Energy Policy News

February 26, 2025

Top Headlines

Research Finds That Certain Packaging Materials Can Show 70% Lower Emissions Than Alternatives

Feb. 12, 2025 — A comprehensive assessment sought to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of replacing polyethylene, or PE, packaging like bags, films and containers with alternative materials, including ...

Solar-Powered Device Captures Carbon Dioxide from Air to Make Sustainable Fuel

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers have developed a reactor that pulls carbon dioxide directly from the air and converts it into sustainable fuel, using sunlight as the power ...

Research Uses AI to Make Infrastructure More Resilient, Sustainable

Feb. 13, 2025 — From predicting potholes to designing more durable concrete, artificial intelligence is paving the way for smarter infrastructure, new studies ...

The 'Hydrogen Economy' May Be Relatively Small, but Critical

Feb. 13, 2025 — Researchers have quantified the role of the 'hydrogen economy' in making our society more sustainable. They present the results of extensive modelling of pathways to decarbonizing the European economy by 2050. They conclude that when it comes to ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:06am EST

Researchers Are Driving the Charge of Zero Emissions

Feb. 10, 2025 — New research finds that electric vehicles generally produce less non-exhaust emissions compared with gasoline-powered ...

Rethinking Energy Demand Can Foster Sustainable Development and Reduce Emissions from Buildings and Transport

Feb. 6, 2025 — In a new study, scientists show that a mix of policy measures, including both technological solutions and behavioral changes, can significantly ...

Engineers Model Electric Grid Demand for EVs to Charge While in Motion

Feb. 4, 2025 — Running out of gas in a remote area far from a gas station is every driver's worst nightmare. A similar stressor, known as "range anxiety," exists for owners of electric vehicles who worry about how ...

Coal Emissions Cost India Millions in Crop Damages

Feb. 4, 2025 — New research shows grain yields critical to India's food security are dragged down 10% or more in many parts of the country by nitrogen dioxide pollution from power stations that run on coal. ...

Floating Solar Increases Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Small Ponds

Jan. 27, 2025 — While floating solar -- the emerging practice of putting solar panels on bodies of water -- is promising in its efficiency and its potential to spare agricultural and conservation lands, a new ...

Researchers Discover New Way to Store Hydrogen Using Lignin Jet Fuel

Jan. 27, 2025 — An international team of scientists has discovered a way to store and release volatile hydrogen using lignin-based jet fuel that could open new pathways for sustainable energy production. In a new ...

Team Makes Sustainable Aviation Fuel Additive from Recycled Polystyrene

Jan. 13, 2025 — A new study overcomes a key obstacle to switching commercial aircraft from their near-total reliance on fossil fuels to more sustainable aviation fuels. The study details a cost-effective method for ...

Floating Solar Panels Could Support US Energy Goals

Jan. 14, 2025 — Federal reservoirs could help meet the country's solar energy needs, according to a new study. Geospatial scientists and senior legal and regulatory analyst quantified exactly how much energy could ...

Synthetic Chemicals and Chemical Products Require a New Regulatory and Legal Approach to Safeguard Children's Health

Jan. 8, 2025 — Nations must better safeguard health and reduce childhood diseases linked to exposures to toxic chemicals, according to researchers. Governments need ...

Travelers Weigh in on Weight-Based Airfares for Eco-Friendly Skies

Dec. 17, 2024 — The holidays are in full swing and people are shopping, wrapping and packing to visit loved ones. Along with the extra fees for checked baggage and seat upgrades, some airlines are also considering ...

Electric Vehicle Transition Could Create Unwanted Air Pollution Hotspots in China and India

Dec. 16, 2024 — New research has uncovered a potential unintended consequence of the electric vehicle transition in India and China, finding that sulfur dioxide emissions could actually increase over current levels ...

It's Worth Mixing It Up: What Combination of Policies Will Lead to a Clean Energy Future?

Dec. 16, 2024 — How can we ensure that as many households as possible adopt not only solar panels, but also their own battery to store solar energy, a heat pump, and an electric car? Researchers have looked into ...

New Device Produces Critical Fertilizer Ingredient from Thin Air, Cutting Carbon Emissions

Dec. 13, 2024 — A new prototype device demonstrates an innovative approach to producing ammonia -- a key component of fertilizer -- that could transform an industry responsible for about one-third of global ...

Study Urges Canada to Build Solar Power Mega-Projects

Dec. 11, 2024 — Canada should focus on building mass utility-scale solar mega-projects to kickstart its green energy transition, according to a new report. The recommendation comes from a new article which looks at ...

From Chip Shop to Pit Stop -- Scientists Make Old Cooking Oil Biofuel as Efficient as Diesel

Dec. 6, 2024 — A new way to produce fuels made from leftover fat can create biofuel as effective as diesel and 1000-times more efficiently than current methods a new study has ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 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, ...

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 team used computer simulations to show that ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 global warming stays under 2 degrees Celsius, ...