Energy Policy News

July 6, 2023

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Top Headlines

Public Support Hydrogen and Biofuels to Decarbonize Global Shipping

July 6, 2023 — New research into public attitudes towards alternative shipping fuels shows public backing for biofuel and hydrogen. The study also found that nuclear was preferred to the heavy fuel oil (HFO) currently used in the global shipping industry, although both were perceived negatively. Ammonia had the ...

Potent Greenhouse Gas Produced by Industry Could Be Readily Abated With Existing Technologies

July 5, 2023 — Researchers have found that one method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is available, affordable, and capable of being implemented right now. Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance, could be readily abated with ...

Clean, Sustainable Fuels Made 'from Thin Air' and Plastic Waste

June 19, 2023 — Researchers have demonstrated how carbon dioxide can be captured from industrial processes -- or even directly from the air -- and transformed into clean, sustainable fuels using just the energy from the ...

Hidden in Plain Sight: Windshield Washer Fluid Is an Unexpected Emission Source

May 30, 2023 — Exhaust fumes probably come to mind when considering vehicle emissions, but they aren't the only source of pollutants released by a daily commute. Researchers report that alcohols in windshield washer fluid account for a larger fraction of ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:36pm EDT

Energy Insecurity Is an Underappreciated Social and Environmental Determinant of Health

June 29, 2023 — In light of climate change and the impending transition to clean energy, many long-standing programs to address energy insecurity need to be ...

Potential Financial Losses from a Renewable Energy Transition Are Concentrated Among the Wealthy

June 22, 2023 — One common rationale against climate action is that the resulting fossil fuel investment losses could impact people's retirement or long-term ...

Environmental Risks and Opportunities of Orphaned Oil and Gas Wells

June 20, 2023 — Researchers are leading an international team whose goal is to create a framework to help governments in the U.S. and around the world assess and prioritize remediation strategies for orphaned oil ...

Hydrogen Battery: Storing Hydrogen in Coal May Help Power Clean Energy Economy

May 26, 2023 — The quest to develop hydrogen as a clean energy source that could curb our dependence on fossil fuels may lead to an unexpected place -- coal. ...

Communities Should Reconsider Walking Away from Curbside Recycling, Study Shows

May 22, 2023 — Researchers took a deep dive into the economic and environmental value of community recycling efforts and compared it to the value of other climate ...

New Supply Chain Model to Empower Seabound Hydrogen Economy

May 22, 2023 — A team of researchers has created a new supply chain model which could empower the international hydrogen renewable energy ...

Driving on Sunshine: Clean, Usable Liquid Fuels Made from Solar Power

May 18, 2023 — Researchers have developed a solar-powered technology that converts carbon dioxide and water into liquid fuels that can be added directly to a car's engine as drop-in ...

'Improved' Cookstoves Emit More Ultrafine Particles Than Conventional Stoves

May 11, 2023 — Improved cookstoves, which are widely used for cooking in developing countries, produce twice as many harmful ultrafine air pollution particles ...

Cleanup of Inactive Gulf of Mexico Wells Estimated at $30 Billion

May 8, 2023 — A new article examines the cost to plug 14,000 wells that are inactive, have not produced for five years and are unlikely to be reactivated in the Gulf of Mexico region, which is the epicenter of ...

Tiny Microbes Could Brew Big Benefits for Green Biomanufacturing

May 8, 2023 — Scientists find new route in bacteria to decarbonize industry. The discovery could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing of fuels, drugs, and chemicals. A research team has ...

Earlier Headlines

Summaries
Headlines

Prolonged Power Outages, Often Caused by Weather Events, Hit Some Parts of the U.S. Harder Than Others

May 1, 2023 — New research found that Americans already bearing the brunt of climate change and health inequities are most at risk of impact by a lengthy power ...

Next Decade Decisive for PV Growth on the Path to 2050

Apr. 18, 2023 — Global experts on solar power strongly urge a commitment to the continued growth of photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing and deployment to power the planet, arguing that lowballing projections for PV ...

Moving Towards 3 Degrees of Warming -- The Phasing out of Coal Is Too Slow

Apr. 6, 2023 — The use of coal power is not decreasing fast enough. The Paris Agreement's target of a maximum of 2 degrees of warming appear to be missed, and the world is moving towards a temperature increase ...

Levies on Renewable Energy Profits Could Serve as a Barrier to Achieving Net Zero Targets in the UK

Apr. 5, 2023 — Placing levies on the profits made in the renewable energy industry could hinder the UK's ability to meet its 2050 net zero carbon reduction targets, an expert has ...

More Predictable Renewable Energy Could Lower Costs

Mar. 24, 2023 — Lower electricity costs for consumers and more reliable clean energy could be some of the benefits of a new study by researchers who have examined how predictable solar or wind energy generation is ...

Improved Wastewater Treatment Could Lead to Significant Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Mar. 23, 2023 — New research has shown that methane emissions from urban areas are underestimated by a factor of three to four and that untreated wastewater may be a contributing ...

At Least 80% of the World's Most Important Sites for Biodiversity on Land Currently Contain Human Developments

Mar. 23, 2023 — At least 80% of sites identified as being internationally important for biodiversity on land currently contain infrastructure -- of which more than 75% contain roads. In the future, more sites that ...

Mercury Emission Estimates Rarely Provide Enough Data to Assess Success in Eliminating Harmful Global Gold Mining Practice

Mar. 22, 2023 — A global treaty called the Minamata Convention requires gold-mining countries to regularly report the amount of toxic mercury that miners are using to find and extract gold, designed to help nations ...

Public Acceptance of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Removal Could Be Improved in Developing Countries

Mar. 21, 2023 — People might be more positive to the removal of fuel subsidies if told where the money would be spent instead. This has been shown in a study which investigated attitudes towards removing fossil fuel ...

Study Highlights Complicated Relationship Between AI and Law Enforcement

Mar. 21, 2023 — A recent study that examined the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and law enforcement underscores both the need for law enforcement agencies to be involved in the development of ...

Solar Industry Feeling the Heat Over Disposal of 80 Million Panels

Mar. 21, 2023 — Renewable energy experts have come up with an environmentally-friendly plan to dispose of solar panels at the end of their ...

Low-Cost Device Can Measure Air Pollution Anywhere

Mar. 16, 2023 — Flatburn is an open-source, mobile pollution detector intended to let people measure air quality ...

Rsearchers Examine Combined Effects of Two Combustion Technologies on the Emission of Coal-Fired Boilers

Mar. 16, 2023 — There is currently a large dependence on coal for power generation. As coal-fired plants cause environmental and health hazards, technologies such as swirl flow and air staging have been proposed to ...

Experts Demand Fire Safety Policy Change Over Health Impact of Widely Used Flame Retardants

Feb. 28, 2023 — Leading environmental health experts have called for a comprehensive review of the UK's fire safety regulations, with a focus on the environmental and health risks of current chemical flame ...

How to Make Hydrogen Straight from Seawater -- No Desalination Required

Feb. 14, 2023 — Researchers have developed a cheaper and more energy-efficient way to make hydrogen directly from seawater, in a critical step towards a truly viable green hydrogen industry. The new method splits ...

'Game-Changing' Findings for Sustainable Hydrogen Production

Feb. 8, 2023 — Hydrogen fuel could be a more viable alternative to traditional fossil fuels, according to University of Surrey researchers who have found that a type of metal-free catalysts could contribute to the ...

UK Substantially Underestimates Its Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Production -- And Many Other Countries Probably Do Too

Jan. 27, 2023 — Scientists develop a newer, more accurate method for calculating methane emissions from offshore oil and gas production that suggests the United Kingdom severely underestimates its greenhouse gas ...