Emissions reduction

Policy & regulation

A proposal for a Massachusetts wood-burning plant is back from the dead

Springfield residents thought they had defeated a plan to burn wood waste for energy that would greatly worsen air quality. Now they’re gearing up for another fight.

By Sarah Shemkus . 9 June 2025
Food and farms

Biden’s climate-smart ag program was better than nothing. Trump killed it.

In a climate-dumb move, the Trump administration ended a flawed but necessary program aiming to lower agricultural emissions. We can still draw useful lessons from it.

By Michael Grunwald . 4 June 2025
Clean industry

A new, low-carbon way to make chemicals, without the big, dirty factories

Startup OCOchem has built factory-assembled “artificial photosynthesis” cells to make formate, a widely used chemical now produced with fossil fuels.

By Jeff St. John . 29 May 2025
Clean industry

How states can pick up the slack on industrial decarbonization

States can’t replace the billions in funding the Trump administration is trying to claw back, but they have options for keeping up momentum on cleaning up industry.

By Jeff St. John . 22 May 2025
Emissions reduction

The country’s biggest grid operator has a new tool to track emissions

Utilities, states, and Big Tech firms want to know how dirty their grid power is. MISO and startup Singularity have rolled out a tool that can show them.

By Jeff St. John . 14 May 2025
Energy efficiency

Has Maine learned how to make heat pumps lower electricity costs for all?

Heat pump adoption in the state has soared. Now a new state energy-efficiency plan aims to accelerate the trend to cut emissions and control power prices.

By Sarah Shemkus . 14 May 2025
Energy efficiency

Trump’s all-out war on energy efficiency

From targeting Energy Star to pausing more obscure rules, the Trump administration is derailing measures that help save money by reducing energy use.

By Alison F. Takemura . 12 May 2025
Carbon-free buildings

After LA fires, could it be cheaper and faster to rebuild without gas?

The city waived its all-electric building requirement in an effort to fast-track recovery after the January fires. A new report argues that’s the wrong approach.

By Alison F. Takemura . 5 May 2025
Solar

Largest solar farm east of the Mississippi provides more than just power

The project helps Chicago and one of its universities meet climate goals, but it will also be a case study for researchers examining the impacts of large-scale solar.

By Kari Lydersen . 2 May 2025
Transportation

Massachusetts should uphold the state’s clean car rules, advocates say

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration has already delayed plans for ramping up zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty truck sales.

By Sarah Shemkus . 1 May 2025