Environment

Karma Automotive has raised a $100 million lifeline from outside investors, as reported by Bloomberg, with the struggling electric vehicle maker’s fortunes likely buoyed by the current market optimism on other EV companies including Tesla. Karma is the reincarnated version of Fisker Automotive, which previously faced bankruptcy before being acquired by Wanxiang Group in 2014.

Tesla’s 2014 acquisition of SolarCity turned the electric vehicle manufacturer into the undisputed largest player in residential solar, but that lead has steadily eroded as its major competitor, Sunrun, surged ahead with more aggressive plans. Now with the $3.2 billion dollar acquisition of the residential solar installation company, Vivint Solar, Sunrun looks to solidify its

Replenysh has been kicking since 2016, but up til now, the Orange County, California startup hasn’t done much press. That changes today, as the company announces that it has raised a $2 million seed round with the fairly lofty goal of transforming recycling in the U.S. A press release outlining Replenysh’s plans offers up plenty

As perennial front runner for the title of probably-the-most-evil tech company, Amazon has a long way to go to rehabilitate its image as a take-no-prisoners, industry-consolidating wealth machine. In a bold effort to do so, the company announced today that it would buy the rights to Seattle’s KeyArena, an aging stadium currently under redevelopment in

DroneBase, a Los Angeles-based provider of drone pilots for industrial services companies, has raised $7.5 million during the pandemic to double down on its work with renewable energy companies. While chief executive Dan Burton acknowledged that the company was fundraising prior to the pandemic, the industrial lockdown actually accelerated demand for the company’s services. Even

Roger Duncan Contributor Roger Duncan is a former Research Fellow at the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin and the former General Manager of Austin Energy. He is the co-author of the upcoming book, “The Future of Buildings, Transportation and Power.” The economic lockdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic has had an

(Reuters) – European Union lawmakers on Thursday approved green finance rules ensuring investments do not prop up polluting industries, requirements they and investors say should also guide spending of hundreds of billions of euros in coronavirus recovery funds. European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 19, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Finland-based Swappie has closed a €35.8 million ($40.6M) Series B to expand into new markets in Europe. The ecommerce business refurbishes and resells used iPhones, taking care of the entire process from testing and repairing used handsets, to selling the refurbished devices via its own marketplace, with a 12-month warranty. Local VC and private equity

FILE PHOTO: A flare burns excess natural gas in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S. November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant/File Photo HOUSTON (Reuters) – Texas as early as this fall could tighten some rules for the controversial practice of natural gas flaring, the head of the state’s regulatory commission said on Tuesday. The

Pale Blue Dot, a newly outed European venture capital firm focused on climate tech, announced this week the first closing of its debut fund at €53 million. Targeting pre-seed and seed stage startups, the firm says it will consider software and technology investments with a strong positive climate impact. Current areas of focus include food/agriculture,

SALYERSVILLE, Kentucky (Reuters) – In May 2012, Hanson and Michael Rowe noticed an overpowering smell, like rotten eggs, seeping from an abandoned gas well on their land in Kentucky. The fumes made the retired couple feel nauseous, dizzy, and short of breath. FILE PHOTO: Hanson Rowe, a landowner who blames a leaky gas well on

(Reuters) – Six European Union countries, including Germany, France and the Netherlands, have called for EU legislation and increased funding to support hydrogen, a low-carbon technology in line for cash from the bloc’s coronavirus recovery fund. FILE PHOTO: European Union flags fly outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 19, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File

(Reuters) – Unilever Plc (ULVR.L) said on Monday it will invest 1 billion euros in a fund to invest in climate change projects and reduce to net zero greenhouse gas emissions from all its products by 2039, 11 years ahead of the Paris Agreement deadline. FILE PHOTO: Unilever headquarters in Rotterdam, Netherlands August 21, 2018.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba/TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadian oil sands companies have shelved nearly C$2 billion in green initiatives in a cost-cutting drive to weather the coronavirus pandemic, a reversal in some of their commitments to reduce emissions and clean up their dirty-oil image. FILE PHOTO: A Suncor refinery is seen in Sherwood Park, near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

(This June 11 story corrects 7th paragraph to say lawmakers, not regulators, would impose carbon incentives) FILE PHOTO: An inmate hand crew, wearing orange, uses chain saws and hand tools to cut a line through vegetation that is reddened by fire retardant on one side and charred by fire on the other at a wildfire

Volkswagen has started to sell a home-charging device as the automaker prepares to bring its new ID family of electric vehicles to market. The ID.3 is the first electric vehicle under the ID label and will only be sold in Europe. Customers who made reservations for the launch edition, known as ID.3 1st, will be

(Reuters) – Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Friday unveiled what he called a “blueprint” for enabling energy extraction, mining, grazing and logging in federal forests by speeding up environmental reviews and permitting. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue holds a U.S. flag-themed face mask while speaking about the nation?s food supply chain during

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen in Lauwin-Planque, northern France, April 22, 2020. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol (Reuters) – E-commerce companies Amazon Inc and eBay Inc have been instructed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to stop selling unproven or unsafe disinfectants, including products falsely marketed as killing COVID-19, on their platforms, Bloomberg reported

HAVANA (Reuters) – Luminous yellow and blue fish dart through the fragments of coral hanging from rows of pipes anchored to the seabed in Guanahacabibes, in western Cuba, while scientists in diving gear annotate their observations on waterproof clipboards. Divers check a coral reef being raised for research by the National Aquarium of Cuba in

South Africa-based renewable energy startup Sun Exchange has raised $3 million to close its Series A funding round totaling $4 million. The company operates a peer-to-peer, crypto-enabled business that allows individuals anywhere in the world to invest in solar infrastructure in Africa. How’s that all work? “You as an individual are selling electricity to a

TOKYO (Reuters) – TEPCO Renewable Power, a unit of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (9501.T), plans to spend about 1-2 trillion yen ($9-18 billion) to develop 6-7 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind and hydroelectric power projects by 2035, its president said. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is pictured at the

Tropical Storm Cristobal is seen on a northern track over the Gulf of Mexico in a satellite image taken June 7, 2020. NOAA/Handout via REUTERS (Reuters) – The center of Tropical Storm Cristobal has made landfall along the coast of southeast Louisiana between the mouth of the Mississippi River and Grand Isle, the U.S. National

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Cristobal on Saturday dumped rain from Louisiana to the Florida peninsula as it moved through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, prompting evacuations of several southeast Louisiana towns and dozens of offshore oil platforms. Workers disembark from a helicopter after being evacuated from oil production platforms ahead of Tropical Storm Cristobal,

Workers disembark from a helicopter after being evacuated from oil production platforms ahead of Tropical Storm Cristobal, at Bristow Galliano Heliport in Galliano, Louisiana, U.S. June 6, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman HOUSTON (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Cristobal moved through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Saturday carrying strong winds and heavy rains that prompted the evacuation

FILE PHOTO: The Environmental Protection Agency headquarters is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 19, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released on Thursday a proposed overhaul of how major clean air rules are written by changing the cost-benefit analysis process, a move that would affect the stringency of future

Inda Aung Soe (L) and his wife Aye Aye Than collect food waste at the wet market to produce organic fertilizer in Yangon, Myanmar, June 3, 2020. REUTERS/Zaw Naing YANGON (Reuters) – To most people in Myanmar, food waste is nothing but garbage, and that attitude leaves Inda Soe Aung baffled. But the 35-year-old environmentalist

People pull the body of a dead pregnant elephant out of the water, after the animal was allegedly fed with firecracker-stuffed pineapple and died, in Malappuram, India, May 27, 2020 in this still image taken from a video. ANI/Reuters TV via REUTERS KOCHI, India (Reuters) – A pregnant elephant died in India apparently after eating

A worker wearing a protective mask due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak carries a saw blade after it was confiscated during a police operation named Flora Amazonica against illegal sawmills and loggers in Manacapuru near Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly MANAUS, Brazil (Reuters) – Police stormed a dozen sawmills in

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – A new solar power plant in Mogadishu should quadruple the city’s generation capacity and cut bills, the owners said, providing relief to businesses facing crippling costs from diesel-generated electricity. Electrical power lines from the Benadir Electricity Company (BECO) solar project in the outskirts Mogadishu, Somalia May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar BECO, Somalia’s

FILE PHOTO: EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler testifies at a hearing titled ‘Oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency’ in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, U.S., May 20, 2020. Kevin Dietsch/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler will sign a rule on Monday that would limit state

HAVANA/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ken Hutton is worried Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas where he lives is far from rebuilt after being devastated by Hurricane Dorian last year yet he is bracing for another hurricane season in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. FILE PHOTO: A man walks among the debris of his house

The U.S. has suffered from devastating wildfires over the last few years as global temperatures rise and weather patterns change, making the otherwise natural phenomenon especially unpredictable and severe. To help out, Stanford researchers have found a way to track and predict dry, at-risk areas using machine learning and satellite imagery. Currently the way forests

London-based Greyparrot, which uses computer vision AI to scale efficient processing of recycling, has bagged £1.825 million (~$2.2M) in seed funding, topping up the $1.2M in pre-seed funding it had raised previously. The latest round is led by early stage European industrial tech investor Speedinvest, with participation from UK-based early stage b2b investor, Force Over

Vast monoculture farms outstripped the ability of bee populations to pollinate them naturally long ago, but the techniques that have arisen to fill that gap are neither precise nor modern. Israeli startup BeeHero aims to change that by treating hives both as living things and IoT devices, tracking health and pollination progress practically in real

LONDON/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Glencore on Thursday defended its climate policy from activists who want targets set for the use of its products, with Chairman Tony Hayward saying the miner’s current plan will cut greenhouse gas emissions. FILE PHOTO: Tony Hayward, Chairman of Glencore and Genel Energy responds to questions during a panel debate at the

The European Commission is proposing to direct billions of euros of financial relief into high tech and green investments to help the bloc recover from the coronavirus crisis. Technologies such as 5G, AI, cloud, cybersecurity, supercomputing and renewable energy look set to benefit from a €750BN pan-EU support package set out today — aligning with

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Eight European countries have urged the European Union to include natural gas in future funding, as the bloc’s executive prepares to unveil its plan for a green economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. FILE PHOTO: A European flag is seen outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 6, 2019. REUTERS/Yves

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – An earthquake struck near New Zealand’s capital on Monday morning, shaking many residents including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who continued with a live TV interview at the parliament building. FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk across a road in front of the New Zealand parliament building known as the Beehive in central Wellington, New

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian Environment Minister Ricardo Salles called on the government to push through further deregulation of environmental policy while people are distracted by the coronavirus pandemic, in a video the Supreme Court ordered released on Friday. FILE PHOTO: Brazil’s Environment Minister Ricardo Salles looks on during a ceremony to sign a memorandum of

KOLKATA/DHAKA (Reuters) – A powerful cyclone that tore through India’s eastern state of West Bengal this week has caused a damage of 1 trillion rupees ($13 billion) to infrastructure and crops, state officials said. A man walks with his bicycle under an uprooted tree after Cyclone Amphan made its landfall, in South 24 Parganas district,

SANTIAGO/LIMA (Reuters) – Indigenous leaders are calling for help to stop oil companies drilling in the headwaters of the Amazon river in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, warning that encroaching on their homelands would destroy a bulwark against climate change. In video shared with Reuters on International Day for Biological Diversity on Friday, communities

FILE PHOTO: People are seen on a polluted day in central Beijing, China March 2, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING (Reuters) – China said on Friday it will continue to strengthen anti-pollution controls and meet its environmental targets for 2020, but warned that the coronavirus pandemic would weigh on energy intensity goals. “By maintaining the

KOLKATA/DHAKA (Reuters) – The most powerful cyclone to strike eastern India and Bangladesh in over a decade killed at least 82 people, officials said, as rescue teams scoured devastated coastal villages, hampered by torn down power lines and flooding over large tracts of land. Mass evacuations organised by authorities before Cyclone Amphan made landfall undoubtedly

(Reuters) – Rising flood waters, already as high as five feet, submerged parts of the central Michigan of Michigan on Wednesday after days of heavy rain led to the failure of two dams and the evacuation of thousands of people. Rising flood waters of the Tittabawassee River advance upon the city after the breach of

FILE PHOTO: Power-generating windmill turbines are pictured during sunset from the Drachenberg hill in Berlin, Germany, August 19, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s ruling coalition reached a compromise deal in a row over the minimum distance onshore wind turbines should have from dwellings, leaving the final decision to regional governments and lifting a

FILE PHOTO: Desert locusts are seen on a tree at a ranch near the town of Nanyuki in Laikipia county, Kenya, February 21, 2020. REUTERS/Baz Ratner DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran may use its military for a second year to help fight locusts that have invaded the south of the country, an Agricultural Ministry official was

LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal, which usually attracts huge mounds of rubbish from other European states because of its low waste management fees, has suspended imports of trash until the end of 2020 to protect domestic landfill capacity, the government said on Saturday. FILE PHOTO: Imported waste is seen piled at the port of Leixoes in

FILE PHOTO: Equinor’s logo is seen at the company’s headquarters in Stavanger, Norway December 5, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins OSLO (Reuters) – Equinor’s shareholders, dominated by the Norwegian government, rejected all climate resolutions at the oil firm’s annual general meeting on Thursday, the company said. One of the resolutions, proposed by Follow This, a group which