Emissions

In 2015, a report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that the world was headed towards 3.7 to 4.8 degrees Celsius of warming if stronger actions were not taken to cut emissions. This level of increased temperature (as much as nearly 9 degrees Fahrenheit) was described as being incompatible with an organized, equitable, and civilized global community. In short, the consequences would be dire.

Antarctica is warming roughly twice as fast as the rest of the planet, putting its vast ice sheets, surrounding oceans, and unique ecosystems at growing risk. A new study led by researchers from the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales warns that the continent may face sudden and potentially irreversible changes. Without sharp global reductions in carbon emissions, these shifts could reverberate far beyond Antarctica, affecting ocean currents, weather patterns, and coastal communities across Australia and around the world.

Wastewater treatment plants in the U.S. clean trillions of gallons of water each year. Whatever water gets drained down sinks or flushed down toilets goes through these plants to be rendered clean enough to return to the environment.

The world’s largest meat and dairy companies are responsible for emitting more methane than all the countries in the EU and the UK combined. The biggest meat company in the world, the Brazilian company JBS, accounts for nearly a quarter of the industry’s emissions and is more than the methane emissions from ExxonMobil and Shell combined.

What we eat has a profound impact on the planet. According to a new study led by scientists from the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota, our dietary choices - and where we make them - strongly influence our contribution to climate change. The study, which was recently published in the journal Nature Climate Change, found meat consumption in the U.S. generates a massive and often overlooked source of greenhouse gas emissions.

At the end of September, the $7,500 federal tax credit for purchases of new electric cars and the $3,000 credit for used electric cars were discontinued, as a result of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act that has undone multiple clean energy policies. Because of this, forecasts for EV sales over the next several years have been cut in half compared to what they were a year ago.

(Airs 11/29/24 @ 10 p.m.) The Legislative Gazette is a weekly program about New York State Government and politics. On this week’s Gazette: New York Governor Kathy Hochul signs Melanie’s Law, researchers in New York are studying how to reduce cow and other livestock emissions, and we’ll speak with the New York Power Authority’s Vice President for the state’s strategic renewable energy plan.

In "The Future We Choose," Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, who led negotiations for the United Nations during the historic Paris Agreement of…

A state senator has introduced a bill to help New York meet its climate goals by reducing truck and bus emissions.Democratic state Senator Jen Metzger is…

A vote expected tonight on a local law regarding air pollution in the Town of Coeymans has been postponed. Tonight, the Coeymans town board is expected to…