Here's one thing that helped global emissions growth seemingly flatten: Wind and solar power combined outpaced coal-fired generation in the EU for the first time last year, a pair of think tanks said.
Why it matters: Energy transitions are notoriously slow — until they're not.
Sales of residential batteries in California are expected to quadruple this year to over 50,000 storage systems, the research firm BloombergNEF said in a short new analysis.
Why it matters: It adds specifics to the expectation that power outages — notably widespread blackouts by utilities seeking to cut wildfire risk — will juice sales.
An IEA analysis released Monday found that energy-related CO2 emissions were flat last year at 33.3 gigatonnes.
Why it matters: Scientific analyses show that steep cuts — not just a plateau — are needed to meet the temperature goals of the Paris climate agreement.
The new White House budget proposal, which would slash Energy Department science and R&D programs, is awkward for congressional Republicans who are taking pains to emphasize "innovation" to fight climate change.
The state of play: To some extent this is all theater because nobody expects this budget to resemble what's ultimately appropriated — but it complicates GOP efforts to tout their ideas when the president, who commands fierce loyalty from the party, is pushing in the other direction.
BBC Studios will produce a documentary series that follows 17-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg's "international crusade" as she seeks to explore the damage caused by climate change and what can be done to mitigate its effects, the company announced Monday.
Details: The documentary will be produced by BBC Studios' award-winning science unit, but does not yet have a broadcaster or a set number of episodes, per Deadline. It will also feature "a chorus of experts" that will explain the science behind Thunberg's objectives, as well as elements that document "her own journey into adulthood."
Oil prices are at their lowest levels in a year as coronavirus hits demand, and one side effect of the public health crisis is that it's afflicting the OPEC-Russia relationship.
Driving the news: Russia has yet to endorse recommendations from an OPEC+ technical panel to deepen the groups' production-limiting pact by 600,000 barrels per day.
The world's oil and natural gas companies are drilling their way into financial and social hell.
Driving the news: The industry's stocks are in the toilet, and climate change is fast becoming a mainstream investor worry. These problems overlap and neither is going away anytime soon — if ever.
Storm Ciara has unleashed heavy rains, hurricane-force winds and floods in northern Europe, causing widespread travel disruption, EuroNews reports.
Details: "Two of Europe's busiest airports — one in Frankfurt, Germany, the other in Amsterdam, Netherlands — each grounded more than 100 flights due to the storm," per CNN. Airlines also reported that flights were canceled or disrupted in the U.K., where the national weather agency issued over 250 flood warnings. Several British rail firms warned people to expect delays and urged them not to travel, AP notes.
