Inside Climate News

Two divergent worldviews emerged from the first two national addresses on the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly’s 81st session in New York.  Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called for decarbonizing economies, protecting forests and supporting the energy transition through technology transfer. U.S. President Donald Trump followed with a rejection of […]

A $20 billion data center campus announced in July near Rincon, Georgia, is now facing its second lawsuit from Effingham County residents and environmental advocates. OpenAI, best known for creating ChatGPT, is planning a massive campus that would include about 4.4 million square feet of data-center space 30 miles northwest of Savannah. The project, known […]

Pennsylvania’s data center industry has promised economic growth and a revival of the state’s industrial strength. But a new report issued Tuesday finds little evidence of job growth and warns that adding more of the massive computer complexes could repeat a long history of industrial facilities exploiting the communities that house them. The research group […]

Almost nobody wants a data center for a neighbor. Residents fear noise and air pollution, excessive energy and water use and the loss of open land. In Pennsylvania, a hot spot for new data centers, researchers see an opportunity to solve some of these issues by taking advantage of a much older environmental hazard: abandoned […]

A federal judge has declared that the Trump administration unlawfully terminated $7 billion in grant funding for clean energy programs in disadvantaged communities. The Solar for All program, established during the Biden administration as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, provided dozens of grants for states, municipalities, tribes and nonprofits designed to reduce electric bills, […]

Standing on Manhattan’s High Line, Jason Baldes watched pedestrians, cyclists, cars and trucks braid their way through New York City. The executive director of the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative in Wyoming was in town for New York’s first-ever buffalo march, a showcase of 40 life-sized bison puppets accompanied by performances to honor the animal’s […]

Scientists have developed an overwhelming array of methods to measure how burning fossil fuels, clearcutting forests and polluting oceans are harming the planet. But which measurements are most critical? Is it the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or the buildup of toxic chemicals in rivers and oceans? Is it the steady rise […]

Florida’s coastal residents know to brace for storm surge, but during 2024’s Hurricane Milton, it was inland communities that suffered some of the greatest flooding. It took three weeks for water to recede from some neighborhoods, remembered Polk County Commissioner Becky Troutman. Her community, along Central Florida’s busy I-4 corridor, is among the nation’s fastest-growing […]

Welcome to Inside Climate, a podcast from the staff of Inside Climate News. Ahead of Climate Week NYC, Inside Climate host Jake Bolster speaks to U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and asks why so many Democrats are leaning away from climate messaging at a time when the fossil fuel industry’s influence is dramatically […]

Read this article in Chinese 阅读本文中文版. China’s electric grid has a dirty secret: Despite leading the world in renewable energy expansion, it is also the largest emitter of the planet’s most potent greenhouse gas. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is a synthetic chemical that plays a critical role as an electrical insulator in high-voltage equipment. The gas is […]

Read this article in English. 中国的电网有一个肮脏的秘密：尽管它在可再生能源发展引领全球，它也是地球上最强效温室气体的最大排放源。 六氟化硫（SF6）是一种合成化学物质，在高压设备中作为电气绝缘介质发挥着至关重要的角色。这种气体无色无味、无毒、且不可燃。但它也是气候杀手，按等质量计算，其使地球变暖的效力是二氧化碳的24,300倍。一旦释放，六氟化硫会在大气中存留1,000年。 排放主要来自电力行业。该行业中将这种气体用于断路器和其他高压设备中，以防止电弧放电。六氟化硫几乎无法被破坏，是任何现代电网的关键安全屏障，确保电力只在需要时流向所需之处。然而，当中国的电气设备达到使用寿命终点时，其中大部分的气体很可能被排放到大气中。 早在2014年，中国政府研究员就警告称，六氟化硫“对全球环境构成重大潜在威胁”。然而，这种气候污染物的排放在中国仍是未受监管的。 中国生态环境部最近表示，中国电力企业当前回收—或有能力回收—其废弃六氟化硫气体的90%。然而，Inside Climate News估算，实际回收率要低得多，仅为30%。这些企业只需付出很低的成本，就能将回收率提高到约90%，从而大幅减少温室气体排放。 该分析参考了数百页的政府文件、中国主要电力企业的年度报告、经同行评审的研究，以及对数十位学者和政策专家的采访。根据这项评估，Inside Climate News估算，中国国有的输配电企业每年可将从电气设备中回收的六氟化硫量增加约1,400吨。这样做有望减少中国所有行業该污染物的总排放量近三分之一，预计每年成本约为600万美元，这仅占中国每年投资电网约700亿美元的一小部分。 如果把这种气体排放到大气，而不是将其回收，那简直就是一场三级火警，美国环境保护署前含氟温室气体排放分析师黛博拉·奥廷格在谈到Inside Climate News的评估时说道。“这是一项非常显而易见且可以立即实施的措施。” 生态环境部、位于华盛顿的中国驻美国大使馆，以及国家电网有限公司和中国南方电网有限责任公司，均拒绝就调查结果发表评论。国家电网和南方电网是两家国有电力企业，共同为几乎全国供电。 据2024年发表于《自然-通讯》期刊的一项研究，全球超过一半的六氟化硫排放量来自中国。尽管其他地区的该气体排放量有所减少，中国的排放量在2011年至2021年间几乎加倍，预计还将继续攀升。在2021年，目前有数据可查的最近年份，中国排放了5,100吨六氟化硫。这污染量相当于2,900万辆燃油汽车的年度温室气体排放量。 去年，全球大气中六氟化硫浓度出现了自1998年有记录以来最大的年度增幅，显示中国的排放量仍在上升。 “就全球变暖潜能和大气寿命而言，这几乎是最糟糕的温室气体。” 布里斯托大学大气化学教授、《自然-通讯》研究的共同作者马修·里格比说。“一旦进入大气，从人类的时间尺度而言，它就会永远存留在那里。” 减量化、再利用、资源化 1980年代末，当时西德一家化工厂的工人发现他们遇到了一个问题。他们生产的六氟化硫对“温室效应”有着异常巨大的影响。如果他们不做什么来解决，监管机构很可能会介入。 问题不在于化学物质本身，而是在于他们的客户—电力公司—如何使用它。当高压设备需要维护或达到使用寿命时，电网运营商会直接将六氟化硫排放到大气中。 比利时化工企业索尔维，在德国巴特温普芬设有一家工厂，转而与在欧洲的公用事业公司合作，回收这种废气。 索尔维前环境评估小组负责人赫尔曼·克雷林，曾于1990年代任职于该公司，负责评估六氟化硫的影响。他将索尔维的成功归功于将不同的利益团体汇聚到一起。 “不只是索尔维，”克雷林说，并补充道，设备制造商、电力供应商、监管机构，甚至环保倡导组织，都帮助塑造了这项回收工作。 1997年，德国环境部因其六氟化硫再利用项目，授予索尔维“欧洲回收奖”。 2000年代初，公司负责人在美国环境保护署主办的行业会议上分享了他们的所学。到2015年，德国和美国的电气设备排放量下降了三分之二或更多。 如今已经退休的克雷林赞扬了中国正在持续推进的可再生能源建设。然而，他称中国未能遏制六氟化硫排放是一场“灾难”。 索尔维近期也面临自身的排放挑战。2025年发表的一项大气研究显示，这种气候污染物在德国的排放量高于此前报告的水平，约为每年30吨六氟化硫。这些排放很可能来自德国西南部的一家化学品生产和回收设施；索尔维位于巴特温普芬的工厂是欧洲唯一一家此类设施。 12月，环保组织“德国环境援助协会”就污染对该公司负责人提出刑事控告。同月，索尔维与德国当局签署了一项协议，以减少排放并加强监测工作，该协议于5月被延长。 索尔维一名发言人在书面声明中表示：“测试阶段证实，索尔维的常规日常运营完全符合规定的平均排放限值。” 花小钱，办大事 全球最大的电力公司国家电网，2007年在三个省份启动了六氟化硫回收试验项目。中国环境保护部十多年前出版的一本书得出结论称，这项技术较为成熟，是电力行业近期减少温室气体排放最有效的措施，而且“其成本对于电力行业的整体成本而言并不大。 这本书的政策建议呼吁实施一个全国的六氟化硫管理项目，目标收集和回收再利用百分之百的废气。中国目前有超过30家回收中心，负责净化废气以供再次利用。然而，它们的努力似乎远未达到以上目标。 根据去年发表于《环境科学与技术》期刊的一项研究，截至2020年，中国电力行业每年仅具备处理需回收六氟化硫总量30%的能力。剩余的大部分气体可能被排放到大气中，尽管其中一部分可能被收集并储存起来。这些数据是基于对国家电网、南方电网以及数家在中国运营的气体回收公司行业专家的采访。 实际数字和他们的描述值得更仔细的检视。这项研究得出结论，在2020年，中国电力行业在总计2,518吨的废气中，具备回收727吨六氟化硫的能力。但实际回收量可能比这一回收能力所允许的更少。 国家电网和南方电网报告称，2020年两家公司合计回收的六氟化硫不到300吨。这表明，当年废弃六氟化硫的实际回收比例可能远低于30%。报告显示，在2024年，回收量增至635吨，这是目前两家公司均有数据可查的最近年份，尽管在此期间，需要回收的废气量可能也有所增加。 2024年，中国研究人员在中国广州的一场国际能源会议上报告了相近的回收量，约为每年600吨。 Inside Climate News的一项评估发现，这些公司每年花费约600万美元，就可以额外回收再利用1,400吨的六氟化硫，这还不到中国每年约700亿美元电网投资的0.01%。 这项评估部分基于美国环保署2025年的一项分析。该分析估算了在190多个国家的不同产业中，减少1吨二氧化碳或等量的温室气体需要多少成本。该机构估算，在中国电力行业，通过回收六氟化硫减少相当于1吨二氧化碳的排放，成本约为18美分。 相比之下，2025年发表在《环境科学与技术》上的研究显示，通过安装风力发电机减少能源生产过程中的二氧化碳排放，每减排1吨二氧化碳的成本为11美元。通过安装太阳能板减排的成本甚至高，每减排相当于1吨二氧化碳的成本为31美元 “如果你减少六氟化硫，你绝对可以花小钱办大事，”美国环保署前项目经理萨莉·兰德说。她曾主导与美国各行业的合作，聚焦于减少长寿命含氟气体的排放。 六氟化硫回收的成本数据，是基于美国和欧洲采用的方法，这些方法优先考虑在现场对气体净化和再利用。中国的回收高度依赖集中式的异地再生设施，这些设施能够生产纯度更高的气体，但建设和运营成本可能也更高。 Inside Climate News 无法获得集中处理设施的精确成本数据。然而，即便集中处理模式的成本是优先现场回收的 10 倍，大幅扩大回收工作的成本也会相对有限。 实际缺陷 […]

Democrats controlled the Senate and the presidency when Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse first sought to roust his colleagues from the chamber’s floor, warning them that they were sleep-walking into climate disaster. Fourteen years and more than 300 “Time to Wake Up” speeches later, the Rhode Island Democrat is again prodding members of his own party—but now […]

Jaques and Paulina Sebastiao were the first residents on their street to rebuild their two-bedroom house two years after Hurricane Michael’s 155 mile-per-hour winds leveled almost every building in Mexico Beach in 2018. Few of their old neighbors in the Panhandle fishing village followed their lead. Some didn’t have insurance, and others battled their insurance […]

The countries most vulnerable to climate change are spending nearly 25 times more on repaying debt than on climate action, according to a new ActionAid report released Wednesday.  The report, “Debt Fuels the Climate Crisis: How the Finance Flows,” is “really unpacking the narrative about how the climate and debt crises are supercharging each other,” […]

From our collaborating partner “Living on Earth,” public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by host Steve Curwood with climate scientist Michael Mann. As the United Nations prepares to hold a climate summit in late September, it’s warning that current climate policies will lead to at least 1.8 degrees Celsius of global warming, well beyond […]

On a recent canoe trip to the remote upper reaches of the Narraguagus River, Ellie Mason saw prime Atlantic salmon habitat everywhere. Though small, the river and its tributaries are some of the wildest in Maine, largely undeveloped and surrounded by forest. There are shady refuges for fish on hot summer days, and the rocky […]

Environmental and public health groups are suing the Trump administration over its most recent move to eliminate protections against climate-warming pollution. The Environmental Protection Agency announced a plan on Monday, finalized in the Federal Register on Thursday, to revoke most of a Biden-era rule to limit greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel power plants. The […]

America’s centuries-old conflict with wolves took another turn earlier this month when President Donald Trump ordered the animals be stripped of federal protections across several U.S. states, claiming the action will provide economic relief for ranchers.  Alongside a suite of regulatory reviews to “promote financial viability” for ranchers, Trump ordered the Interior secretary to begin […]

The California valley with the most dairy farms in the state will follow stricter water pollution requirements following years of advocacy and a marathon six-hour meeting this week. The State Water Resources Control Board unanimously agreed to adopt the regulations under what several environmental groups call a long overdue dairy order.  Nitrogen from the manure […]

Democrats are poised to achieve trifectas—control of the governor’s office and both legislative chambers—in at least three states in this year’s midterm elections, and maybe even more. This matters because states play an outsize role in climate and energy policy. And when Democrats control state government, they often take substantial action. This isn’t a partisan […]