Interesting Ideas

Aviation is the only polluting sector escaping carbon pricing in Europe, with two-thirds of its CO2 emissions not covered by the ETS. Europe’s aviation sector’s 2025 emissions highest ever New analysis by T&E reveals that in 2025, emissions from flights departing from airports in Europe surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the ... [continued]

The post Ryanair’s Global Emissions Are Now 50% Higher Than In 2019, The Largest Increase Worldwide appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Oil firm seeks to reduce stake in carbon capture and storage projects in north-east of England after schemes fail to win over shareholders

BP plans to sell stakes in two flagship carbon capture and storage projects in the north-east of England as the company continues to retreat from the green agenda.

The oil company hopes to reduce its share in the Net Zero Teesside (NZT) project, which aims to develop the UK’s first gas power plant to be fitted with a controversial carbon capture system to remove its emissions.

What is causing a critical Atlantic Ocean current system to weaken much sooner than generally predicted? You guessed it: global climate change. Data accumulated in an April 2026 study, published in Science Advances, points to likely catastrophic consequences for Europe, Africa, and the Americas as a result of these Atlantic ... [continued]

The post Why Should You Care About Changes In Atlantic Ocean Currents? appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Naturalist says he has been ‘overwhelmed by greetings’ as milestone is marked with event at Royal Albert Hall

David Attenborough said he had been “completely overwhelmed by birthday greetings” for his centenary on Friday and thanked wellwishers “most sincerely”.

The naturalist said he had hoped to celebrate his 100th birthday quietly. Instead, the milestone will be marked with a live event at the Royal Albert Hall broadcast on BBC One, featuring music from his programmes as well as stories and reflections from public figures and leading advocates for the natural world.

In a recorded audio message shared on Thursday night, Attenborough said: “I had rather thought that I would celebrate my 100th birthday quietly, but it seems that many of you have had other ideas.

In record 40C heat on 19 July 2022, 18 homes were lost in village of Wennington – a signal for firefighters to adapt, but UK response remains fragmented

When neighbours urged Lynn Sabberton and her partner, Terry, to flee from their home in Wennington one day in 2022, the couple weren’t sure they should bother. A fire was burning in their village, on the eastern edge of London, but Terry thought it was too far away to be a problem. Struggling with a lung disease made worse by the record 40C heat that day, 19 July, he was wearing only his underwear and refused to budge from his armchair.

Lynn remembers two police officers kicking open their front door and shouting that it was time to go. Lynn pleaded to be allowed to get Terry some clothes and was bundled upstairs to find them. Could she grab some papers? No. Her purse? No. Her cat, Jack? Also no.

Findings come after third-hottest April on record globally and amid fears of more brutal European summer weather

Economic inequality adds more than 100,000 deaths to the vast toll from heat and cold in Europe each year, research has found.

Cutting levels of inequality to match that of Europe’s most equal region, Slovenia, as measured by the Gini index, would reduce temperature-related mortality by as much as 30%, equating to 109,866 people, the study found.

With the war on Iran, Ukraine, AI and climate breakdown increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war, the clock stands closer to midnight than ever before. So who decides how many seconds we have left – and can we buy ourselves more time?

The Earth is getting hotter. Conflicts are raging, in the Middle East and Ukraine, each increasing the chance of nuclear war. AI is infiltrating almost every aspect of our lives, despite its unpredictability and tendency to hallucinate. Scientists, tinkering in labs, risk introducing new, deadly pathogens, more destructive than Covid. Our pandemic response preparedness has weakened. The Doomsday Clock – a large, quarter clock with no numbers, keeps ticking, counting down the seconds until the apocalypse. Tick. Tick. Tick. In January, we reached 85 seconds to midnight. Experts believe humanity has never stood so close to the brink.

“What we have seen is a slow almost sleepwalk into increasing dangers over the last decade. And we see these problems growing. We see science advancing at a rate that defies our ability to understand it, much less control it,” says Alexandra Bell, CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the organisation that sets the Doomsday Clock. She speaks of the “complete failure in leadership” in the US and other countries, which are doing little to address global, catastrophic threats, even as they feed into one another. Climate change increases global conflict, for instance, and the incorporation of AI into nuclear decision-making is, frankly, terrifying.

Vauxhall says it will bring an all new electric SUV to market in just two years, based on technology from Leapmotor.

The post Vauxhall Plans New Low-Cost Electric SUV — With Assistance From Leapmotor appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Tesla Full Self-Driving (Supervised) is live in the Netherlands at last, the first European country to allow it. Tesla fans there are loving it, and Tesla fans more broadly are excited about the potential for broader rollout and for eventual Full Self-Driving (Unsupervised) — in other words, true full self ... [continued]

The post EU Regulator Skepticism Over Tesla Self-Driving Tech appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Battery-electric concrete mixers are becoming one of heavy transport’s more interesting electrification stories, not because they are glamorous, but because they are difficult-looking vehicles that are proving easier to electrify than many expected. In China, they have moved from niche to major new-sales category in five years. Outside China, they ... [continued]

The post China’s Electric Concrete Mixer Boom Is A Warning To Slow Heavy Truck Markets appeared first on CleanTechnica.

50 years after the debut of the original — Volkswagen is now unveiling the new ID. Polo GTI as the first electric GTI model in front of a large audience The challenge of the Nordschleife — three Golf GTI Clubsport 24h will take part in the classic endurance race in the ‘Green ... [continued]

The post Volkswagen Celebrates 50 Years of GTI: World Premiere of the Electric ID. Polo GTI at the 24h Nürburgring appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Turning parking bays into green spaces and prioritising cyclists may be the fastest routes to improving urban life

Clean air, safer streets and a stable climate are among the reasons doctors and environmental experts want fewer cars clogging our roads. Reduced dependence on fuel – especially when prices are high and most countries rely on imports – is another.

Yet while some cities with world-class public transport are debating how to tackle the stubborn minority of journeys still made by car, others – particularly in the US – have become so dependent on driving that opting out is almost impossible.

As fuel prices soar, millions of Britons could reduce their electricity costs by installing home storage

Consumers across the UK are bracing for the war in the Middle East to deliver a sharp rise in home energy bills from this summer.

The looming energy cost crisis has prompted a record number of households to investigate green home upgrades to try to keep bills down, including heat pumps, solar panels and electric vehicles.

Ireland’s energy poverty problem is not an electricity access problem. Almost every Irish household is connected to electricity. The problem is whether households can keep a warm, healthy home without cutting back on food, medicine, transport, or other essentials. That makes Ireland different from countries where the main energy poverty ... [continued]

The post Ireland’s Energy Poverty Problem Needs Flexible Electric Heat, Not Fabric-First Delay appeared first on CleanTechnica.

ATLANTA — After two days of testimony from experts and advocates, it’s clear the Georgia Public Service Commission must find new ways to protect ratepayers from excessive fuel costs incurred by Georgia Power. In the hearing, three clean energy organizations urged the Commission to reform the way Georgia Power charges ... [continued]

The post Georgia Public Service Commission Must Protect Ratepayers in Fuel Cost Hearings appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Council’s plan will leave Federal Emergency Management Agency ill-equipped to respond to extreme weather events, experts say

Sweeping changes may be in store at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), the nation’s frontline emergency response coordinator, that experts warned could further erode US capacity to handle disasters as the risks of extreme weather fueled by the climate crisis continue to rise.

Fears about a fundamental overhaul of Fema’s form and function have been brewing since Donald Trump returned to the White House. After castigating the agency over claims that it was too expensive and “doesn’t get the job done”, Trump set to gutting Fema as an early priority for his second term.

Promises to cut emissions and use more fuel-efficient planes fail to stop rise, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% up on 2019

Emissions from flying in Europe have now passed pre-pandemic levels, with Ryanair’s carbon footprint 50% higher than in 2019, research has shown.

Total aviation emissions continue to increase despite industry pledges to decarbonise and the introduction of more fuel-efficient planes, driven by the massive expansion of low-cost carriers.

Brigg, Lincolnshire: We work these vehicles hard and they will have problems, but today was really not the day for a steaming bonnet

There’s never a good time for a tractor to break down, but this was exceptional timing. Late April was very dry as predicted, and with a change in weather prospects, the birdfood seed needed to go in. The purpose of this “crop” is to fill the birds’ winter hunger gap, and it has to be sown in a narrow window: after the early May frosts, but before the soil dries out too much.

We had just delivered the trailer of seed to the field, and were on the road returning to the farm, to collect the rolls that press the seed into the soil. As we passed through Brigg, the lights appeared on the dashboard and steam started to appear from the bonnet. This was our smallest and newest tractor. Hurriedly, we pulled into a driveway, water pouring from under the engine. Half on and half off the road, we started to collect traffic behind us. A quick look justified a call to the tractor dealers – it was a tricky job and the clock was ticking.

There are tons of new electric vehicle models coming out every month, but so many of them are similar to each other. It feels like there are just a handful of vehicle types and then a thousand variations of them. But this … this is something special. An electric Citroën ... [continued]

The post An Electric Citroën 2CV for Less Than £15,000? I’m Drooling appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Last May, Honda decided to “suspend” a massive EV factory it had planned to build in Canada, a blow to the North American EV market and overall EV transition. But why? “There are challenges with the US tariffs, unjustified tariffs in the auto sector,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said in ... [continued]

The post Why Is Honda Still Suspending $15 Billion EV Factory in Canada? appeared first on CleanTechnica.