California broke its record for renewable energy when solar and wind provided enough to meet all consumer demand. At the time, natural gas power plants were still on, a necessity for the grid.
The state's ban on nuclear plants was enacted in 1996, but nuclear power has gained support as a tool to keep climate change under control and other states are transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Moving away from natural gas means that stoves and heat pumps will be powered by electricity instead, cutting down on carbon emissions. More than half of New York City's emissions come from buildings.
More than 500 attendees from the fossil fuel industry are at the climate summit in Glasgow. Their reps have attended climate summits for decades. Some are touting a shift toward renewables.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi told COP26 that India, the world's third-biggest carbon emitter, would go net-zero by 2070. But appetite for coal, which supplies 70% of India's power, remains high.
A new study by the United Nations shows that the world's governments plan to carry on using coal, gas, and oil — despite promises made under the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming.
Harvard University says it will stop investing its $41.9 billion endowment in the fossil fuel industry, citing the threat of climate change. Activists have called on the university to do so for years.
The Biden administration is expected to be sued over its ban on new oil and gas leasing on federal land. In top fossil fuel states like Wyoming, cuts to services and mass layoffs were already looming.
The pandemic massively reduced the world's consumption of oil. Now two influential reports suggest that this state of affairs will continue well into 2021 — if not longer.
