A record-setting storm lashed the U.K., France and Italy with heavy rains, powerful winds and flooding on Thursday, with its deadly effects extending into other parts of Western Europe.
The latest: At least 12 deaths across Europe have been tied to the storm as of Friday evening local time, according to multiplereports.
Ambassador Pa'olelei Luteru, chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), has a message for larger, wealthier countries ahead of the UN climate summit later this month.
The big picture: Luteru, who is Samoa's ambassador to both the UN and the U.S., knows something about climate change that many other climate diplomats don't. Climate impacts the small island countries are experiencing now will eventually affect even the wealthiest nations.
High stakes talks beginning this weekend between U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua, could pave the way for a smoother United Nations climate summit in Dubai later this month.
Why it matters: The world's two largest economies are also the world's two largest emitters. The focus is on China in particular, in the hopes that any agreement could help alter the severity and pace of human-caused climate change.
Battery makers are tweaking — or altogether revamping — the chemistry and mechanics of batteries in an attempt to get a new generation of devices from the lab to the market.
Why it matters: The adoption of electric vehicles, the promise of renewable energy and the bottom line of dozens of companies may hinge on new, solid-state batteries that are meant to be lighter, faster and more powerful.
If your sidewalks are extra nutty with acorns this fall, certain species of oak trees in the region may be "masting," or producing enormous crops of seed.
Why it matters: There's a mystery at the center of why there are so many nuts, as scientists are unsure exactly what triggers "mast" events every few years or why many tree species — not just oaks — experience them.
The ExxonMobil and Chevronmegadeals are now firmly on the radar of Capitol Hill Democrats.
State of play: Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and over 20 Senate colleagues signed a letter urging the FTC to launch antitrust probes of the planned acquisitions.
Pope Francis plans to spend three days at the COP28 climate summit, multiple outlets report, a visit that will increase the spotlight on the talks.
Why it matters: He'll be the first pontiff to attend an annual UN "conference of the parties," underscoring Francis' focus on climate during his tenure.
Ørsted's decision to scrap New Jersey offshore wind projects has major implications for renewable tech's U.S. future.
State of play: The global wind giant took a roughly $4 billion impairment when announcing earnings, mostly from those projects. The stock swooned 26% on Wednesday.
A new study warns the Earth's climate is on track to warm significantly more than shown by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) projections.
Driving the news: The paper, published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Oxford Open Climate Change, is a synthesis of new and previous discoveries across multiple fields. It is peppered with policy prescriptions, unusual for a scientific paper.
