#emissions-reduction

#emissions-reduction

A decade on from the Paris Climate Agreement, countries are making uneven-but-visible climate progress as per capita emissions edge downward, renewable energy surges, and more than 100 countries adopt net-zero targets, the latest Climate Change Performance Index has found. But the report found that momentum still falls short of what's needed to meet the Paris goal of holding global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) and ideally 1.5 C above preindustrial levels.

Last week, a coalition of groups, UN bodies and the Brazilian government unveiled the AI Climate Institute, a new global initiative aimed at fostering AI as a tool of empowerment in developing countries to help them tackle environmental problems. Proponents say the program, in time, will help educate countries on how to use AI in an array of ways to bring down emissions, such as better optimizing public transit, organizing agricultural systems and recalibrating the energy grid so that renewables are deployed at the right times.

The clean energy sources accounted for 34% of the country's electricity generation last month, producing a monthly record of 19 terawatt-hours (TWh), enough to power about 119 million average Brazilian homes for a month, Ember told The Associated Press. That surpassed the previous high of 18.6 TWh set in September 2024. The milestone came as hydroelectric output, Brazil's dominant power source, fell to a four-year low.

Right now, when city waste collection trucks fill up on their routes, the drivers need to go long distances - sometimes more than 30 miles - to empty out at landfills and composting sites. The transfer station would be closer to the central city, where city sanitation workers would move the loads into much bigger trucks before the long haul.

California's revamped Low Carbon Fuel Standard, now in effect, aims to cut climate-warming gases through stricter fuel requirements and a broader credit market.

Reforestation is not a silver bullet. It's a powerful strategy, but it has to be paired with serious emissions reductions.