Why people want to put nuclear reactors on ships
11:05 | The military has long used reactors to power submarines and aircraft carriers. Could this also work for commercial ships?
How your city could outsmart heat and floods
8:31 | From Ahmedabad to Boston, cities across the world are making big changes to cope with floods and heat.
Old wind turbines are piling up. Here’s how to revive them.
15:04 | Tens of thousands of old wind turbines are set to retire globally every year – and many of them are bound to get scrapped. But some companies are trying to save them.
This is what’s holding back electric cars
11:54 | Even the most EV-crazed countries can have so-called charging deserts where your electric car could run out of juice any minute.
We’re building solar in the wrong places. But we can fix that.
11:20 | Solar power capacity has tripled globally in the last five years – and there’s more to come.
The U.S. is giving up on climate – others are cashing in
9:53 | Donald Trump rolled back decades of US climate policy in his first days back in the Oval Office. But how will his moves affect global progress?
How countries around the world are beating sea level rise
11:35 | Around the world, city dwellers are scrambling to stay afloat – by raising walls and buildings, rewilding land, and relocating to higher grounds.
Why does the world keep investing in fossil fuels?
12:12 | Despite net-zero pledges, banks and asset managers, funds and governments continue to give trillions of dollars to the fossil fuel industry.
How companies try to trick you with dubious promises
12:51 | Whether it’s creative accounting or lofty claims: Here’s what to look out for in companies’ climate promises.
The race to build the perfect wind turbine
11:16 | Wind has been outpaced by solar as the frontrunner of renewable energy. But according to some studies, recent innovations could unlock up to 80% more wind energy potential in the US alone.
How Big Tech’s carbon offsets are threatening Kenyans
22:22 | One project in Kenya covers an area the size of Slovenia and promises to offset carbon emissions by restricting where and when livestock can graze. But indigenous herders are crying foul.
Why a city in Sweden filled these caves with almost boiling water
12:02 | Somewhere below the Swedish city of Västerås, there’s a big man-made cave. The local energy company decided to clean it, pump it full of water and heat it up.
The dark secret behind the historic U.S. oil boom
14:00 | The US is producing more oil than any country ever has, despite pledging to reduce emissions.
The race to solve solar energy’s recycling problem
16:16 | Right now, millions of old solar panels are headed for landfills. But companies are still chasing the tech that makes it viable to reuse the recovered materials in new solar panels.
Why carbon capture needs a reality check
14:01 | Oil companies are pouring billions into technologies to capture CO2 at fossil fuel plants or even suck it out of the air. They have made big promises — but where are the results?
How to use gravity to store energy
11:56 | Gravity batteries are a new big hope for storing excess renewable electricity. The idea is ingenious. Does it pass the reality check?
Why the mega plan to send Australian solar to Asia (almost) flopped
12:20 | The idea was simple: why not use solar energy from Australia’s sunny and spacious north to power Singapore, which has no space for renewables of its own?
How we can make solar power at night
12:26 | Concentrated solar power can store the sun’s heat for a long time and turn it into electricity when needed – for example at night, when normal solar panels lie idle. Is it set for a comeback?
Why Sweden is light-years ahead on climate
12:43 | If you’re looking for a climate success story, you’ll find it, of course, in Scandinavia. Sweden has cut 80% of its net emissions since 1990 – while growing its economy.
The mind-blowing thing we get WRONG about energy
9:49 | Fossil fuels still supply 80% of our energy. And people point to this number to say it’s impossible to switch to renewables. But their argument overlooks just how much energy we waste – and how we could do it better.
Europe’s ludicrous hydrogen bet
13:29 | Europe’s betting big on hydrogen – despite a lot of drawbacks. Is the continent’s hydrogen strategy overblown? And if so…why?
Why aren’t we all flying in electric planes?
11:33 | I flew in the first ever e-plane certified to take off to figure out whether we will all soon be flying electric.
Why people want to put small nuclear reactors everywhere
13:04 | The race to develop small modular reactors is on, with the promise to provide fossil-free energy everywhere. But only one has been built so far. What’s going wrong?
Can this magic fuel clean up the shipping industry?
15:20 | The shipping industry is responsible for three percent of global emissions. One of its best bets to get these down is fueling their vessels with ammonia.
Why don’t we just tax carbon emissions?
11:38 | Burning carbon, for example in the form of coal, produces cheap energy – but also tons of emissions. Why don’t we just tax that?
Are we running out of oil?
6:52 | People used to be really worried about peak oil – what happened? And does it matter if we run out?
The biggest blind spot of climate change
13:15 | It’s almost impossible to pin down how much the military emits globally. We are talking about a sector with a budget of 2.2 trillion dollars using helicopters, tanks, ships, fighter planes.
Heat Pumps: How cold rivers could heat your home
11:33 | Heating our homes with cold water! Sounds absurd? It’s not. Heat pumps are revolutionizing the way we heat and cool our homes and cities. We went to the German city of Mannheim to find out how.
Are perovskite cells a game-changer for solar energy?
11:10 | Imagine creating solar panels without relying on materials in short supply and adopting an eco-friendlier production process. And at the same time boosting efficiency? Enter perovskite tandem solar cells.
Biochar: How burning stubble could FIGHT air pollution
12:11 | Biochar is supposed to suck carbon out of the air, reduce air pollution and even generate energy. But does it live up to the hype?
Why aren’t solar cars everywhere?
11:53 | A handful of solar cars are available for pre-order now, but how realistic is the tech?
Which will be the engine of the future?
11:06 | Truck manufacturers are under immense pressure to cut emissions. But should they bet on fully electric batteries, hydrogen fuel cells or even both?
Can India’s Great Green Wall stop desertification?
11:26 | Planting Great Green Walls in an attempt to restore dry land has become a continental effort, led by governments and NGOs in both Africa and China. Now India has ambitious plans to do the same.
Wind power’s unsolved problem
10:46 | Wind turbines are playing a big part in cleaning up our energy system. But the blades are close to impossible to recycle and largely end up in landfills. There are more and more companies promising to fix that. Can they?
The greenhouse gas no one is talking about
11:39 | You may know laughing gas from your visit to the dentist. But did you know that it’s actually a climate killer – 300 times as potent as CO₂? Why is no one talking about it? And how can we to stop it?
Do short-distance flights need to go?
9:33 | The shortest flight in Europe takes less than a minute – and it’s getting increasingly hard to justify emissions from such trips as the planet heats up.