A bunch of new developments highlights a wider trend: intensifying efforts by governments and corporations to secure key minerals needed for electric cars and other clean energy tech.
Driving the news: Tesla and Talon Metals announced a deal on Monday to supply the electric automaker with at least 75,000 metric tons of nickel concentrates from Talon's planned mine in Minnesota. The Star Tribune has details.
European natural gas prices continue to go nuts, as the market has become a theater in the growing conflict between Russia and the West.
Why it matters: Russia is increasingly seen as treating its energy assets as political tools, rather than mere sources of revenue, upending a market once driven largely by basic questions of supply and demand. For now, that geopolitical game of chess is squeezing the balance sheets of Europe's energy companies and ordinary consumers.
Last year featured the second-highest number of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters on record in the contiguous U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Why it matters: The extreme events of 2021 affected the public health of millions of Americans, destroyed homes and upended livelihoods, and demonstrated the escalating human and financial costs of global warming.
The past seven years have been the seven hottest on record, according to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, which released new global temperature data this morning.
Why it matters: The data shows in vivid detail that, even though 2021 was relatively cool compared to other recent years, it still ranked as the fifth warmest year and continued a trend driven by ever-growing amounts of greenhouse gases in the air.
Edelman has reviewed its client list through the lens of climate principles unveiled in November, but the PR giant isn't severing any ties despite finding problems — yet.
Why it matters: Edelman, the world's largest PR firm, is a focal point for activist campaigns against the industry's work with fossil fuel clients.
A pair of recent surveys shows how plans to curb emissions have only partially taken hold in the oil-and-gas industry.
Driving the news: The Kansas City Fed's latest quarterly poll of firms headquartered or located in its district found that 45% had a plan to reduce CO2 emissions and 41% had a plan to cut methane.
Just-released data reveals the scope and details of U.S. carbon emissions increases as the economy rebounded from COVID-19 restrictions, highlighting how White House climate goals may slip out of reach absent major new policies.
Driving the news: America's emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases increased in 2021 compared to 2020, largely due to a jump in coal use, according to a new report from the climate consulting firm the Rhodium Group.
"Smart" cities — where technology makes life easier for the people who live and work there — are rapidly becoming reality, but there's still lots of work to do.
A news site, Smart Cities Dive, solicited predictions from readers and offered a list for 2022:
The EV charging infrastructure will grow, becoming more convenient and resilient.
The "digital divide" in data and technology will narrow, with high-speed internet becoming available to all city residents.
"Curb management solutions" will grow more popular, as the pileup of food and package deliveries threatens to overwhelm us.
Cities will make bolder climate commitments, like vowing to decarbonize buildings.
E-bikes and shared mobility will continue to advance, for environmental reasons and convenience.
What they're saying: Wireless power will become prevalent, Hatem Zeine, founder of a wireless power company called Ossia, predicted to Smart Cities Dive.
"Integrating wireless power into buildings and infrastructures will not only allow for reduced wiring and maintenance costs but will also enable consumers to power their smart homes and personal gadgets," Zeine said.
"IoT sensors in these devices could track important data such as air quality, temperature, consumption of resources, health and activities around the city, allowing for streamlined analysis and improvements to be made sooner."
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