Energy Policy News

November 24, 2024

Top Headlines

Perovskite Research Boosts Solar Cell Efficiency and Product Life

Nov. 19, 2024 — An international team has identified a strategy to improve both the performance and stability for solar cells made out of the 'miracle material' perovskite by mitigating a previously hidden degradation ...

Plastic Bag Bans Have Lingering Impacts, Even After Repeals

Nov. 18, 2024 — A new study found that policies to curtail the use of single-use plastic bags in grocery stores and other retail outlets in Austin and Dallas, Texas, resulted in people buying more plastic bags, a behavior that continued after the rules were no ...

Four Global Policies Could Eliminate More Than 90% of Plastic Waste and 30% of Linked Carbon Emissions by 2050

Nov. 14, 2024 — A new study determines that just four policies can reduce mismanaged plastic waste -- plastic that isn't recycled or properly disposed of and ends up as pollution -- by 91% and plastic-related ...

Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions Increase Again in 2024

Nov. 12, 2024 — Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have reached a record high in 2024, according to new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:08pm EST

Fighting Microplastics for a Cleaner Future

Nov. 11, 2024 — Creating sustainable chemicals and developing better waste management will contribute to better sustainability. This research is part of figuring out how to make green hydrogen available for waste ...

How Local Governments Can Lead the Way in Decarbonizing the U.S.

Oct. 30, 2024 — The success of the $1 trillion that was recently invested by the U.S. federal government to mitigate climate climate change through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ...

Assessing the Real Climate Costs of Manufacturing

Oct. 24, 2024 — Producing materials such as steel, plastics and cement in the United States alone inflicts $79 billion a year in climate-related damage around the world, according to a new study by engineers and ...

Engineers Unveil Breakthrough in Ultra-Clean Biofuel Technology

Oct. 17, 2024 — Researchers have unveiled a pioneering method for the efficient combustion of biofuels, using a revolutionary Swirl Burst (SB) injector to burn glycerol/methanol blends with near-zero emissions. This ...

New Research Reveals How Large-Scale Adoption of Electric Vehicles Can Improve Air Quality and Human Health

Oct. 15, 2024 — A new study suggests that large-scale adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could lead to significant population-level health benefits. The research ...

Liquefied Natural Gas Carbon Footprint Is Worse Than Coal

Oct. 3, 2024 — Liquefied natural gas leaves a greenhouse gas footprint that is 33% worse than coal, when processing and shipping are taken into account, according to a new ...

Getting to Zero Emissions: A Call for Unified Energy Planning

Sep. 30, 2024 — To help speed decarbonization, state regulators should reconceive of gas and electric utilities as serving the same purpose, according to a new report. Without coordinated action, the energy ...

Climate Change Likely to Increase Diarrheal Disease Hospitalizations by 2100s in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Sep. 26, 2024 — By 2100, hospitalizations from diarrheal diseases are predicted to increase in the city of Dhaka in Bangladesh as a result of climate change, even if ...

New Continuous Reaction Process Can Help Turn Plant Waste Into Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Sep. 26, 2024 — Scientists successfully tested a new way to produce sustainable jet fuel from lignin-based agricultural waste. The team's research demonstrated a ...

Over Two-Million Acres of Floodplain Development Occurred in U.S. in Last Two Decades, Study Finds

Sep. 13, 2024 — A nationwide analysis of community-level floodplain development found that over two-million acres of floodplain were developed over the past two ...

How to Improve and Accelerate Testing of Chemicals

Nov. 7, 2024 — Recommendations from DEFRA's Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee (HSAC) have set out steps that could make the UK a leader in more ethical, safer, and cost-effective chemical testing, ...

Despite Progress, China Remains Tethered to Coal as Climate Change Pressures Mount

Oct. 8, 2024 — A new paper details how China faces numerous political, economic and technological obstacles as it tries to transition away from coal while balancing the need to combat climate change with the need ...

High Costs Slow Widespread Use of Heat Pumps, Study Shows

Oct. 1, 2024 — The high cost of installing heat pumps for home heating could slow down people widely adopting the technology and leave government targets missed, research ...

Methane Emissions Are Rising Faster Than Ever

Sep. 10, 2024 — Methane concentrations in Earth's atmosphere increased at record speed over the past five years. At least two-thirds of annual methane emissions now come from human activities, including fossil ...

Traditional Infrastructure Design Often Makes Extreme Flooding Events Worse

Sep. 4, 2024 — Much of the nation's stormwater infrastructure, designed decades to a century ago to prevent floods, can exacerbate flooding during the severe weather events that are increasing around the ...

Scientists Propose Guidelines for Solar Geoengineering Research

Aug. 23, 2024 — To guide future research into solar geoengineering, an international group of scientists is making specific recommendations for evaluating proposals in order to identify the most feasible and ...

Sharing Risk to Avoid Power Outages in an Era of Extreme Weather

Aug. 20, 2024 — Heat waves, droughts, and fires place growing stress on the West's electric grid. New research suggests that more integrated management of electricity resources across the region could ...

Exploring Options for the Sustainable Management of Phosphorus

Aug. 16, 2024 — A new study assessed the feasibility of recovering phosphorus from municipal wastewater as an alternative sustainable source of this non-renewable ...

New Additive Process Can Make Better -- And Greener -- High-Value Chemicals

July 26, 2024 — Researchers have achieved a significant breakthrough that could lead to better -- and greener -- agricultural chemicals and everyday products. Using a process that combines natural enzymes and light, ...

Win-Win Potential of Grass-Powered Energy Production

July 26, 2024 — Researchers modeled the impact of using anaerobic digestion to produce renewable natural gas from grassy biomass in different settings and from varying perspectives, analysis that helps flesh out the ...

Energy Planning in Ghana as a Role Model for the World

July 25, 2024 — Researchers are investigating ways to better plan for climate-resilient energy systems in the Global South. Focusing on the case study of Accra, the capital of Ghana, the multidisciplinary team ...

Strategic Emission Caps Key to Ammonia Industry Decarbonization, Researchers Find

July 23, 2024 — New research has revealed critical insights into how strategic emission cap choices can lead to cost-effective, near-100% ammonia industry decarbonization while avoiding issues such as land use ...

Study Shows New Efficiency Standards for Heavy Trucks Could Boost Energy Use

July 18, 2024 — A new study suggests that the U.S. government's push to increase heavy-duty trucks' energy efficiency could encourage more shipping by truck instead of rail, reducing the policies' ...

Local Dragonflies Expose Mercury Pollution Patterns

July 16, 2024 — A new study has unveiled surprising findings about mercury pollution: where it comes from and how it moves through the environment vary significantly depending on the ecosystem. In drier regions, ...

Study Finds Health Risks in Switching Ships from Diesel to Ammonia Fuel

July 11, 2024 — Without additional regulation, burning ammonia in ship engines could cause serious impacts on air quality that could result in more than 600,000 additional premature deaths per year, according to new ...

Targeted Home Systems to Remove PFAS More Cost-Effective Than System-Wide Solutions

July 11, 2024 — PFAS, the potentially cancer-causing chemicals known as 'forever chemicals', have become an increasing concern in home drinking water. Solutions to reduce the risk of exposure range from ...

Pinpointing Coal Plants to Convert to Nuclear Energy, Considering Both Practicality and Community Support

July 9, 2024 — An assessment ranks the feasibility of converting 245 operational coal power plants in the U.S. into advanced nuclear reactors, providing valuable insights for policymakers and utilities to meet ...

How to Increase the Rate of Plastics Recycling

July 3, 2024 — A US nationwide bottle deposit program could increase recycling of PET plastic to 82 percent, with nearly two-thirds of all PET bottles being recycled into new bottles, at a net cost of just a penny ...

True Scale of Carbon Impact from Long-Distance Travel Revealed

July 2, 2024 — The reality of the climate impact of long-distance passenger travel has been revealed in new ...

Promise Green Hydrogen May Not Always Be Fulfilled

June 21, 2024 — Green hydrogen often, but certainly not always, leads to CO2 ...