Buttigieg’s Climate Promises: What Could He Actually Do?
The Transportation Department, which holds sway over planes, trains and automobiles, faces limits on how it spends money. Still, here are five possible steps.
Oil Refineries See Profit in Turning Kitchen Grease Into Diesel
Struggling energy companies are increasing the production of renewable diesel, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
General Motors Drops Support for Trump Climate Rollbacks
General Motors said it would no longer back President Trump’s effort to strip California of the power to set fuel economy standards.
Boris Johnson Lays Out U.K. Plan for a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’
Goals include ending sales of gas and diesel cars by 2030, achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and, perhaps, pleasing a new sensibility in Washington.
States, Cities sue EPA over Clean Power Plan rollback
The power grid that electric vehicles plug into will get cleaner over time. But depending on where you are, the rate at which it cleans up could have a lot to do with something that’s headed to the courts. A lawsuit filed Tuesday by 22 states and seven cities, in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, aims to... Democrats call to end global warming emissions (gasoline included) by 2050
![Mulan wind farm [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/mulan-wind-farm-credit-global-climate-budget-2018_100682097_t.gif)
The powerful, Democratic-led House Energy and Commerce Committee put meat on the bones of the Green New Deal on Tuesday. The new plan called "100 by 50," aims to eliminate 100 percent of emissions that contribute to global warming by 2050. It was laid out by Republican Committee member Paul Tonko (NY), who said in a statement, “There is no... CO2 emissions in US could fall again in 2019, federal agency projects
![Smokestacks [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/smokestacks-credit-global-climate-budget-2018_100682094_t.gif)
A new report by the U.S. Energy Information Agency forecasts that for the first time in two years annual carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. will decrease. The report, issued last week, forecasts that U.S. CO2 emissions will fall by 2.2 percent in 2019, in what it says is the largest decrease since 2015. After rising by 2.7 percent in 2018, the... Report: EPA delays proposed fuel economy plan until September—or later
The EPA's plans to freeze fuel economy and emissions standards have been put on hold until at least Labor Day, sources familiar with the plans told Bloomberg earlier this week. Last August, the EPA released its long-anticipated proposal to unwind the steadily rising fuel-economy standards put in place in 2012 under President Obama, in part to... How much would 100 percent renewable energy really cost?
Democratic presidential candidates talked hardly at all in the debates late last month about the Green New Deal, a proposal in Congress, to, among other things convert America's electric power completely to renewable sources. Americans have shown broad support for such a transition. What's been left unaddressed—and which many candidates... Analysis finds hybrids make better use of scarce batteries than pure EVs
In the face of growing shortages of batteries and battery materials for electric cars, one respected analytics firm says those batteries would do more good for the environment put to use in more hybrid vehicles rather than fewer all-electric cars. Per kilowatt-hour of battery capacity produced and installed in plug-in vehicles, hybrids deliver 14... In spite of tougher standards, European cars get dirtier
European automakers need to sell many more electric cars, but their customers aren't buying. Instead, they're buying more gas powered SUVs that emit more pollution than the cars they drove before. The ramifications for automakers could be dire if they can't sell more electric cars by next year. The European Union is scheduled to introduce the... Climate change presents $1 trillion in risk, but more in reward: study
![Ocean waves [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/ocean-waves-credit-global-climate-budget-2018_100682091_t.gif)
The latest climate study, released Tuesday, doesn't look at sea level rise, carbon counts, or government policy—at least not directly. Instead, it takes a strictly capitalist approach. The study, by CDP, sent questionnaires to more than 200 of the largest global companies about their forecasts for how much money they're budgeting to lose to... Sea level rise by 2100 could be double previous estimates, scientists predict
The consequences of global warming could be twice as bad as previously suggested, according to a new report published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Using new mathematical prediction models, the report said global oceans could rise by about six feet by the year 2100, about double previous estimates. The new... VW’s batteries, Bosch’s pivot from diesel, US climate change reports: Today’s Car News
The Trump administration takes aim at the government reports that justify climate action. Volkswagen struggles to secure enough batteries for its mass-market EVs. German diesel supplier Bosch plans to start supplying electric motors. And our readers weigh in on EV purchase incentives. All this and more on Green Car Reports. A new report shows that... Trump administration takes aim at National Climate Assessment
As the Trump administration works to reverse efforts across the government to reduce climate change, the biggest thorn in its side has perhaps been the quadrennial National Climate Assessment, a report last published in November, which the administration buried by releasing on Black Friday, as Americans hit shopping malls in record numbers. The... EPA report attributes extreme weather to climate change, despite recent position
The EPA published a report last week advising local governments to start planning for climate change, despite references by the agency's administrator that the worst effects of global warming won't be felt for another 50 to 75 years. The new report, "Guidance about Planning for Natural Disaster Debris," comes as the Trump administration is working... Hawaii responds to global warming threat against Waikiki beach
Climate scientists have issued frequent warning about the effects of rising sea levels from global warming on cities such as Miami and New York. But among the first places in the U.S. that may suffer the effects of climate change could be Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, according to a 2017 report by the Hawaii Climate Commission report, which showed... An Earth Day Twitter poll: When will it be socially unacceptable to drive a car with a tailpipe?
![Exhaust emissions from tailpipe [photo: Simone Ramella, 2005, used under Creative Commons 2.0]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/exhaust-emissions-from-tailpipe-photo-simone-ramella-2005-used-under-creative-commons-2-0_100644014_t.gif)
Every year, as Earth Day rolls around, we survey the automotive landscape looking for progress in the industry's efforts to reduce emissions and limit global warming. We've identified a lot of progress recently. More than a dozen new electric models are set to go on sale in the coming year, and sales of plug-in models more than doubled in the past... Earth Day affirmation: New satellite data confirms Earth is warming and possibly at a faster pace
![Polar Bear on Arctic sea ice [Credit: AWeith - Wikimedia Commons]](https://images.hgmsites.net/tmb/polar-bear-on-arctic-sea-ice-credit-aweith--wikimedia-commons_100699490_t.gif)
Just in time for Earth Day, new satellite data corroborates scientists' findings that the Earth is warming at an alarming pace. The new data, from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) on NASA's Aqua satellite, corroborates findings from the Goddard Institute of Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis that showed 2015, 2016, and 2017 were the... New wind and solar power costs less than keeping old coal running
From an environmental standpoint, it's rare that buying something new can have a lower impact that keeping whatever's old. But that's what's happening with renewable energy now, according to a new report published by Energy Innovation. For most of their history, the knock on renewable wind and solar power is that they cost more than fossil fuels...