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INTO THE RED

Climate and the fight of our lives

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.

Latest climate stories

State energy board greenlights East Boston substation, enraging environmental justice advocates

Massachusetts’ Energy Facilities Siting Board said it will allow Eversource to circumvent the 14 final state and local environmental permits needed for the proposed substation. The decision outraged environmental justice advocates who have bitterly opposed the project.

Climate activists hold funeral procession to mourn death of thousands of species

Four silent figures covered in crimson robes led a “funeral” procession from Boston Common to former US senator John F. Kerry’s Beacon Hill home on Monday evening to mourn dying species and demand greater action to slow climate change.

President Biden to be in Boston on Friday, just like the royals

The president is scheduled to appear at a Boston political fund-raiser this Friday, the same day that the Prince and Princess of Wales will be in the city to announce the winners of their Earthshot Prize awards.

Here are the celebs slated to appear at the Earthshot Prize awards with William and Kate

Billie Eilish, Annie Lenox, Rami Malek, Daniel Dae Kim, and "Schitt's Creek" star Catherine O'Hara are among the many celebrities participating in the event Friday.

Here’s (almost) everything Prince William and Kate will do during their Boston visit

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be in Boston for three days, culminating with their attendance Friday at the Earthshot Prize, a star-studded awards ceremony at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway.

Featured projects

As Earth’s temperature rises, Massachusetts residents’ sense of urgency on climate change declines

Despite increasingly urgent international warnings, fewer Massachusetts residents see the climate crisis as a very serious concern than they did in 2019, a new poll from MassINC and the Boston Globe shows.
The Lobster Trap: Part 1

The lobster trap

The plentiful catch that brought wealth to fishing families is at risk, as climate change warms the Gulf of Maine. A way of life is on the line, but lobstermen can't, or won't, imagine another.
Climate change on Cape Cod

At the edge of a warming world

The flexed arm of Cape Cod has challenged the power of the sea for centuries, but the contest has escalated. Climate change is altering our vacation paradise in myriad ways, perhaps forever. The message in the sand is clear — if only we will look.

Accountability

President Biden to be in Boston on Friday, just like the royals

The president is scheduled to appear at a Boston political fund-raiser this Friday, the same day that the Prince and Princess of Wales will be in the city to announce the winners of their Earthshot Prize awards.

Here are the celebs slated to appear at the Earthshot Prize awards with William and Kate

Billie Eilish, Annie Lenox, Rami Malek, Daniel Dae Kim, and "Schitt's Creek" star Catherine O'Hara are among the many celebrities participating in the event Friday.

Here’s (almost) everything Prince William and Kate will do during their Boston visit

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be in Boston for three days, culminating with their attendance Friday at the Earthshot Prize, a star-studded awards ceremony at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway.

Study touting hydrogen — a technology favored by gas firms — was funded by gas interests, e-mails show

A study by researchers at UMass Lowell on hydrogen’s potential seemed innocuous enough. But hundreds of pages of e-mail correspondence now raise questions about the influence the gas industry may have had on the report.

Climate Science

Is climate change coming for Thanksgiving turkeys?
There’s evidence that climate change could increase avian flu’s transmission in the future. So as the planet continues to warm, turkey shortages might become more common.

World could see catastrophic climate change in just nine years, study shows

Actor Rainn Wilson says he’ll go by Rainnfall Heat Wave Extreme Winter Wilson to protest climate change

Politics and Policy

State energy board greenlights East Boston substation, enraging environmental justice advocates

Massachusetts’ Energy Facilities Siting Board said it will allow Eversource to circumvent the 14 final state and local environmental permits needed for the proposed substation. The decision outraged environmental justice advocates who have bitterly opposed the project.

Here are the celebs slated to appear at the Earthshot Prize awards with William and Kate

Billie Eilish, Annie Lenox, Rami Malek, Daniel Dae Kim, and "Schitt's Creek" star Catherine O'Hara are among the many celebrities participating in the event Friday.

Here’s (almost) everything Prince William and Kate will do during their Boston visit

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be in Boston for three days, culminating with their attendance Friday at the Earthshot Prize, a star-studded awards ceremony at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway.

Here’s what happened at the UN climate talks

The final agreement, signed by nearly 200 nations, includes a major breakthrough on climate reparations, but made no progress on a pledge to phase out planet-heating fossil fuels.

An interactive look into climate change

How Massachusetts feels about climate change in 12 graphics

The percentage of Massachusetts residents who believe climate change is as a very serious concern has decreased since 2019. That’s just one finding from a new poll conducted by MassINC Polling Group for the Boston Globe.

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.

Into the Red: How the Globe will cover climate change

To report on the most pressing issue of our time, the Globe’s climate team is expanding and rethinking its coverage.

The Globe's climate team wants to hear from you

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

How-Tos

Northeastern researchers have a plan to protect Boston from rising sea levels: floating vegetation mats they call the ‘Emerald Tutu’

ENVIRONMENT

DEM: ‘Substantial’ solid waste from Woonsocket sewage plant released into Blackstone River daily

As war rages, a struggle to balance energy crunch and climate crisis

More Climate stories

A look at Prince William and Catherine’s agenda for their trip to Boston this week

Along with presenting awards to the Earthshot Prize winners, the royal couple will keep a focus on environmental issues, meeting with local organizations responding to rising sea levels in Boston and visiting Greentown Labs.

Carroll Muffett

The world can’t recycle its way out of the plastics crisis

The International Energy Agency projects that by 2050, more than half of all oil and gas will be used to make plastics and petrochemicals. This has enormous climate impacts.

In Vermont, a call to end logging in the Green Mountain National Forest

Environmental groups have long battled the timber industry over the sanctity of national forests, but the stakes in those perennial battles have risen in recent years.

Is climate change coming for Thanksgiving turkeys?

There’s evidence that climate change could increase avian flu’s transmission in the future. So as the planet continues to warm, turkey shortages might become more common.

INNOVATION BEAT

Boston investment firms look to back climate tech startups

This year, 32 companies working to address climate change based in New England have raised money, up from 30 last year and 24 in 2020, according to data from PitchBook. They’ve raised $1.8 billion in total.

Here’s what happened at the UN climate talks

The final agreement, signed by nearly 200 nations, includes a major breakthrough on climate reparations, but made no progress on a pledge to phase out planet-heating fossil fuels.

Majority of US affected by climate disasters, but nation is moving in the wrong direction

Experts warn the world must urgently phase out fossil fuels to avert climate catastrophe, but ending production doesn’t seem to be in the energy industry’s plans. Two new reports bring that dissonance into focus.

John Kerry tests positive for COVID-19 as UN climate talks slow

John Kerry's positive COVID test was the latest setback for what appeared to be stalled negotiations that were already going into overtime.

Opinion

Carroll Muffett

The world can’t recycle its way out of the plastics crisis

The International Energy Agency projects that by 2050, more than half of all oil and gas will be used to make plastics and petrochemicals. This has enormous climate impacts.
Michael E. Mann and Wanjira Mathai

UN IPCC report can lead governments to the climate action door, but they must walk through

Bill McKibben

Heat pumps could help ease the climate crisis — and the war in Ukraine

Ko Barrett

Humans are responsible for climate change and humans have the capacity to solve it

Tim Fitzgerald

We can eat our way out of climate change