Climate

Latest climate stories

The industrial backdrop of a BP refinery and a Uniper coal-fired power plant in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

World on ‘thin ice’ as UN climate report gives stark warning

Humanity still has a chance, close to the last one, to prevent the worst of climate change’s future harms, a top United Nations panel of scientists said Monday.

Inside the weird, wonderful world of ‘Buy Nothing’ groups

The offbeat giveaway groups on Facebook flourished during the pandemic, with membership numbers more than tripling.

‘Wakeup call’: Braintree chemical fire, Ohio derailment show need for stronger emergency planning, experts say

The fire at a waste disposal facility in Braintree, coming on the heels of the Feb. 3 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, showed how towns left to clean up the mess from chemical accidents are not always prepared.

With new commissioners, Healey aims to reshape an agency seen as critical to climate reforms

This week, in what Governor Maura Healey said is a first move in overhauling the department, her administration named two pointedly climate-friendly commissioners to the three-person commission that leads the DPU.

Education is missing from Massachusetts’ climate plans, advocates say

Without a plan for climate education, young people won’t be prepared to take on roles in climate policy when they grow up — or even to simply live in the warming world that they’ll inherit, advocates say.

Featured projects

Fewer than half of the poll's respondents, 48 percent, ranked climate in the highest category of concern, down from 53 percent in 2019. That's despite acknowledging the devastation from a series of weather-related events.

As Earth’s temperature rises, Massachusetts residents’ sense of urgency on climate change declines

Despite increasingly urgent international warnings, fewer Massachusetts residents see the climate crisis as a very serious concern than they did in 2019, a new poll from MassINC and the Boston Globe shows.

An older lobsterman passed by Tanner Lazaro as he hauled up his traps in his boat, Used N Abused, on Aug. 24. During the summer Tanner hauled his own traps on whatever days his mentor Frankie Thompson or another lobsterman didn't need his help.

The Lobster Trap: Part 1The lobster trap

The plentiful catch that brought wealth to fishing families is at risk, as climate change warms the Gulf of Maine. A way of life is on the line, but lobstermen can't, or won't, imagine another.

Salome Verkoville, 10 from Boston sits on Nauset Beach

Climate change on Cape CodAt the edge of a warming world

The flexed arm of Cape Cod has challenged the power of the sea for centuries, but the contest has escalated. Climate change is altering our vacation paradise in myriad ways, perhaps forever. The message in the sand is clear — if only we will look.

Accountability

INNOVATOR Q&AA R.I. startup diverts 1 ton of waste each month from landfills. They’re trying to get businesses to do the same.

Tess Feigenbaum co-founded Epic Renewal, which looks to provide low-cost composting services for homes, businesses, and events.

Video: Red Sox use helicopter to install new light fixtures at Fenway Park

The old Fenway lights were installed in 1982. They were removed after the NHL Winter Classic and Frozen Fenway in January. On Sunday, a helicopter carried the new fixtures to awaiting crews.

Scientific journal investigating UMass hydrogen study after revelations of gas industry influence

The study, by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, endorsed the use of so-called green hydrogen for heating buildings in Massachusetts and recommended the state consider adopting hydrogen as a clean fuel.

Study touting hydrogen — a technology favored by gas firms — was funded by gas interests, e-mails show

A study by researchers at UMass Lowell on hydrogen’s potential seemed innocuous enough. But hundreds of pages of e-mail correspondence now raise questions about the influence the gas industry may have had on the report.

Climate Science

Norberto Perez was interviewed for a story about a poll we commissioned with MassInc on Massachusetts' views on climate change. He says he thinks about climate change a lot because it made his allergies debilitating.

Allergies hitting early? Climate change may be to blame, report says.

Winters across much of the United States are getting shorter and springs longer, giving plants more time to grow, flower, and release pollen.

Joseph Mallord William Turner’s “Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway,” 1844, was painted as London's skies were being choked by industrial smog.

An early climate warning lies in the paintings of JMW Turner and Claude Monet, new research shows

A pedestrian sidestepped a goose on a stroll around Jamaica Pond.

You call that a snowstorm? Here’s what’s happening to winter snowfall in Boston.

Politics and Policy

An interactive look into climate change

Into the Red: How the Globe will cover climate change

To report on the most pressing issue of our time, the Globe’s climate team is expanding and rethinking its coverage.

The Globe's climate team wants to hear from you

Share your thoughts and questions about the impact of climate change in your community.

How-Tos

Emissions rise from the United States Steel Corp. Clairton Plant coke manufacturing facility in Clairton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, March 11, 2018.

Difficulty measuring methane slows plan to slash emissions

A rendering of the Emerald Tutu project developed by researchers at Northeastern University.

Northeastern researchers have a plan to protect Boston from rising sea levels: floating vegetation mats they call the ‘Emerald Tutu’

Wastewater, which contains raw sewage, has been flowing into the Blackstone River in Rhode Island from a nearby plant.

ENVIRONMENTDEM: ‘Substantial’ solid waste from Woonsocket sewage plant released into Blackstone River daily

The Willow Project: What to know about the massive Alaska oil-drilling venture Biden approved this week

This week, President Biden approved a massive oil drilling project in Alaska, despite warnings from leading climate scientists that countries must halt fossil fuel expansion to secure a livable future. 2:25 p.m.

Mayor Wu announces steps to cut oil and gas from Boston buildings, creating ‘clear pathways’ to a fossil-free future

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Thursday that the city is adopting a new building code that would discourage fossil fuels, while also designating $10 million to help affordable multifamily buildings become more energy efficient. 10:38 a.m.

An exploratory drilling camp at the proposed site of the Willow oil project on Alaska's North Slope.

Major oil project approval intensifies Alaska Natives’ rift

The Biden administration’s approval this week of the biggest oil drilling project in Alaska in decades promises to widen a rift among Alaska Natives. 1:48 a.m.

Do-not-eat listing draws lawsuit from Maine lobster industry

A coalition representing the Maine lobster industry is suing a West Coast aquarium for recommending that seafood customers avoid buying a variety of lobster mostly harvested in their state. 12:51 p.m.

Jamie Van Nostrand (left) and Staci Rubin (right), new commissioners to the state Department of Public Utilities.

With new appointments, Healey administration aims to create ‘a 21st century DPU’

The Healey Administration named two new commissioners to the Department of Public Utilities to help lead the Commonwealth’s transition away from fossil fuels. 9:00 a.m.

Sargassum saturated the beaches along the south coast of Barbados last summer.

A giant blob of seaweed is heading to Florida

Once the massive blob reaches the shoreline, it will begin to rot, emitting toxic fumes and fouling the region’s beaches over the busiest summer months, scientists say. 4:21 p.m.

Governor Maura Healey addresses reporters as she and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll announce their full FY24 budget at a State House press conference. (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff)

Wilmer Cutler attorney Bonnie Heiple named MassDEP commissioner

The Healey administration reached into Boston’s legal ranks to pick the state’s new top environmental protection official. 2:14 p.m.

Photo of collapsed one-story house in Rodanthe.

Beachfront home collapses into the ocean in Outer Banks, N.C. town

An oceanfront home collapsed into the ocean Monday in the Outer Banks community of Rodanthe, N.C., the fourth seaside home in the small barrier island town in the past year to fall victim to coastal erosion. 12:36 p.m.

Opinion