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China’s record-breaking exports of clean tech are making a big dent in emissions, report says

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By ANTON L. DELGADO , AP.  Excerpt: BANGKOK (AP) — China is exporting a record amount of clean energy technology and equipment as the energy crisis from the Iran war drives surging demand for renewables , and that will help reduce global emissions, according to a report released Thursday. Once installed or deployed, these 2026 exports will likely avert emissions of about 450 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, roughly equal to Brazil’s annual emissions, says the analysis by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air [CREA]. It’s a small sign of progress as global efforts to curb climate change fall short. In November, Turkey will host annual U.N. climate talks where electrification is expected to be a leading topic. Record-breaking year for Chinese exports ...China is by far the largest global supplier of renewable energy equipment, from solar panels and wind turbines to electric vehicles and batteries. Most of what it makes is sold domestically ...
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Renewables to reach 40% of total generating capacity, beat gas within a year – EIA

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By Michelle Lewis , Eletrek.  Excerpt: Over the coming year, renewables’ share of total generating capacity will grow from 37.7% to 40.4%, surpassing that of natural gas and outstripping nuclear capacity fivefold, according to new data released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) and reviewed by the SUN DAY Campaign. Renewable electricity generation grew by more than 10% over the past year. According to the EIA’s latest “ Electric Power Monthly ” report (with data through August 31, 2026), renewably generated electricity during the first two-thirds of 2026 was 10.2% greater year over year. The growth was led by utility-scale [>1 MW] solar (up 20.0%), small-scale solar (up 12.0%), wind (up 7.8%), hydropower (up 4.2%), and geothermal (up 3.8%). From January to August 2026, wind produced 333,367 gigawatt-hours (GWh) – 10.6% of total US electrical generation – while utility-scale and small-scale solar combined produced 329,119 GWh (10.5%), hydropower produced 180,940 G...
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Trump plans to loosen methane rules for low-producing, high-emitting oil wells

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By Rachel Frazin , The Hill.  Excerpt: The Trump administration is planning to loosen regulations on methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, and particularly for low-producing, high-emitting oil and gas wells. President Trump will announce a proposed rule to roll back those regulations at a Tuesday night rally in Texas, an administration official confirmed. The draft rule would be expected to particularly ease regulations on “marginal wells,” which produce a relatively small quantity of oil or gas. These oil wells are estimated to produce just 7 percent of the nation’s oil and gas but about half of its methane emissions.  Methane is a planet-warming gas that’s about 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is responsible for about 25 percent of global warming. It mainly comes from the production and transport of fossil fuels — as well as from livestock and other agriculture and decaying waste in landfills. Natural gas is primarily made up of methane....  Full ...
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Wind turbines kill ‘shocking’ number of bats each year

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By Erik Stokstad , Science.  Excerpt: In 2003, wildlife biologists made a gruesome discovery on a mountain in West Virginia. Several thousand bats had been killed at a new wind farm. Until then, birds such as hawks and eagles were thought to be at the most risk of being struck dead by the massive spinning blades at the top of wind turbines. More than 28 bat species have since been confirmed as victims at similar facilities nationwide. But it has been challenging to estimate just how many bats are dying. Now, the most comprehensive study to date has yielded a distressingly large number. Some 18.7 million bats died from wind turbines in the United States between 1981 and 2024, it estimates—and the problem has grown dramatically worse in recent years. The research, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , suggests about 100,000 bats died per year 2 decades ago. But by 2021, the boom in wind farms had pushed the toll to 1.5 million bats annually. ...The...
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Colorado has enough spare winter electricity to replace furnaces with heat pumps, report says

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By Michael Booth , The Colorado Sun.  Excerpt: Colorado’s electric grid has winter capacity “headroom” to power millions more clean energy heat pumps to replace natural gas furnaces, a transformation that would ease consumer bills and expand the global warming fight, according to a new study. The energy analysis nonprofit RMI, formerly Rocky Mountain Institute, says Colorado’s electrical demand peaks tend to come in summer from air conditioning, and that in winter the state could handle 1.6 million more heat pumps, or 17 times more than currently installed.  Heat pumps run on electricity instead of natural gas, and provide both winter heating and summer cooling. As Colorado’s electrical grid transitions to clean solar and wind generation, state officials and environmental groups see home and commercial furnaces as a key opportunity to cut greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning.  Switching that many heating and cooling systems to heat pumps could lower expected ...
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Couple reveals how they power 4-bedroom home and electric car for just $59 a week

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By Brooklyn Smith, The Cool Down (TCD).  Excerpt: In Northern Ireland, a four-bedroom house shows what happens when a family runs both its home energy use and its driving on electricity: two major expenses collapse into a single, lower bill. The owners of Tigh Beag, in the Glens of Antrim, said running the property and their electric vehicle together costs about £44 (approximately $59 USD) per week. ...Anne-Marie McGoldrick said, "We wanted a home that was really comfortable and easy to live in and that's exactly what we've ended up with. It just makes everyday life feel comfortable and effortless. And it's reassuring to know when we hear about another tariff hike or diesel price rise, we're much less affected. So much of our energy comes from our own renewable generation and battery storage, which gives us a lot more peace of mind." ...roughly half of [the cost] contributing to driving; and that's around 12,000 miles per year."...Instead of sending ...
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Heat killed ‘staggering’ 50,000 people in Europe’s cities this summer, scientists warn

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By Ajit Niranjan , The Guardian.  Excerpt: Heat killed a record 50,000 people in European cities this summer, new research suggests, with scientists blaming climate breakdown for two in every three of the deaths. Morgues and funeral homes filled with bodies from June to August as the heat added by planet-baking pollution cut short an extra 32,000 lives in urban areas, the researchers found. Hot days pushed vulnerable bodies into overdrive and warm nights prevented them from recovering. The “staggering” death toll, modelled using historical relationships between heat and health in 854 cities, was the worst on record, the study found. Hot weather marked by relentless heatwaves killed nearly twice as many people as it did in each of the two next most dangerous years. ...People succumbed to heat at the highest rates in Malta, Italy and Hungary, while absolute death tolls were greatest in Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the UK. Because death certificates rarely record contributing fa...
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