Beijing (AFP) May 7, 2024
China's top climate envoy will head to the United States for talks with US counterpart John Podesta on Tuesday, Beijing said, as the world's top two emitters seek to deepen cooperation on combatting global warming.
Beijing's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said in a statement that Special Envoy for Climate Change Liu Zhenmin will head to the United States from May 7 to 16.
He and Pod
San Francisco (AFP) May 7, 2024
Apple on Tuesday announced a line of new iPad tablets revamped with a powerful AI chip that signaled the company is ready to introduce artificial intelligence across its devices.
The latest version of the iPad Pro uses a new chip called the M4, which is stronger than the one currently used for Apple's laptops and ready to handle more power-hungry AI tasks, the company said.
The iPad Pro
Paris (AFP) May 7, 2024
France's nuclear safety regulator on Tuesday gave the green light for a next-generation EPR nuclear reactor in Normandy to be put into service, some 12 years later than initially planned.
The authorisation by the ASN regulator means that the Flamanville reactor, located on the English Channel in Normandy, can be filled with fuel and begin testing in the coming months, the agency's deputy dir
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 08, 2024
Researchers from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), in collaboration with academics from Ewha Womans University, Incheon National University, and MIT, have made significant progress in understanding electron-hole separation in kesterite thin-film solar cells. This discovery is poised to enhance solar cell efficiency and support the transition to sustainable energy sourc
Paris (AFP) May 6, 2024
The EU's Green Deal has been the target of virulent online disinformation ahead of European parliament elections in June, such as fabricated claims that Brussels plans to introduce a "carbon passport" or ban repairs of cars older than 15 years.
A key project for European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen as she seeks a second term, the Green Deal is an ambitious commitment to achieve net
Beli Bryag, Bulgaria (AFP) May 6, 2024
The European Union's plans to phase out coal are not going down well in Beli Bryag, a Bulgarian mining village that was sacrificed to expand an open-pit mine.
Empty houses with gaping window openings and 50-odd people remain in the community, down from some 400 in 2009. That was when it was decided to tear down the village to make space for the mine.
Now it seems the facility may not hav
Washington (AFP) May 7, 2024
Changing the way food is produced around the world could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the decade, the World Bank said Monday.
The so-called agrifood industry is responsible for almost a third of all greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, the Bank said in a report.
Two-thirds of these emissions come from middle-income countries which take seven of the top 10
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 08, 2024
Cellulose is a critical component of plant cell walls and a potential renewable resource for biofuels. Yet, its conversion into biofuel is notably slower and less efficient than other sources like corn. Recent findings by Penn State researchers highlight the molecular challenges that hinder cellulose's breakdown into biofuels, addressing both ecological and economic concerns of using food resour
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 08, 2024
The research team led by Professor Jiwoong Yang at DGIST, in collaboration with Professor Moon Kee Choi's team from UNIST, has made significant advances in wearable display technology by developing high-efficiency, skin-attachable perovskite pure red light-emitting devices. This innovation, achieved through selective surface modification of perovskite quantum dots, promises enhanced performance
Berkeley CA (SPX) May 07, 2024
In the ongoing quest to make electronic devices ever smaller and more energy efficient, researchers want to bring energy storage directly onto microchips, reducing the losses incurred when power is transported between various device components. To be effective, on-chip energy storage must be able to store a large amount of energy in a very small space and deliver it quickly when needed - require
Sydney, Australia (SPX) May 08, 2024
Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a novel photocatalyst, Rh/InGaN1-xOx, that uses solar energy to efficiently convert greenhouse gases into syngas. This nanoarchitecture combines rhodium nanoparticles with oxygen-modified indium gallium nitride nanowires, showing a syngas evolution rate of 180.9 mmol gcat-1 h-1 and a selectivity of 96.3%. This method offers a major enha
London, UK (SPX) May 08, 2024
Over a century after scientists at The University of Manchester unveiled the nucleus in atoms, a new milestone in quantum computing has been achieved at the same institution. Leveraging a method initiated by Ernest Rutherford, renowned as "the founder of nuclear physics," researchers have now developed an ultra-pure silicon. This advancement is pivotal for constructing high-performance qubit d
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 08, 2024
As the global demand for sustainable energy solutions intensifies, solar power stands out as a vital resource. Researchers at the University of California - Santa Barbara are at the forefront, enhancing solar technology with a new method for producing perovskite solar cells more efficiently.
Perovskite solar cells have gained attention for their potential to outperform traditional silicon-
Boston MA (SPX) May 07, 2024
Consider the dizzying ascent of solar energy in the United States: In the past decade, solar capacity increased nearly 900 percent, with electricity production eight times greater in 2023 than in 2014. The jump from 2022 to 2023 alone was 51 percent, with a record 32 gigawatts (GW) of solar installations coming online. In the past four years, more solar has been added to the grid than any other
