Interesting Ideas

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.

Auto and truck manufacturers in the US have lobbied aggressively against exhaust emission standards, hurting their EV plans.

The post Automakers Have Only Themselves To Blame For Losses On EV Investments 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.

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.

A couple of years ago, there was a news story about a gas station in Texas or Arizona that was giving away $25 of free gasoline per customer for several hours one morning. The marketing tactic worked because there was something of a frenzy of drivers lined up to get ... [continued]

The post 100 Free EV Chargers Installed In Saudi Arabia appeared first on CleanTechnica.

Temperature swings have left crops across the Plains in terrible conditions, with some farmers opting not to harvest

Merrill Nielsen’s wheat crop looked healthy after he planted it in the fall on his 2,500-acre farm in north-central Kansas, about 50 miles west of Salina, the plants benefiting from higher-than-normal November rainfall.

But an abnormally warm and dry winter, followed by extreme temperature variability, stressed the developing wheat. In the winter-to-spring transition, temperatures fluctuated from 70 to 80F on some days and lows in the teens or low 20s on other days.

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.

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.

Oxfordshire’s Ray Valley Solar already generates clean energy for 7,000 homes, and is now crowdfunding storage to marry daylight with evening demand

Tucked away among hedgerows on a large field between a motorway and the River Ray, one of the UK’s largest community-owned solar parks is hard to spot from the surrounding country lanes.

But the nearly 36,000 solar panels installed on the site are literally a shining example of what can be achieved when a renewable energy project is co-owned by local people.

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.

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.

The Texas-based solar manufacturer SEG Solar is among the firms continuing to push the solar power envelope despite the sharp U-turn in federal energy policy.

The post So Much For The War On Solar Power: 4 More Gigawatts Coming To The US appeared first on CleanTechnica.

I’ve been traveling in Key West this week. If you haven’t been to this southernmost point of the US, you must — it’s a real treat. With Cuba just 90 miles offshore, Key West stands apart from the rest of the continental United States. It’s authentic Florida: low rise buildings, ... [continued]

The post Key West And A Sustainability Plan That Could Make The Federal Government Growl 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.

As Trump ramps up pressure by cutting off fuel to the island, Havana’s refuse is rarely collected, forcing residents to burn it in the streets despite the pollution

As thick smoke spread through the narrow streets of Havana, seeping into homes, schools and shops, Carlos Blanco, a chef, opened his bedroom window to see what was going on. “I saw a mist. But it wasn’t mist – it was smoke,” he says, describing the toxic smog emanating from a smouldering mountain of rubbish.

As the US oil blockade on Cuba enters its fourth month, choking off most of the island’s fuel supplies, growing mounds of waste lie on street corners across Havana. Amid fuel scarcity, authorities have opted to ration petrol by reducing waste collection, leaving less than half of Havana’s rubbish trucks operational.

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.

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.

As electric vehicle sales hit all-time highs, the need for more places to plug in is growing – fast

• Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint

• Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com

Australia is having an electric vehicle moment.

Close to 25,000 electric vehicles were sold in Australia in March, an all-time record and an increase of 69.6% compared with March 2025, according to the Electric Vehicle Council of Australia. Although still lagging behind countries like China where close to half of new passenger vehicles sold are electric, soaring petrol prices on the back of the war in Iran have accelerated interest in EV ownership in Australia.

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.

In this week’s newsletter: Readers have flooded the crowdfunder of Steve Green after his inspirational story of DIY environmental activism was told

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For many people, owning a yacht is the ultimate dream. But recently I reported on what happens when that dream is abandoned, and one man’s uphill battle to clean up rotting boats left behind in Cornwall, England.

In this week’s newsletter, it’s my pleasure to revisit Cornish boat engineer Steve Green, who says he “nearly fainted” when hundreds of Guardian readers flooded his crowdfunder with donations and notes of thanks after we told his story.

The man who blew up a nuclear power station and disappeared

How car-loving American cities fell so far behind their global peers on public transit

As household bills soar, is it time for a working-class climate agenda?