A new consortium is trying to wrangle how to manage and share data gathered from all those dockless scooters and e-bikes popping up in cities.
Why it matters: Scooter and bike trip patterns can yield a lot of valuable information that public agencies can use to manage their infrastructure and set regulations. But the push for data access also raises concerns about privacy.
The solar industry came out with new data yesterday showing record residential installations in the third quarter, edging out prior highs in 2016.
The intrigue: One part of the quarterly report that caught my eye confirms that PG&E's power shut-offs are driving interest in solar-plus-battery systems, though the real effect won't be known for a while.
Democratic White House hopeful Mike Bloomberg would aim to cut economy-wide U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and implement policies that would make 80% of power generation zero-carbon by 2028.
Why it matters: Those are two key targets in broadly worded plans unveiled Friday that mark the first detailed domestic climate proposals from the billionaire's campaign, and follow his years of advocacy on the topic.
Leaders of the EU endorsed a plan Friday to make the bloc a net-zero carbon emitter by mid-century, according to a slew of reports from their meeting in Brussels.
Yes, but: Coal-reliant Poland, which balked at the target, is currently exempted from the agreement.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama had some encouraging words on Friday for Greta Thunberg after she was named Time's 2019 Person of the Year, telling the Swedish climate teen activist to "ignore the doubters."
.@GretaThunberg, don’t let anyone dim your light. Like the girls I’ve met in Vietnam and all over the world, you have so much to offer us all. Ignore the doubters and know that millions of people are cheering you on.
The big picture: Since receiving the honor, Thunberg has been the subject of online attacks, including ones from President Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr.
Technology that captures carbon dioxide emissions needs way more subsidies — reaching well into the billions of dollars — to thrive, according to a new oil industry report.
Driving the news: The report by the National Petroleum Council, an advisory committee to the Energy Department representing all aspects of the oil and gas sector, recommends putting $15 billion into research and more than doubling an existing subsidy.
President Trump called TIME's decision to name 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg as its 2019 Person of the Year "so ridiculous" in a Thursday tweet.
"So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!"
The big picture: Thunberg — who has openly discussed the fact that she has been diagnosed with Asperger's, which is on the autism spectrum — fired back by changing her Twitter bio to read, "A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend."
Leaky power grids that waste energy before it reaches consumers are an often overlooked source of carbon emissions, per The Conversation.
What they did: Researchers calculated the pollution from additional energy needed to make up for what's lost in transmission and distribution systems worldwide.
A new International Energy Agency report underscores why oil markets haven't been hugely impressed with last week's OPEC+ decision to deepen their output curbs.
Driving the news: The agency's latest closely watched monthly report projects that global oil stockpiles could increase by 700,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of 2020.
Ursula von der Leyen, the new European Commission president, yesterday unveiled plans for an ambitious "European Green Deal" meant to make the EU a net-zero emitter by 2050.
Why it matters: The EU is the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitting region after China and the U.S.
San Francisco-based maintenance workers for Spin, a scooter rental company owned by Ford, have voted to unionize and joined a local Teamsters chapter, making them the first in the scooter industry to do so.
Why it matters: Scooter companies ruffled a lot of feathers when they showed up in San Francisco (and other cities), which has long been skeptical of tech companies using independent contractors to skirt some labor costs.
