Fossil fuel divestment funds double to $5 trillion in a year
The value of investment funds committed to selling off fossil fuel assets has jumped to $5.2tn, doubling in just over a year.
Climate crisis
Germany is building the world’s first wind turbines with built-in hydroelectric batteries
Wind blows. Water falls. But for the first time, one is now powering the other. Engineers in Germany are storing water for hydroelectricity inside wind turbines allowing the towers act like massive batteries once the wind stops blowing.
Renewables now exceed all other forms of new power generation
According to the International Energy Association, the global growth of renewable energy capacity reached historic levels in 2015.
Scotland is set to be 100% zero-carbon by 2020
A world run completely on renewable energyit sounds to be an impossible feat, but in a some places around the world, people have stopped burning fossil fuels for electricity. Another country is about to join the club: Scotland.
Scientists accidentally discover efficient process to turn CO2 into ethanol
Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have discovered a chemical reaction to turn CO2 into ethanol, potentially creating a new technology to help avert climate change.
Poland unveils glow-in-the-dark bicycle path that is charged by the Sun
Poland just unveiled an amazing new bike path that glows bright blue at night! The path near Lidzbark Warminski is illuminated by phosphor, a synthetic material that lights up after it’s charged by sunlight.
Germany becomes world’s first country to ban the internal combustion engine
In a monumental moment for the climate movement, the European nation’s federal council, the Bundesrat, passed a resolution to ban all gas-powered cars beginning in 2030, the first national ban of its kind. Germany has the fourth largest car manufacturing industry in the world.
France becomes first country to ban plastic plates, cutlery
The initiative is one small part of the country’s Energy Transition for Green Growth Act, as lawmakers aim “to make France ¦ an exemplary nation in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, diversifying its energy model and increasing the deployment of renewable energy sources.”
Florida votes overwhelmingly to remove property tax on solar equipment
Solar advocates finally got a win in the Sunshine State on Tuesday, as voters approved a measure to get rid of property taxes on solar equipment.
With more than 1,970,000 Floridians checking ‘yes,’ the measure, known as Amendment 4, received more support than the state’s two U.S. Senate primary winners, Marco Rubio (R) and Patrick Murphy (D), combined.
Dubai is building the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant
Earlier this year, the Dubai government approved the largest concentrated solar project in history. The array is slated to produce 1,000 megawatts of energy by 2020 and possibly 5,000 megawatts by 2030.