[May 5-11'25] 🔥 Breaking Heat Records and Carbon Barriers

This Summer's Climate Challenges

Welcome to this week's edition of The Weekly Climate 🎉

References: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6].

‼️News you can't miss

Here's one important scary/bad (🙀), good (😻), interesting (😼) and fossil (💩) news item.

🙀 [#Weather Tracking]: Government decision to stop tracking billion-dollar weather disasters leaves the US blind to the economic impact of climate events.

😻 [#Battery Technology]: After a decade of research, solid-state batteries successfully tested in Mercedes vehicles could finally make EVs cheaper and more convenient than gas cars.

😼 [#Climate Visualization]: Scientists discover that presenting climate data in binary format (frozen/not frozen) makes climate change impacts more relatable and motivates public action.

💩 [#Fossil Fuel Regulation]: Trump administration declares fake "energy emergency" to bypass environmental reviews for fossil fuel projects despite record energy production.

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👩‍⚕️ Status: Climate & Science

Let's look at how we're doing this week!

[#Climate Data]: Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels surged in 2024, reaching a record increase of 3.75 ppm, raising concerns among scientists about the implications of this rise, particularly in relation to climate change and the weakening of natural carbon sinks. The increase is attributed to ongoing high emissions and possibly the effects of El Niño, while political interference is hindering the dissemination of climate data.

[#Climate Visualization]: A study reveals that presenting climate data in a binary format can enhance public perception of climate change urgency, as gradual changes often lead to apathy. Visualizing stark contrasts, like lake freezing, makes the impacts of warming more relatable and compelling, potentially motivating action against climate change.

[#Weather Tracking]: NOAA will stop tracking billion-dollar weather disasters, hindering understanding of their economic impacts as climate events increase. Critics argue this decision undermines safety and scientific data collection, leaving the government without essential information on extreme weather costs.

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📰 The 7 Grand Challenges

⚡️Decarbonize Electricity

Clean electricity is the one do-or-die challenge we must solve.

[#Solar Manufacturing] — India aims to boost its solar panel manufacturing to reduce reliance on China, driven by government incentives and a need for energy independence. However, it still faces challenges, including dependence on Chinese imports for key materials and the need to create jobs in a growing clean energy sector.

[#Coal Transition] — A new carbon credit scheme has been launched to incentivize the early closure of coal plants, aiming to replace them with cleaner energy sources. While it seeks to support a just transition for affected workers, concerns remain about the integrity of carbon credits and the potential environmental impact of biomass as a replacement energy source.