Emissions reduction

Clean fleets

The country’s biggest electric school-bus fleet will also feed the grid

San Francisco-based startup Zum wants to turn electric school-bus fleets into grid batteries. This 74-bus depot in Oakland is testing the idea at large scale.

By Jeff St. John . 3 September 2024

Electric school buses and bidirectional chargers at the depot operated by startup Zum for the Oakland Unified School District (Jeff St. John)

Marine transport

Cargo ships are notoriously dirty. A new bill aims to clean them up

The Clean Shipping Act, proposed this week in Congress, would curb CO₂ pollution from shipping and accelerate the adoption of nascent technologies.

By Maria Gallucci . 14 July 2022
Podcast

We need to talk about permafrost and its impact on the climate

A country-sized source of carbon emissions is starting to be released.

Play

By Stephen Lacey . 13 July 2022
Air travel

Can battery-powered airplanes decarbonize air travel?

A new study says not likely, but electric aircraft still have a role to play in cleaning up the aviation industry.

By Maria Gallucci . 13 July 2022
Guest essay

5 things to know about the Supreme Court’s recent climate ruling

The West Virginia v. EPA decision still allows the EPA to regulate CO₂ from power plants, but the process will be slow — and it won’t happen without a fight.

By Jack Lienke . 11 July 2022
Carbon capture

Carbon storage gets dirty: The movement to sequester CO2 in soils

U.N. climate report promotes soil as a tool to reduce emissions, but scientists are still figuring out how it works.

By Maria Gallucci . 8 April 2022
Carbon capture

Carbon removal now 'unavoidable' part of fighting climate change, UN says

Emissions cuts alone won't limit global warming to 1.5°C, IPCC report warns. But can carbon removal from land use and technology scale up in time?

By Jeff St. John . 5 April 2022
Energy markets

A deeper dive into 24/7 carbon-free energy

Tech giants and startups are chasing more precise data to make the grid cleaner by the hour — and asking governments and regulators to catch up.

By Jeff St. John . 4 April 2022
Marine transport

Maritime industry leaders confront climate change and supply-chain issues at shipping expo

A sea change is underway as global shipping players adjust to the new normal of a rapidly warming planet.

By Maria Gallucci . 1 April 2022
Corporate procurement

Can 24/7 carbon-free energy become a global standard?

Google and Microsoft want to buy clean energy around the clock. EnergyTag plans to bring the same option to mass markets.

By Jeff St. John . 31 March 2022
Marine transport

Microsoft heads up $34M investment in software platform to cut cargo ship emissions

New York–based startup Nautilus Labs uses AI to boost efficiency and pare fuel use on giant ships.

By Maria Gallucci . 16 March 2022