fb-pixel Skip to main content

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

Biden calls for fossil-free federal buildings in blow to gas

All new federal buildings would be required to be fossil-fuel free by 2030 under an Energy Department proposal announced Wednesday.

John Kerry plans to meet with Biden to discuss his future as climate envoy

John Kerry told The New York Times he was making no moves for the time being. “I’ve made no plans other than to try to complete the task,” he said.

New England winters are getting much warmer, data show

Thanks to climate change, winters are getting warmer across the country, but a new analysis of federal temperature data shows the trend is particularly strong in parts of the northeast.

BU finishes its ‘Jenga Building,’ the most environmentally friendly tower in the city

The new data science center on Commonwealth Ave. will be powered by wind and heated and cooled by geothermal wells that reach nearly one-third of a mile underground.

It’s Globe Climate Week

From December 5 to 9, join us for a series of events on how to tackle the climate crisis

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

All the big names on the ‘green carpet’ at William and Kate’s Earthshot ceremony

After a days of royal engagements, Friday marks the marquee event of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ trip to Boston: The star-studded Earthshot Prize awards.

On their final day in Boston, Prince William and Kate had a packed agenda

The Prince and Princess of Wales concluded their royal trip to Boston Friday with a packed itinerary that included meeting with President Biden in the afternoon and hosting the glitzy Earthshot Prize awards ceremony at night.

Guests at the Earthshot Awards were encouraged to dress sustainably. Mayor Wu understood the assignment.

Guests at the Earthshot Prize awards are encouraged to “dress with sustainability front of mind,” according to an invitation from for the event obtained by the Globe. Attendees should “avoid buying new clothing" and "consider sourcing vintage, recycled, consignment, or sustainably produced clothes.”

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.

Climate Science

New England winters are getting much warmer, data show
Thanks to climate change, winters are getting warmer across the country, but a new analysis of federal temperature data shows the trend is particularly strong in parts of the northeast.

Prince William and Princess Kate get a taste of Boston’s climate innovation

Royal couple visits Somerville climate innovation hub, talks Boston sea level rise

Politics and Policy

Court upholds decision to revoke permits for Springfield biomass plant

In a win for environmental justice and public health advocates, the state has delivered a major setback to a bitterly contested proposal to build a wood waste-burning power plant in Springfield.

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.

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

Biden backs adding energy bill to must-pass defense measure

The White House says it supports an effort to attach previously stalled legislation to fast-track energy projects backed by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin onto a must-pass defense bill.

‘It was crazy’: What appears to be the remains of an old ship unearthed on Nantucket beach

Matthew Palka stumbled on the vessel's remains during a bike ride around the island.

Court upholds decision to revoke permits for Springfield biomass plant

In a win for environmental justice and public health advocates, the state has delivered a major setback to a bitterly contested proposal to build a wood waste-burning power plant in Springfield.

Decades of climate science haven’t solved the problem. Can the royal family?

Scientists have shouted about impending doom for decades. Could it be that what it takes to push climate action to a new level will be the British monarchy?

All the big names on the ‘green carpet’ at William and Kate’s Earthshot ceremony

After a days of royal engagements, Friday marks the marquee event of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ trip to Boston: The star-studded Earthshot Prize awards.

Earthshot Prize unveils five winners at Boston ceremony

The Earthshot Prize aims to recognize and scale startups, entrepreneurs, or businesses with sustainable solutions in hopes of stabilizing the world’s climate by 2030.

On their final day in Boston, Prince William and Kate had a packed agenda

The Prince and Princess of Wales concluded their royal trip to Boston Friday with a packed itinerary that included meeting with President Biden in the afternoon and hosting the glitzy Earthshot Prize awards ceremony at night.

Guests at the Earthshot Awards were encouraged to dress sustainably. Mayor Wu understood the assignment.

Guests at the Earthshot Prize awards are encouraged to “dress with sustainability front of mind,” according to an invitation from for the event obtained by the Globe. Attendees should “avoid buying new clothing" and "consider sourcing vintage, recycled, consignment, or sustainably produced clothes.”

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