Energy & Decarbonization Stories
Capping and/or mitigating global warming requires a rapid shift to low-carbon socio-economic systems. From stories about scaling up renewable energy to pioneering work in solar fuels to carbon capture and storage technologies, Anthropocene magazine aims to be a leading voice in the conversation about this great transition.
Are gas or electric appliances better for the climate? The answer is a moving target.
When researchers assessed the break-even point between gas and electric appliances for 25 countries, they found only 5 where electricity is now clearly more climate-friendly. But that will change.
New research seems to blow away the idea of protecting forests to offset emissions
But what’s the smarter move: Fixing a flawed carbon market or moving on?
Squid-inspired smart windows could slash building energy use
Liquid-filled panels that dynamically change how they let light through could cut the energy costs of heating, cooling, and lighting buildings by over 40%
Net zero requires massive tracts of land. Habitat conservation lies in the details.
Crunching the numbers, researchers found that turning the western U.S. into an electrified net zero hub is technically feasible, affordable—and perhaps even environmentally sustainable.
Power storage for a renewable-based electric grid could be parked next door
A new study estimates that enough EV battery storage could be available to stabilize a solar- and wind-based grid by 2050
Hydropower could help developing nations decarbonize . . . with minimal environmental impact
Africa and Asia have 85 percent of the world’s affordable hydropower, and it is possible to develop the resource while treading lightly, a new analysis shows
The debate over fracking is spilling over into renewable energy technologies
Social scientists surveying public perceptions of energy and climate uncovered some surprising connections—both negative and positive
Concentrated sunlight puts cheap solar hydrogen within reach
Engineers have made a device one-hundredth the size of previous solar-to-hydrogen devices that is over three times more efficient
A new study maps the EV transition through a justice lens
In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers demonstrate the climate and financial benefits of EV ownership—and the danger of leaving vulnerable populations behind.
Groundbreaking process powered by the sun converts plastic and CO2 into fuel
In a promising step toward a more sustainable, circular economy, chemists have developed a reactor that turns two of the world’s most problematic waste streams into useful products
