New composite decking could reduce global warming effects of building materials

Building materials are major contributors to global carbon dioxide emissions. So scientists have designed a composite decking material that stores more carbon dioxide than is required to manufacture it, providing the first “carbon-negative” option. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2024.

INFUSE workshop gives private and public fusion partners a chance to network and share experiences

More than 120 people gathered for the 2024 Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) Workshop at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory from Feb. 27-28. The event, which was sponsored by the DOE’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES), is a part of the INFUSE awards program that funds laboratories or universities so they can partner with private sector companies working on the science and technology solutions that will bring fusion energy to the power grid. To date, DOE has granted 90 awards, with most ranging from $100,000 to $350,000 for a 12-month project.

61% of the world’s lost forests can be restored to significantly reduce greenhouse emissions

An international collaboration of scientists with the participation of a RUDN ecologist has for the first time assessed the natural potential of the world’s forests to retain carbon. The results can be called hopeful – those regions where forests can still be restored have great potential and will help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases.

Japan’s electric vehicle transition by 2035 may be insufficient to combat the climate crisis, but there are solutions

Researchers at Kyushu University have found that Japan’s current policy of stopping the sale of gas vehicles by 2035 and transitioning only to hybrids and electric vehicles may be insufficient to reduce the country’s CO2 emissions and prevent it from reaching its decarbonization target goals.

Could Changes in Fed’s Interest Rates Affect Pollution and the Environment?

Can monetary policy such as the United States Federal Reserve raising interest rates affect the environment? According to a new study, it can. Results suggest that the impact of monetary policy on pollution is basically domestic: a monetary contraction or reduction in a region reduces its own emissions, but this does not seem to spread out to other economies. However, the findings do not imply that the international economy is irrelevant to determining one region’s emissions level.

Scientists find iron cycling key to permafrost greenhouse gas emissions

The interaction of elemental iron with the vast stores of carbon locked away in Arctic soils is key to how greenhouse gases are emitted during thawing and should be included in models used to predict Earth’s climate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists found.

A New Tandem Catalyst Converts Carbon Dioxide into Valuable Multicarbon Products More Selectively

Electrochemical reduction can convert carbon dioxide into multicarbon products for use as a raw material in chemicals and fuels. In this research, scientists improved this conversion process by using a tandem catalyst electrode. The electrode includes a silver or iron-nitrogen-carbon-based catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide and incorporates a second segment that contains a copper catalyst to convert carbon monoxide into multicarbon products. Relative to prior methods, the developed approach more selectively converts carbon dioxide into desired compounds.

Climate extremes: The energy required for adaptation calls for stronger mitigation efforts

A new study published today in Nature Communications by researchers from the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, the European Institute on Economics and the Environment and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine finds that adapting to climate change will require more energy than previously estimated, leading to higher energy investments and costs.

Unchecked emissions could double heat-related child mortality

If carbon emissions are limited to slow temperature rise, up to an estimated 6,000 child deaths could be prevented in Africa each year, according to new research. A team of international scientists, led by the University of Leeds in collaboration with researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), have shown that thousands of heat-related child deaths could be prevented if temperature increases are limited to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5ºC target through to 2050.

UAlbany Expert in Climate Change, Environmental Law Offers Insight on Supreme Court EPA Ruling

Albany, N.Y. (July 1, 2022) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday limited the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s authority to set climate standards for power plants.  The court’s 6-3 ruling – which addressed an Obama-era regulation aimed at coal-fired power…

Including all types of emissions shortens timeline to reach Paris Agreement temperature targets

Instead of focusing on carbon dioxide’s effect on future temperature, new research includes the related human-generated emissions of methane, nitrogen oxide and particle pollution. Expanding the scope increases the amount of future warming that is already guaranteed by past emissions, and shortens the timeline to reach the Paris Agreement temperature targets.

Passive solar could furnish a third of home heating needs

Passive solar heating systems collect natural light via skylights or windows and use it to directly heat spaces, without converting it to electricity. Based on a detailed analysis of heating needs and solar energy availability around the United States, such installations could supply a third of residential space heating needs nationwide, researchers found. The findings, which appear in the November issue of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, are the first detailed survey of direct solar heating resources in the U.S.