Achieving the 1.5°C Climate Goal: The Century’s Best Vision for a Sustainable Future

Posted on January 26, 2026 by Igor Mitreski

New Scientist - Your source for groundbreaking science news and in-depth articles on technology, health, and the environment.

During the first decade of the 21st century, scientists and policymakers emphasized a 2°C cap as the highest “safe” limit for global warming above pre-industrial levels. Recent research suggests that this threshold might still be too high. Rising sea levels pose a significant risk to low-lying islands, prompting scientists to explore the advantages of capping temperature rise at approximately 1.5°C for safeguarding vulnerable regions.

In light of this evidence, the United Nations negotiating bloc, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), advocated for a global commitment to restrict warming to 1.5°C, emphasizing that allowing a 2°C increase would have devastating effects on many small island developing nations.

James Fletcher, the former UN negotiator for the AOSIS bloc at the 2015 UN COP climate change summit in Paris, remarked on the challenges faced in convincing other nations to adopt this stricter global objective. At one summit, he recounted a low-income country’s representative confronting him, expressing their vehement opposition to the idea of even a 1.5°C increase.

After intense discussions, bolstered by support from the European Union and the tacit backing of the United States, as well as intervention from Pope Francis, the 1.5°C target was included in the impactful 2015 Paris Agreement. However, climate scientists commenced their work without a formal evaluation of the implications of this warming level.

In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report confirmed that limiting warming to 1.5°C would provide substantial benefits. The report also advocated for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 along a 1.5°C pathway.

These dual objectives quickly became rallying points for nations and businesses worldwide, persuading countries like the UK to enhance their national climate commitments to meet these stringently set goals.

Researchers at the University of Leeds, including Piers Foster, attribute the influence of the 1.5°C target as a catalyst driving nations to adhere to significantly tougher climate goals than previously envisioned. “It fostered a sense of urgency,” he remarks.

Despite this momentum, global temperatures continue to rise, and current efforts to curb emissions are insufficient to fulfill the 1.5°C commitment. Scientific assessments predict the world may exceed this warming threshold within a mere few years.

Nevertheless, 1.5°C remains a crucial benchmark for tracking progress in global emissions reductions. Public and policymakers are more alert than ever to the implications of rising temperatures. An overshoot beyond 1.5°C is widely regarded as a perilous scenario, rendering the prior notion of 2°C as a “safe” threshold increasingly outdated.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Earth Approaches a Second Year Exceeding the 1.5°C Climate Goal

Posted on May 15, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

A Sunset Over London in May 2025

Guy Corbishley/Alamy

The aim of restricting global warming to below 1.5°C faces challenges as recent climate data suggests global temperatures remain alarmingly high, with 2025 tracking closely to 2024’s record heat.

April 2025 marked the second hottest April on record, losing out only to April 2024, as per reports from the European Union’s Copernicus climate service and the nonprofit Berkeley Earth. That month, global temperatures consistently exceeded 1.51°C above pre-industrial levels, marking 22 consecutive months over this critical threshold. Copernicus reports. The average temperature for April 2025 remained cooler than April 2024, still surpassing pre-industrial levels by 1.49°C.

This unrelenting warmth has astounded scientists. The year 2024 was deemed the hottest on record, with an average global temperature exceeding 1.55°C above the pre-industrial average. It marked a significant event as it was the first calendar year to surpass the 1.5°C threshold. Under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, nations pledged to limit global temperature increases to well below 2°C, ideally to 1.5°C.

Scientists had anticipated that the cooling effects of the La Niña weather pattern would emerge in January, offering some relief. However, global temperatures have remained persistently elevated, raising concerns about 2025 possibly following 2024 in exceeding the critical 1.5°C marker. “The recent La Niña event hasn’t provided the expected cooling relief,” stated Robert Rohde from Berkeley Earth during a briefing on May 13.

Data from Berkeley Earth suggests an 18% likelihood that 2025 will be the hottest year recorded, and a 53% chance of it being the second hottest. Rohde estimates a 52% probability of having an average temperature exceeding 1.5°C this year.

The trajectory of global temperatures for the remainder of the year relies heavily on whether new El Niño or La Niña patterns emerge in the Pacific, according to Rohde.

The ongoing hot streak has dashed hopes of capping global temperatures at the 1.5°C Paris target. Although targets are assessed over a 20-year average, researchers are increasingly worried that recent high-temperature streaks have led to a breach of this threshold. “It’s becoming inevitable that we’ll see a long-term average above 1.5°C in the next decade,” Rohde cautioned.

Last year, scientists warned that exceeding 1.5°C would result in a three-year period of significant temperature rise, effectively compromising the goals of the Paris Agreement. Similarly, a paper released earlier this year indicated that 12 consecutive months above 1.5°C have already signaled a long-term warming trend at that level.

Richard Allan from the University of Reading expressed surprise at the durability of the warmth. Findings from the past two years and new record temperatures have fundamentally altered the scientific perspective on the feasibility of limiting warming to 1.5°C. “Without substantial mitigation efforts or extraordinary volcanic events in the next 20 years, we expect we will be above the 1.5°C threshold,” he remarked.

Nevertheless, he maintains that the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting warming to below 2°C remains attainable. “It is crucial to strive for temperatures beneath that threshold,” he emphasized.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Apple’s goal: Sourcing all US iPhones from India and decreasing reliance on China

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

It has been reported that Apple is planning to shift its iPhone assembly operations to India for the US market in order to reduce reliance on Chinese manufacturing bases amidst the trade war initiated by Donald Trump. The tech giant, with a value of $3 trillion (£2.3 trillion), aims to make this transition soon, as mentioned in the Financial Times article next year.

Apple has been affected by Trump’s tariff policies, resulting in iPhones being subjected to heavy import taxes when entering the US. Despite this, the White House decided to exclude smartphones from the highest tariffs imposed on Chinese products, providing some relief to Apple.

The intricate manufacturing process of iPhones involves sourcing over 1,000 components from various parts of the world, with an estimated 90% of iPhones currently being assembled domestically. By the end of 2026, Apple plans to have over 60 million iPhones sold in the US assembled in India.

In an effort to offset the impact of tariffs, Apple’s leading Indian suppliers have increased production in India and have shipped a significant number of phones to the US. Apple has also chartered freight flights to ensure an adequate stock in key markets.

Despite discussions about moving iPhone production to the US, analysts do not foresee this happening in the near future. The costs associated with manufacturing iPhones in the US are expected to be high, making it financially challenging for Apple to shift production entirely.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

Latamgpt’s goal is to develop AI that accurately reflects the diverse culture of Latin America

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Latin America has been a source of inspiration for various aspects, including a popular literary and musical genre and staple foods like potatoes. A famous Happy meal is now an indication of this inspiration. There is potential for Latin America to also become a cradle for AI.

A coalition of research institutes is collaborating on a project called latamgpt, which aims to create a tool that considers regional language differences, cultural experiences, and “specificity.” This tool is intended to provide more accurate representations for users in Latin America and the Caribbean compared to existing Large Language Models (LLM) primarily trained by US or Chinese companies in English.

The project lead, Rodrigo Duran Rojas, expressed the importance of developing local AI solutions to better serve Latin America. The goal is to offer a representative outlook tailored for the region, with initial tests showing promising results in areas like South American history.

Over 30 institutions are involved in the development of Latamgpt from countries across the hemisphere, including collaborations with Latinos in the US like Freddy Vilci Meneseth, an associate professor of Hispanic Studies at Lewis & Clark College, Oregon.

Latamgpt’s launch is planned for around June, following a significant commitment from various regions for improved AI governance. Projects like monitoring deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest and preserving historical documents from past dictatorships are contributing to the dataset used for training Latamgpt.

With a dataset of over 8 terabytes, Latamgpt aims to provide a nuanced and localized model for various applications. The project faces challenges in incorporating diverse dialects and complex grammatical structures, but emphasizes the importance of collaboration for continued development.

Diversified dialects and complex grammar challenges

Efforts like Latamgpt, CHATGPT, and Google’s Gemini are working towards incorporating a wider range of data and improving localization for non-English languages. Challenges in training models for languages with complex grammar and dialects persist.

Despite these challenges, Latamgpt aims to address these issues through collaboration with institutions, libraries, and archives across the region. The project continues to receive data and feedback to enhance its capabilities and explore applications in public policy and regulation.

The long-term goal of Latamgpt is to create an interconnected network for developing AI solutions with a Latinx touch, emphasizing the impact of collaboration in shaping the future of technology in Latin America and beyond.

An earlier version of this story was first published by Noticias Telemundo.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Researchers recommend making keeping spaces clean and tidy a global UN goal.

Posted on January 9, 2025 by Igor Mitreski

Artist’s impression of space junk orbiting Earth

Mark Garlick/Science Photo Library/Alamy

The growing threat of space debris should be addressed with a new global agreement to protect Earth’s orbit, says a group of researchers calling on the United Nations to make space protection a key international goal.

Although there are existing guidelines for tackling space debris, such as the 1967 United Nations Outer Space Treaty, the researchers write in the journal: one earth calls for further action to “raise awareness about the use of orbital resources and the increased risk of orbital contamination while sending a strong message that Earth’s orbit is not disconnected from Earth.”

Specifically, the research team proposes adding space protection to the United Nations’ existing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are 17 broad goals set for member countries to achieve by 2030. These goals include eradicating poverty, promoting quality education and gender equality, accessing affordable and clean energy, and tackling climate change. “We know from the ocean that it is very difficult to remove debris that has washed ashore,” Koldewey said. “We want to avoid the same thing happening in space.”

To fix this, the researchers want to add 18.^th The SDGs include ensuring that end-of-life satellites and rockets are removed from orbit to prevent collisions and the creation of new debris, as well as introducing fines and legislation to ensure accountability. “We know from the ocean that it is very difficult to remove debris that has washed ashore,” Koldewey said. “We want to avoid the same thing happening in space.”

The number of operating satellites in orbit has increased rapidly in recent years, from less than 3,000 in 2020 to more than 10,000 today. Most of that increase will come down to the roughly 7,000 satellites that make up SpaceX’s Starlink space internet megaconstellation. Other companies and countries, including Amazon and China, are planning thousands more services while building large groups of their own. In addition to this, there are thousands of empty rockets and millions of pieces of space junk orbiting the Earth.

Include space debris in 18^th says the SDGs have the potential to raise the profile of issues Heather Koldeway At the Zoological Society of London. “Anything that raises awareness of space debris has to be good,” he says. But he says getting countries to act is more difficult. “If you roll 18^th SDGs, what’s next?” he says. “All international agreements and treaties are products of compromise.”

Hugh Lewis A space debris expert at the University of Southampton in the UK said creating a space-focused SDG would be a “worthy endeavour.” However, he added that mechanisms to tackle space debris, such as the United Nations long-term sustainability goals For space activities and more localized activities, such as in the United States, where the Federal Communications Commission has introduced. 5 year rule Removing dead satellites from orbit. “It’s hard to argue that it’s not already on the UN agenda,” Lewis says.

There is also the question of whether the SDGs will achieve their goals. Last year, the United Nations reported: less than one-fifth Of the 17 existing SDGs, progress is on track.

On top of that, the problem is that nothing meaningful will happen without the agreement of SpaceX and its owner Elon Musk. “You can’t talk about space governance without talking about it now,” Newman said. “We can no longer just look at member states.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Testing Millions of UK homes for Energy Leaks in Effort to Achieve Net Zero Goal

Posted on July 8, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Vehicles equipped with technology to collect data on building conditions

Madeleine Cuff

British city dwellers may have spotted a strange-looking vehicle driving around their neighborhood earlier this year. It looked just like a Google Street View vehicle, with a camera setup sticking out of the back to scan its surroundings. And like the Google car, it scanned city streets and took photos.

But these modified Teslas do more than just take pictures: they’re equipped with cutting-edge sensors and scanners that can report back the exact dimensions, heat loss, materials, age and state of disrepair of every building they drive over.

The car, equipped with what’s called the Built Environment Scanning System (BESS), has been on a spree to find out just how leaky and dilapidated Britain’s buildings really are. Between March and May, the car scanned thousands of roads and millions of buildings across London, Liverpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds and South Yorkshire.

Data from BESS vehicles will be combined with thermal images taken by drones and planes in a £4 million government-funded project to build a huge digital database detailing the condition of buildings across the U.K. The aim is to help housing associations, local authorities and other property owners quickly plan renovation projects for hundreds of properties at once, says Ahsan Khan of xRI, the British nonprofit behind the project.

Decarbonising UK buildings is one of the toughest challenges on the journey to net-zero emissions. The UK’s 30 million buildings account for around a third of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with most of the pollution coming from the use of gas for heating and hot water.

Another problem is that many of the UK’s homes are old and drafty. Retrofitting these homes to make them more energy efficient is crucial, but knowing where to start is a huge challenge, as the age and condition of the buildings varies greatly. “We’re held back as a nation because we don’t really know what we have, where it is in terms of the built environment, and what we can do about it,” says Khan.

Currently, the only means of judging a building’s sustainability is the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), a mandatory document that rates every building on a scale of A to G and gives owners advice on how to improve the rating. But EPCs, which rely on the judgement of in-person assessors, are “expensive, time-consuming and inaccurate”, says Dr. Mike Pitts The project is part-funded by the government body Innovate UK, with other funding coming from the UK Space Agency and the Welsh Government.

For organisations such as housing associations and local authorities who want to renovate hundreds of properties at once, EPCs are of little use – instead they often have to send their own assessors to the properties and plan the works schedule, which is a costly and time-consuming undertaking.

Speeding up renovations

The new database is expected to digitise much of this process. If it works as planned, it will use machine learning to tell councils, for example, how many properties already have double glazing installed, or which homes need top-up cavity-wall insulation. In an instant, it will be able to pinpoint exactly which homes have the space and sunlight to install rooftop solar panels. Crucially, it will calculate projected savings on energy bills and provide return-on-investment information, helping organisations access green finance.

“The xRI project represents a major advance in our understanding of our existing stock,” says Mat Colmer of Innovate UK. “The validated data set will improve and automate the refurbishment process, speeding up the entire refurbishment process.”

About 7.5% of homes in England, Scotland, and Wales have already been scanned, and Khan says the framework is in place to build a beta version of the database, due to be released later this year. For now, xRI is focused on decarbonizing buildings, but the BESS vehicles are collecting data on everything they see, from tree cover to potholes, that could be put to use in the future. “The amount of data is just staggering,” Pitts says.

David Grew Researchers from Britain’s Leeds Beckett University call the project “exciting,” but warn that an in-home inspection is essential before any renovation work begins. “Homes have been tampered with many times, so the same home could be completely different,” he says. “This quick and agile method is great for accelerating progress and momentum, but it can’t and shouldn’t replace a really high-quality inspection before construction begins.”

Kate Simpson A researcher at Nottingham Trent University in the UK says neighbourhood data collected by BESS vehicles could help plan local power grid upgrades and climate resilience projects. But the data needs to be collected carefully, she says. “What’s the minimum amount of data we need to make the right decisions?” she says. “That way we can minimise the environmental impact of storing that data.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Google fails to meet major climate goal due to high AI power consumption

Posted on July 3, 2024 by Igor Mitreski

Three years ago, Google launched an ambitious plan to address climate change, aiming to achieve “net zero” emissions by 2030. This goal entails not emitting more climate-affecting gases into the atmosphere than it removes.

However, a recent report released by Google indicated that it is far from reaching this objective. Emissions are projected to increase by 13% in 2023 compared to the previous year and have surged by 48% since the base year of 2019.

The company attributes last year’s emission growth to electricity-intensive agriculture. The burning of coal or natural gas for electricity production releases greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, contributing to global warming and more extreme weather events.

Despite being a leader in climate change initiatives, Google faces challenges in meeting its net-zero target. Experts suggest that the rapid expansion of data centers, which require significant energy and resources, could hinder the transition to clean electricity and exacerbate climate change.

To address these issues, Google’s chief sustainability officer, Kate Brandt, emphasized the need for continued evolution and innovation in the company’s approach. She acknowledged the uncertainties surrounding the environmental impact of AI and the importance of partnering with cleaner companies and investing in sustainable practices.

Ultimately, achieving a net-zero goal by 2030 will require concerted efforts and collaboration across industries to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Google’s commitment to using renewable energy and implementing energy-efficient practices in its data centers and offices is a step in the right direction. However, there is a need for ongoing improvement and collaboration to address the challenges posed by climate change.

Source: www.nbcnews.com

Valley Investors Achieve Unusual Goal in Battle Against Methane: Cow Burps

Posted on December 15, 2023 by Igor Mitreski

What do iconic Valley investors Zachary Bogue and Chris Sacca have in common? They’re both trying to stop cows from burping methane. No, really. And Soccer Investments has just raised $20 million to do just that. What gives?

With the conclusion of COP28, the global conference on the climate crisis, methane is on the ClimateTech agenda for investors and startups.

Emissions from livestock are the main source of agricultural methane, accounting for about one-third of all methane. emissions, and most of them aren’t from the parts of the cow you’d expect. In fact, it is from cow burp.

When cows process their feed, they literally exhale methane gas as part of their rumination process, allowing them to digest grass and hay that other animals, including us, cannot.

And it’s these emissions that agritech and biotech companies are now starting to target. There is a lot of pressure to do so. In fact, six major companies in the dairy industry recently pledged The company plans to start disclosing its methane emissions, and other companies are expected to join the plan. And one of the bigger topics at his recent COP meeting was a promise to reduce methane emissions. is growing rapidly.

Methane gas is by far the worst of all greenhouse gases, and like methane it is much worse than CO2. trap more heat The amount per molecule in the atmosphere is greater than carbon dioxide.

This gas stays in the atmosphere for about 12 years, whereas carbon dioxide lasts for hundreds of years, but over 20 years it is about 80 times more heating than carbon dioxide, and over 100 years it is 27 times more heating. according to to the Expert Panel on Livestock Methane in 2023.

Its reduction is therefore considered key to fighting the climate crisis. In fact, there is even a satellite-based “Methane Alert and Response System” (MARS). announced by the United Nations last year.

And a major UN report says “urgent measures” are needed to reduce methane to keep global warming within limits. manageable limit.

British companies now think they can tackle this problem.

British biotech startup Mootral Raised $20 million in Series B funding round backed by Menlo Park-based climate investors king philanthropiesalongside existing investors Lowercarbon Capital (a climate VC started by Chris Sacca), Earthshot Ventures, Kindred Ventures, Third Derivative, Climactic, and Climate Capital.

In total, Mootral raised $48.9 million. This number corresponds to the $11.2 million seed round. Series A for $12.8 million (led by King Philanthropies, which invested $10 million). This Series B is worth $20 million. Family office investment by Thomas Hafner and Karin Boimer is $24.9 million.

Mootral said in a statement that it aims to scale up to feeding 300 million cows with its feed additives by 2033, with the potential to achieve up to 50 percent methane reductions by 2025. This is quite a claim.

“We aim to immediately and permanently reduce methane emissions, and this is happening on farms today,” Mootral founder and CEO Thomas Hafner said by phone. Ta.

“The next generation of products will need to be on the milligram scale. Our next generation will be even better. We aim to reduce it by up to 90%.”

Mootral also has a scheme called ‘CowCredits’ which allows farmers to access the carbon credit market when reducing their herd’s methane emissions. ClimatePartner, a company that funds climate change projects through carbon credits, has signed on to include his Mootral in its portfolio of options for Crent.

The company says its Enterix product (manufactured in Wales) has been tested on farms in the UK, and the results have been published in academic journals, including the Journal. Open Journal of Animal Science, Frontiers of microbiology, animal science journaland translational animal science.

So how does it work? Dairy cows produce about 500 liters of methane every day. 3.7 tons of CO2 equivalent per year. Mootral says its current ruminant supplement can reduce methane emissions from dairy cows by up to 38 percent on commercial farms.

One of its competitors is CH4 Global It raised $29 million in its latest funding round. CH4 Global — backed by the aforementioned Zachary Bogue of DCVC — seaweed It is added to cattle feed to reduce methane emissions.

CH4 Global CEO Steve Mellor said in an email that the company is using “aquaculture” to address the problem. Global agricultural company to supply 9.5 million head of cattle is announced. Combining these two will result in approximately 80 million tons of CO2-e reductions. ”

He claims that CH4 Global’s line of feed additives (called Methane Tamer) contains Asparagopsis, which the company claims can reduce methane emissions from cows by as much as 90%. did.

The other player in that space is DSM, a Dutch multinational companyWhich recently It said it would monitor the environmental impact of foods containing animal protein.

In any case, it is clear that the climate tech sector is intersecting with agricultural technology in unexpected ways in the fight against the climate crisis.

Source: techcrunch.com

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Tag Archives: goal

Achieving the 1.5°C Climate Goal: The Century’s Best Vision for a Sustainable Future

Earth Approaches a Second Year Exceeding the 1.5°C Climate Goal

Apple’s goal: Sourcing all US iPhones from India and decreasing reliance on China

Latamgpt’s goal is to develop AI that accurately reflects the diverse culture of Latin America

Diversified dialects and complex grammar challenges

Testing Millions of UK homes for Energy Leaks in Effort to Achieve Net Zero Goal

Speeding up renovations

Google fails to meet major climate goal due to high AI power consumption

Valley Investors Achieve Unusual Goal in Battle Against Methane: Cow Burps