greenhouse gas

North Carolina lawmakers finalize bill that would scrap 2030 carbon reduction goal

8:50am June 20, 2025

North Carolina legislators have finalized a bill that would eliminate an interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate set in a landmark 2021 law. The state Senate voted Thursday to accept the House version that would repeal the requirement that electric regulators work to reduce carbon dioxide output 70% from 2005 levels by 2030.

Health & Safety

Could better asthma inhalers help patients, and the planet too?

5:12am May 06, 2024

by Martha Bebinger

Some doctors are promoting propellant-free inhalers over puff inhalers that emit greenhouse gases. Climate change can exacerbate respiratory ills because of more fires, air pollution and allergens.

A row of mailboxes tagged with evacuation notices during the Oak Fire in Mariposa, Calif., in July 2022. Many residents in the area are losing their home insurance because of rising wildfire risk.

How climate change could cause a home insurance meltdown

4:29pm July 24, 2023

It's increasingly expensive and difficult to get home insurance, as losses rise from climate-driven disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. And the solutions aren't always politically popular.

Carbon dioxide and other pollutants billows from a stack at PacifiCorp's coal-fired Naughton Power Plant, near where Bill Gates company, TerraPower plans to build an advanced, nontraditional nuclear reactor, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Kemmerer, Wyo.

Environment

Investments of 125 billionaires have the same carbon footprint as France, study finds

5:25am November 09, 2022

by Ayana Archie

Researchers at Oxfam, a nonprofit devoted to combating poverty, examined billionaires who collectively own $2.4 trillion in company equity, with investments across 183 companies.

Because space shuttle missions went up to repair and refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope, it has a relatively large carbon footprint compared to other telescopes.

Astronomy's contribution to climate change rivals the emissions from some countries

4:23pm March 21, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Building and operating telescopes can generate a lot of greenhouse gases. In fact, it's as if each astronomer in the world was driving more than 100,000 miles per year, a new study finds.

Vice President Harris looks at a hyperwall during a climate change discussion at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., on Nov. 5 , 2021. The SEC unveiled new proposals on Monday requiring companies to disclose climate-related risks.

Environment

The SEC wants companies to disclose how climate change is affecting them

2:40pm March 21, 2022

by David Gura

Under the rule proposals, companies would be required to share information about their greenhouse gas emissions as well as climate-related risks faced by their businesses.

Environment

Boone municipal buildings go climate-neutral eight years ahead of schedule

4:40pm January 27, 2022

by Eddie Garcia

The town of Boone is hitting some of its climate goals eight years ahead of schedule.

Activists protesting "greenwashing," in which a company or government appears to do more for the environment than it is, gather outside the JP Morgan premises near the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit.

Carbon trading gets a green light from the U.N., and Brazil hopes to earn billions

8:16pm December 06, 2021

by Dan Charles

Carbon offsets got a big boost from November's U.N. climate summit. New rules could make it easier for companies to pay for carbon-cutting projects in other countries, rather than doing it themselves.

Queue Listen Now

In this photo provided by the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry attends a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi via video link in Tianjin, China, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021. Wang warned Kerry on Wednesd

World News

U.S. Envoy Kerry Says China Is Crucial To Handling The Climate Crisis

8:14am September 02, 2021

by The Associated Press

China is the world's largest carbon emitter, after the U.S., producing an estimated 27% of global greenhouse gases. Kerry is in the country for talks on stronger efforts to curb rising temperatures.

Electrical workers check solar panels at a photovoltaic power station built in a fishpond in Haian in China's eastern Jiangsu province.

Computer Models Of Civilization Offer Routes To Ending Global Warming

7:53am August 14, 2021

by Dan Charles

Scientists who warned of heat waves and rising seas this week also say that it's possible to avoid the worst effects of the warming climate. They're relying on computer models of the world economy.