All public schools in Italy will require students to learn about climate change and sustainable development starting the next academic year, the Washington Post reports.
The big picture: Italy is the first country in the world to mandate curriculum on climate change. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and students in the U.S. — through the Zero Hour and Sunrise movements — have organized massive protests on climate change and called for politicians and other adults to take science on the issue seriously.
A pair of analyses are laying bare the divide between major oil companies and their smaller peers.
Driving the news: A new Rapidan Energy Group note explores plans by Democratic White House hopefuls to thwart oil-and-gas development on federal lands and waters.
Australians are becoming increasingly frustrated with the conservative government's inaction toward climate change, and it's pushing many to take to the streets for some of the largest protests the country has ever seen, reports the New York Times.
Why it matters: The Australian government is struggling to keep its promise to reduce its carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement as politicians continue to lobby in favor of the coal industry. For some lawmakers, "defending coal has come to be equated with defending the country," according to the Times.
Volvo says it's working with suppliers to bring "global traceability" of cobalt used in EV batteries through the use of blockchain technology.
Why it matters: Cobalt is a key material in batteries, but its extraction — largely in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — is linked to human rights abuses and dangerous conditions.
A new Energy Department report lays out how solar PV systems are getting bigger and better over time.
Why it matters: The Tracking the Sun report underscores how an important part of solar's growth and evolution isn't just the increasing number of systems, but also their design and scale.
25-year-old New Zealand lawmaker Chlöe Swarbrick responded to a heckling colleague during her speech about the threats of climate change with the internet meme "OK, boomer," reports the Washington Post.
Why it matters: Millennials and Generation Zers have coined the phrase "OK, boomer" as a retort against older generations' patronization. The phrase first found viral fame on social media — notably, TikTok — thanks to a generational divide on issues like student debt and climate change.
Nearly two dozen California mayors and county leaders — including San Jose and Sacramento — are pressing state regulators to help them transform the embattled, bankrupt power giant PG&E into a customer-owned cooperative.
Why it matters: Their new letter to the California Public Utilities Commission shows how PG&E's power shutdowns amid wildfire risk and overall performance are prompting calls for a seismic re-think of its structure.
U.S. oil production growth is slowing down — and soon, the industry may slam on the brakes, according to a new analysis and a top industry executive.
Why it matters: It's the latest sign that producers — facing modest prices and investor demands for returns — are repositioning after the boom that has made the U.S. the world's largest oil producer.
While debate rages about how to fight climate change, the impacts that rising temperatures have already locked in are getting worse.
Why it matters: We’re learning more about how much of the damage is irreversible, like with rising sea levels — which means we need to think about not just stopping the problem, but also about adapting to the parts we can't stop.
California firefighters are winning the fight against a series of wildfires in the state, with official figures showing most blazes at least 75% contained and several others fully contained or extinguished by Tuesday night. But authorities warn the fire danger isn't over yet.
What's new: A new report warns the fire season could continue through December. Firefighters were dealing with a new fire in a remote area of Lake County, near Clearlake. CalFire said the blaze, named the Eagle Fire, had burned 75 acres and was 56% contained by Tuesday evening.
California could continue to endure wildfires until December as a late start to the rainy season looks increasingly likely — particularly in the south of the state, the Southern California Geographic Area Coordination Center warns in a new report.
This may be a long fall and winter across California for both the fire-fighting community and the general public in terms of coping with the threat of fires."
Some 11,000 scientists labeled climate change as an "emergency" for the first time in a report released Tuesday.
Driving the news: By a slim margin, last month was the warmest October ever recorded, new data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service shows. It was only 0.01°C warmer than October 2015 — the second warmest on record — and 0.09°C warmer than October 2017, per the report.
