Emissions reduction

US landfills emit way more methane than previously thought

Landfills are the third-biggest source of U.S. methane emissions. But leaks of the potent greenhouse gas are often undetected due to monitoring blindspots.

By Sachi Kitajima Mulkey . 3 April 2024

Trash is flattened and spread out across a hilllside before being covered with dirt at a landfill in San Juan Capistrano — (Mark Rightmire/Getty Images)

Climate crisis

US carbon emissions rose in 2022. Can clean energy get them on track?

Historic investments in renewable energy will help the U.S. get closer to halving emissions by 2030, but there's a lot more work to do, a new report warns.

By Jeff St. John . 10 January 2023
Podcast

Why methane matters

The potent greenhouse gas remains in the atmosphere for just over a decade, but cutting methane emissions is a critical step in slowing short- and long-term global warming.

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By Shayle Kann . 43 min . 3 January 2023
Carbon capture

Carbon capture for New York high-rise apartments is a real thing now

As New York City works to reduce building-related carbon emissions, one 30-story apartment tower is proving you can trap and sequester carbon from gas boiler exhaust.

By Julian Spector . 8 December 2022
Air travel

Major airlines are teaming up to tackle planet-warming plane contrails

American, Southwest and United are joining with Airbus, Boeing, RMI and researchers in an effort to mitigate heat-trapping condensation trails.

By Maria Gallucci . 21 November 2022
Podcast

A reality check on corporate sustainability

How large companies are claiming credit for climate progress that isn’t actually happening.

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By Stephen Lacey . 24 min . 16 November 2022
Fossil fuels

Gas plants without the emissions? This startup says it's cracked the code

North Carolina–based NET Power uses a novel combustion cycle that captures its own emissions. Now it's building a 300MW plant in Texas to prove it works at scale.

By Julian Spector . 8 November 2022
Air travel

193 countries pledge to slash air-travel emissions by 2050

It's the first international agreement of its kind for the hard-to-decarbonize aviation industry, but critics say the nonbinding target lacks teeth.

By Maria Gallucci . 10 October 2022
Guest essay

Big Steel starts prepping for a net-zero world

Key players involved in global steel — from major mills to big steel buyers to industry financiers — gathered in Pittsburgh to plot the industry’s low-carbon future.

By Adam Aston . 7 October 2022
Marine transport

Zero-emissions cargo shipping catches on in cities and port communities

Los Angeles and Long Beach are now joined by Minneapolis, home to retail giant Target, in asking importers to slash all shipping emissions by 2030.

By Joseph Winters . 26 September 2022
Emissions reduction

Chart: Net-zero targets have gone global — but how meaningful are they?

National pledges to cut emissions to zero now cover 91% of the global economy, but many of them are too vague and reliant on offsets and carbon removal.

By Maria Virginia Olano . 23 September 2022