Climate

As natural disasters make need to cut CO2 emissions clearer than ever, energy demand of AI systems is about to soar

Violent weather events have been top of the news agenda for weeks, with scientists and fact-based news organisations attributing their increased severity to climate breakdown. The scientists consulted have all emphasised the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

At the same time there are predictions about artificial intelligence and datacentres urgently needing vast amounts of new electricity sources to keep them running. Small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) have been touted as the green solution. The reports suggest that SMRs are just around the corner and will be up and running in the 2030s. Google first ordered seven, followed by Amazon, Microsoft and Meta each ordering more.

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Data for 2024 shows humanity is moving yet deeper into a dangerous world of supercharged extreme weather

Wildfires that blazed around the world in 2024 helped to drive a record annual leap in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, surprising scientists. The data shows humanity is moving yet deeper into a dangerous world of supercharged extreme weather.

The CO2 level at the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii jumped by 3.6 parts per million (ppm) to 427ppm, far above the 280ppm level before the large-scale burning of fossil fuels sparked the climate crisis. The Mauna Loa observations, known as the Keeling curve, began in 1958 and are the longest running direct measurements of CO2.

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While firefighters begin containing the Los Angeles wildfires, the land left behind is at a higher risk of floods and debris flows.

Republicans said they were seeking ways to quickly reverse the restrictions in the state’s North Slope region.

National Weather Service says ‘wind siege has finally ended’ and forecasts higher humidity but warns high winds could return next week

As the battle against the deadly fires in Los Angeles county entered its 10th day, officials warned evacuees against returning to their homes due to the presence of toxic, hazardous waste and exposed power and gas lines.

During a Thursday press conference, Yonah Halpern, principal engineer with LA county public works said that toxins such as asbestos, and mercury could be found in fire debris and that the US Environmental Protection Agency and county fire department would be going house to house to assess and remove hazardous materials at no cost to the property’s owner.

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Experts say climate crisis was likely responsible for a quarter of the dryness that fueled the fires’ rapid spread

As Los Angeles’s deadly wildfires continue to burn, a group of survivors is taking aim at the industry most responsible for fueling climate disasters: fossil fuels.

Residents impacted by the blazes lamented during a Thursday conference call losing their homes and communities and called for litigation and policies that could force big oil to pay for the damages. In the coming days, lawmakers will introduce legislation with that aim in mind.

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As climate threats worsen, they are skipping payments and losing protection.

With the outlook for risk of fire, flood and other disasters increasing, this is not a problem that will go away

As we watch the horror of the Los Angeles fires, Australians are painfully reminded of our own vulnerability to climate change, which continues to exacerbate the impact and frequency of these unnatural disasters.

The images of loss and destruction in LA are particularly painful to those who have experienced such losses first-hand in Australia.

Nicki Hutley is an independent economist and councillor with the Climate Council

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After being targeted by the meat industry, swept up in the culture wars and pummeled in sales, two plant based meat companies are reinventing themselves.

The fires have been devastating for humans and taken a toll on nature, but many of California’s ecosystems will be able to regenerate

Beth Pratt has spent her career protecting Los Angeles’ mountain lions, which roam an area currently engulfed by wildfires. These apex predators, also known as cougars or pumas, share a scrubby landscape with lavish private homes and a dense network of roads. When major fires take out huge areas of open space, their options are limited.

“This is the LA area – these mountain lions can’t move into the Kardashians’ back yard,” says Pratt, California executive director for the National Wildlife Federation. “My heart is very heavy right now,” she says.

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Mr. Zeldin, a Trump loyalist, would be charged with dismantling climate rules and perhaps the agency itself. He faces questions from the Senate today.

After insurers like State Farm dropped policies, to switch to the state’s Fair plan was prohibitively pricey for many

When Palisades resident James Borow realized last Tuesday that his house was on fire, he was 300 miles away in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show. The power was out at his house but a friend suggested he remotely turn on his Tesla and see if the cameras showed anything.

From the car camera, he watched in a panic as his house burned. As he drove home from Vegas to LA, he called his parents and told them: “You’ll see it on the news tomorrow, but the house is totally gone. I just watched it.”

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The former North Dakota governor, who would oversee public lands in the new administration, is expected to face questions about his ties to the drilling industry.

Instead of addressing staffing shortages on the lands the federal government manages, Republicans have proposed making them worse.

Our policies encourage Americans to flock to areas particularly prone to climate-related disasters.

British director of Human Rights Watch attacks ‘dangerous hypocrisy’ of government

Britain’s crackdown on climate protest is setting “a dangerous precedent” around the world and undermining democratic rights, the UK director of Human Rights Watch has said.

Yasmine Ahmed accused the Labour government of hypocrisy over its claims to be committed to human rights and international law.

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The loan guarantees are one of the final attempts by the outgoing Biden administration to encourage power companies to cut emissions while trying to keep rates down.

Eaton fire tore through Altadena, burning buildings and killing many. Its residents are only now taking in the scale of devastation

A week after wildfires tore through the community of Altadena, the smell of destruction still hangs in the air. The acrid smoke seeped into the walls of homes that survived the Eaton fire, which burned 7,000 buildings and killed at least 15 people.

On Woodbury Road, where unblemished homes stand in between blackened lots of charred rubble, the devastation overwhelms the senses. The houses that haven’t completely collapsed offer glimpses of life before disaster arrived – pitchers and mugs in a cabinet, all a deep black, a bed still standing, a scorched bicycle and children’s toys.

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Oil company to lose 5% of its staff in effort to cut costs amid shareholder worries over green energy strategy

BP is to cut thousands of jobs from its global workforce, amounting to 5% of its staff, in an effort to save billions in costs to appease its worried shareholders.

The oil company told staff on Tuesday that it would cut 4,700 jobs and scrap another 3,000 contractor positions, after its chief executive promised to reduce the company’s costs by at least $2bn (£1.6bn) by the end of 2026.

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With few exceptions, the news has shied away from showing how the unfolding climate crisis plays a large role in the disaster

Last week, as the Sunset fire was bearing down on her Los Angeles home, Allison Agsten approached a group of television news crews gathering in her neighborhood. Did any of them plan to mention the role of the climate crisis in their reporting?

The question was professional as well as personal for Agsten, who runs a climate journalism center at the University of Southern California and has trained reporters on how to connect the climate crisis to what’s happening in the world. She has lived in her home along Runyon Canyon, near Hollywood, for a decade.

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