emission
'Limit overshoot, peak, decline': A new global goal for climate change?
The signing of the Paris Agreement by 200 countries in 2015 was a rare moment of global unity, and the euphoria was real. To cheers and tears, the international climate treaty was approved by nearly every country in the world. Fundamental to the agreement was a commitment to keeping temperatures from rising beyond 1.5C (2.7F) above the pre-industrial levels of the mid 19th-century. But 11 years on, it is evident that the Earth is soon going to exceed that threshold because of the continued record burning of fossil fuels. A report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, Kenya - called Limiting Overshoot - has found that even under the most optimistic scenario, the Earth will heat up by 1.8C (3.2F) above pre-industrial levels.
Josh Parker Is One of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in AI
Follow this author to personalize your feed and get instant alerts. Follow Go to your personalized feed WHY FOLLOW? Smart Alerts: Get notified about major news as it happens. When Josh Parker joined Nvidia in 2023, there was just one other person on a team responsible for leading the sustainability strategy and public policy initiatives. It didn't deter him from his belief that they could make a difference.
US building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China in AI boom, analysis finds
When adding announced and pre-construction projects, the US is building nearly three times as much as its fellow global economic powerhouse. When adding announced and pre-construction projects, the US is building nearly three times as much as its fellow global economic powerhouse. There has been a 76% increase in under-construction gas-fired projects amid'frenzy' to build more datacenters Tue 25 Aug 2026 06.00 EDTLast modified on Tue 25 Aug 2026 09.12 EDT The US has surged ahead of China in the building of new gas-fired power generation, largely to feed a boom in artificial intelligence (AI) that is adding vast amounts of planet-heating emissions, a new analysis has found. For decades, China's rapid economic growth has seen it outpace the US in the addition of new gas power generation but a recent "frenzy" in datacenter construction for AI has reversed this, said Global Energy Monitor (Gem) in its new report. The US is now building twice as much gas-fired capacity as China, and more than any other country in the world, after a stunning 76% increase in under-construction projects in the first half of this year.
AI Could Help Fossil Fuel Companies Create More Emissions
New research finds that by making the fossil fuel industry more productive, AI could help increase carbon emissions by up to nearly 5 percent--vastly outpacing the impact of data centers. The emissions from powering data centers rightly get a lot of attention. But new research from former Microsoft sustainability workers cautions that the way artificial intelligence enhances productivity in the oil and gas industry could be much more damaging to the planet. Published last week in the journal npj Climate Action, the research finds that AI use could significantly increase global energy emissions simply by enabling the fossil fuel industry to produce more oil and gas. At the low end, the research finds that the additional yearly emissions could be equal to Mexico's; at the high end, AI boosting the fossil fuel industry could add as much greenhouse gas emissions as Russia, the world's fourth-largest emitter.