Why it matters: Ominous forecasts about the impact of climate change serve as the backdrop for the world — led by U.S. lawmakers and companies — to debate big action on the problem, which could upend energy systems and our way of life.
An Exxon Mobil Corp. gas station in Falls Church, Virginia. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Exxon on Wednesday unveiled 2030 greenhouse gas targets as it faces investor and activist pressure to do more on climate.
Driving the news: They include a 20%-30% cut in corporate emissions intensity — that is, emissions per unit of output — and a 40%-50% intensity cut in oil-and-gas exploration and production.
New data shows renewable power is surging globally but remains off the pace with what's needed to meet the ambitious goals of the Paris climate agreement.
Driving the news: The International Energy Agency is out with its latest snapshot and near(ish) term forecasts.
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
The secret to affordable electric vehicles is cheaper batteries. But after years of falling prices, battery costs are now headed in the wrong direction.
Why it matters: Costlier batteries could drive up the price of electric vehicles — threatening the auto industry's transition away from fossil fuels, and, in turn, society's fight against climate change.
The remnants of a destroyed home are seen in the wake of Hurricane Ida on Sept. 3 in Grand Isle, La. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended Tuesday, going down in history as the first time that two consecutive seasons have exhausted the list of 21 English storm names.
The big picture: Above-average sea surface temperatures led to fierce storms that left their mark on the Gulf Coast as well as mid-Atlantic, when Category 4 Hurricane Ida swept ashore in coastal Louisiana on Aug. 29 and went on to kill more than two dozen people in the mid-Atlantic.
Photo: Schöning/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Nearly 1,500: That's the number of all-electric trucks that the big European logistics company DB Schenker has pre-ordered from Volta Trucks.
Why it matters: It's the largest pre-order for electric trucks in Europe to date, the companies said.
This may be cold comfort to anyone feeling the pinch of higher gasoline prices, but a new analysis explains why looking only at per-gallon costs tells an incomplete story.
How it works: University of California economist Severin Borenstein's commentary offers other metrics to look at prices nationwide and in his state, the nation's costliest.
The need to decarbonize heavy industries such as steel, aluminum and cement manufacturing is taking on new urgency as policymakers and financiers search for ways to speed up the transition to a low carbon future.
Driving the news: On the aluminum front, Sortera Alloys, a company that seeks to achieve 100% reuse of aluminum waste from end-of-life products, announced $10 million in funding from Bill Gates-affiliated Breakthrough Energy Ventures on Tuesday.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The latest data on lithium-ion battery prices shows the continued downward march that will help make electric cars and energy storage more competitive, but reveals storm clouds too.
Driving the news: Average battery pack prices fell another 6% from last year to $132 per kilowatt-hour, per the research firm BloombergNEF. That's an 89% decline since 2010 in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Steven Donziger at a rally to protest his imprisonment outside the Manhattan courthouse ahead of his sentencing in New York City in October. Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and seven other House Democrats are urging the Justice Department to release American environmental lawyer Steven Donziger, who helped Indigenous communities in Ecuador win a $9.5 billion lawsuit against Chevron.
Why it matters: Human rights groups say the charges against Donziger, who is serving a six-month prison term for contempt of court, violate international law and appear to be an act of retaliation against his work on behalf of Indigenous people and environmental advocates.