France will impose a tax on flights leaving the country in an effort to curb emissions from air travel, the government said Tuesday. Transport Minister Élisabeth Borne said an “eco-tax” on flight tickets leaving France will begin next year, ranging between 1.50 euros and 18 euros per flight. Revenues will be put towards “eco-friendly” transportation […]
For new cars and trucks released in 2017, carbon dioxide emissions reached a record low, and mileage per gallon reached an all time high, according an U.S. Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) report released Wednesday. The findings are leading many environmental advocates to ask, if Obama-era fuel economy standards seem to be working, why roll them […]
As of 2018, the commercial aviation industry accounted for 2.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. If it were its own country, it would be the 7th highest emitter on the planet. Because of this, some climate activists have begun calling on people to reduce the amount of time they spend in the air, or […]
By Tim Radford For forests, it really does help to be young. British scientists who have identified the vital factor that shows what makes a forest a good carbon sink say young forests use carbon best and absorb it most efficiently. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences seems on […]
2018 saw a number of studies pointing to the outsized climate impact of meat consumption. Beef has long been singled out as particularly unsustainable: Cows both release the greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere because of their digestive processes and require a lot of land area to raise. But for those unwilling to give up […]
For the first time, carbon dioxide is being captured at a biomass power plant in the UK. Britain’s Drax announced that its pilot bioenergy carbon capture and storage project is expected to capture a ton of CO2 a day from its North Yorkshire-based wood-burning plant. The company is also finding ways to store and use […]
By Jocelyn Timperley Global transport emissions could peak in the 2030s if railways are “aggressively” expanded, said the International Energy Agency (IEA). Rail is among the most efficient and lowest emitting modes of transport, according to the IEA’s new report focusing on the opportunities it offers for energy and the environment. In particular, urban and […]
By Marlene Cimons Plants are humanity’s greatest ally in the fight against climate change. Plants soak up carbon dioxide and turn it into leaves and branches. The more trees humans plant, the less heat-trapping carbon pollution in the air. Unfortunately, plants require a lot of water and land, so much that humans might need a […]
Carbon emissions in the U.S. experienced a sharp upswing in 2018, despite a record number of coal-fired power plant closings, according to new data. An analysis released by the research firm Rhodium Group Tuesday shows that emissions rose by 3.4 percent last year—the second-largest gain in more than twenty years. The analysis also found that […]