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INTO THE RED

The climate crisis is now an emergency. We believe solutions must begin here, in our communities, state, and region. Globe journalism will shine light on obstacles to decisive action, illuminate paths toward solutions, and hold to account elected leaders responsible for guiding us to a better future.

Federal regulators to consider whether to shut down Weymouth gas compressor

Democrats now have a majority of the five seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which gives hope to the station’s opponents.

More recent climate stories

Australia hits 123 degrees, tying hottest temperature on record in Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere may have just matched its hottest temperature on record on Thursday. A station in Onslow, a small coastal town in Western Australia, registered a sweltering 123.3 degrees (50.7 degrees Celsius) amid a severe heat wave.

Boston is getting more propane school buses to combat pollution. They aren’t the cleanest option.
The majority of Boston’s school bus fleet already runs on propane, but advocates bemoaned the city adding more vehicles powered by fossil fuels, a decision made before Mayor Wu took office.

INNOVATION BEAT
The ‘big shift’ of VCs into climate tech
Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital is among a wave of big-name venture capitalists moving into climate investments.

Biden’s energy policy takes shape with wind and power line projects
The Biden administration on Wednesday outlined an array of initiatives to advance clean energy, including plans to hold the largest-ever sale of offshore wind farm rights in U.S. history and accelerate the construction of new power lines to transmit renewable electricity across the nation.

An interactive look into climate change

Maps: These parts of Boston, Revere, and Quincy are vulnerable to rising sea levels

One measure of a warming planet and human-caused climate change is rising sea levels, which Massachusetts’ coastal towns are increasingly grappling with.

Boston’s ‘heat islands’ turn lower-income neighborhoods from hot to insufferable

In a recent city report, officials noted that temperatures in leafier neighborhoods are often significantly lower than in more densely populated areas.

Data from the recent heat wave reveal troubling trends. These four charts show the damage inflicted

The stunning numbers highlight an alarming phenomenon at work as climate change makes periods of extreme heat more common and prolonged: The warming climate is leading us into a dangerous vicious cycle.

Accountability

Biden plan to overhaul federal oil and gas leasing program stops short of leasing ban sought by climate activists

The long-awaited report by the Interior Department stops short of recommending an end to oil and gas leasing on public lands, as many environmental groups have urged.

Southwest Airlines commits $10 million to Yale University to support climate change initiatives

Southwest Airlines announced a $10 million commitment to Yale University’s Center for Natural Carbon Capture to research technological advancements and find new solutions to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions.
COP26 Climate Summit

Climate talks draft agreement expresses ‘alarm and concern’

Negotiators at the United Nations climate talks are considering a draft decision that highlights “alarm and concern” about climate change.

Kerry says other nations must do far more to address climate change

With carbon emissions rising at a rate that has been called “catastrophic,” Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said Thursday that he worries other countries won’t commit to sufficient steps to reduce their greenhouse gases at upcoming international climate negotiations in Scotland.

Climate Science

Australia hits 123 degrees, tying hottest temperature on record in Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere may have just matched its hottest temperature on record on Thursday. A station in Onslow, a small coastal town in Western Australia, registered a sweltering 123.3 degrees (50.7 degrees Celsius) amid a severe heat wave.

2021 ended as fifth-hottest year with push from spiking methane

Boston’s snowless streak followed by a storm could be a sign of its climate future

Opinion

Michael E. Mann

Global destruction isn’t funny, but when it comes to the climate crisis, it might have to be

Science isn’t finished until it’s successfully communicated. "Don’t Look Up" succeeds not because it’s funny and entertaining, but because it’s serious sociopolitical commentary posing as comedy.
Cynthia Stone Creem and Lori A. Ehrlich

A better future for heating your home

Maria J. Santos

Thinking locally to solve the climate change and biodiversity crises

The Globe's climate team wants to hear from you

Share your thoughts and questions about the impact of climate change in your community.

Politics and Policy

Boston is getting more propane school buses to combat pollution. They aren’t the cleanest option.

The majority of Boston’s school bus fleet already runs on propane, but advocates bemoaned the city adding more vehicles powered by fossil fuels, a decision made before Mayor Wu took office.

Biden’s energy policy takes shape with wind and power line projects

The Biden administration on Wednesday outlined an array of initiatives to advance clean energy, including plans to hold the largest-ever sale of offshore wind farm rights in U.S. history and accelerate the construction of new power lines to transmit renewable electricity across the nation.

Baker urges state to pass offshore wind investment to help meet climate goals

The legislation proposes an end to the state's price cap on on offshore wind procurements. But skeptics, including Senator Mike Barrett, said this could cause electricity prices to skyrocket.

How six states could transform the US trucking industry

The U.S. trucking industry is set to be transformed by a handful of states adopting zero-emission vehicle requirements.

How to

Biden bill includes boost for union-made electric vehicles

Heat pumps could be key to fighting climate change, but how? We answer your burning questions

Ditching oil and gas heat is a key way to fight climate change. Here’s how to secure a heat pump for your home

More Climate stories

A lift boat that also served as a work platform, assembled a wind turbine off Block Island, R.I.

Baker urges state to pass offshore wind investment to help meet climate goals

The legislation proposes an end to the state's price cap on on offshore wind procurements. But skeptics, including Senator Mike Barrett, said this could cause electricity prices to skyrocket.

A long camera exposure, the Caldor Fire burns on Aug. 29, 2021, in Eldorado National Forest, Calif.

It was the fourth-warmest year on record in the US, and that’s just one of several climate records set in 2021

The country was also struck by 20 separate billion-dollar disasters last year.

Exhaust rises from smoke stacks at the Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Co. processing facility in this aerial photograph taken on the outskirts of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020.

2021 ended as fifth-hottest year with push from spiking methane

The last seven years rank as the hottest on record, and 21 of the 22 warmest years have occurred since 2000.

How six states could transform the US trucking industry

The U.S. trucking industry is set to be transformed by a handful of states adopting zero-emission vehicle requirements.

US carbon emissions increased in 2021

The world must urgently curb greenhouse gas emissions to avert climate catastrophe, but last year, the nation moved in the wrong direction.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden talked with people as they toured a neighborhood in Louisville, Colo., on Friday.

President Biden surveys Colorado wildfire damage, comforts victims

President Biden comforted Coloradans grappling with rebuilding homes and businesses destroyed last week by a rare wind-whipped, winter fire that burned through a pair of heavily populated suburbs between Denver and Boulder.

Ralf Sunnetcioglu, 6, ran in the snow beside Memorial Drive Friday with his mother, Ebru.

Boston’s snowless streak followed by a storm could be a sign of its climate future

Snowfall on Friday ended the city's fifth-longest snow-free stretch in its recorded history.

Farrah Manz, 10, reached into the rubble to look for any belongings that might have survived after her house burned down in the Marshall fire in the Spanish Hills subdivision of Boulder, Colo., Tuesday.

‘I have absolutely nothing’: After a massive winter fire, what is left?

Like the coals that were still glowing days later under the frost, the extent of what was lost and the challenge of what comes next is only now becoming apparent to those who lived in the 991 homes that were lost in one of the worst wildfires in Colorado history.

The Climate team