs: Motivated By The Long Term, Not Tariffs appeared first on CleanTechnica.
National Laboratory of the Rockies Analysis Finds Growth Across Geothermal Sectors From Technological Advancements, Investments, and New Applications Like Data Centers and Grid Support By Kelly MacGregor, NREL The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) recently published the 2025 U.S. Geothermal Market Report―an in-depth update on the state of geothermal energy ... [continued]
The post 2025 US Geothermal Market Report Documents Industry Growth appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Volkswagen Group brands aim to further optimize driver assistance systems using sensor and image data from customer vehicles and real traffic situations Positive contribution to overall road safety is expected Customer consent is a fundamental prerequisite Planned rollout across around 40 European countries starting January 2026 The Volkswagen Group is ... [continued]
The post Learning from Data: Volkswagen Group Launches Europe-Wide Initiative for Greater Road Safety appeared first on CleanTechnica.
Electricity generation by the U.S. electric power sector totaled about 4,260 billion kilowatthours (BkWh) in 2025. In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect U.S. electricity generation will grow by 1.1% in 2026 and by 2.6% in 2027, when it reaches an annual total of 4,423 BkWh. The three main dispatchable ... [continued]
The post Solar Power Generation Drives Electricity Generation Growth Over The Next Two Years appeared first on CleanTechnica.
A new analysis by T&E shows that 25% of European aviation’s contrail-related global warming comes from night flights in autumn and winter, which make up just 10% of European air traffic. Contrail warming is highly seasonal and concentrated in time: in 2019, 75% of European contrail warming occurred between January to ... [continued]
The post Avoiding Contrails on Night & Winter Flights Is Aviation’s Fastest Climate Win — New T&E Study appeared first on CleanTechnica.
By Vidhisha Moopnar The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public power provider in the United States, via its EnergyRight program has a straightforward mission: serve the Tennessee Valley by delivering affordable, reliable energy while conserving natural resources and supporting economic development. Over the years, TVA has built a strong ... [continued]
The post TVA Rebates 10,000 Heat Pump Water Heaters in Q4 of 2025, Showing a Wildly Successful Model appeared first on CleanTechnica.