Earth Breaks Yearly Heat Record, Lurches Past Warming Threshold

Earth recorded its hottest year ever in 2024, with such a big jump that the planet temporarily passed a major climate threshold. 

It’s the first time in recorded history the planet was above a hoped-for limit to warming for an entire year, according to measurements from four of six research teams. Scientists say if Earth stays above the threshold long-term, it will mean increased deaths, destruction, species loss and sea level rise from the extreme weather that accompanies warming. 

Last year’s global average easily passed 2023’s record heat and surpassed the long-term warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius that was called for by the 2015 Paris climate pact, according to the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Service, the United Kingdom’s Meteorology Office, Japan’s weather agency and the private Berkeley Earth team. 

More: The Associated Press 

Pentagon to Ban China’s Largest EV Battery, Tech Firms

The Pentagon last week said it will ban China’s largest EV battery manufacturer and its largest tech firm beginning in June 2026, barring them from Defense Department contracts. 

In a notice in the Federal Register, the Defense Department published a list of firms that it deems to be operating in the United States for, or on behalf of, the Chinese military or that contribute to China’s military buildup. The list, mandated annually by Congress since 2021, now includes CATL, the world’s largest EV battery-maker that supplies Tesla. It also lists Tencent, China’s most valuable technology company. 

Both CATL and Tencent have called the designation a “mistake” and said they have never engaged in any military related business. 

More: The Washington Post 

US GHG Emissions Drop Just 0.2% in 2024

The U.S.’s efforts to cut its climate change pollution stalled in 2024, with greenhouse gas emissions dropping just 0.2% compared to the year before, according to estimates published by the Rhodium Group. 

Despite continued growth in solar and wind power, emissions levels stayed relatively flat because demand for electricity surged nationwide, which led to a spike in the amount of natural gas burned by power plants. 

Since 2005, U.S. emissions have fallen roughly 20%. But to meet its climate goals, emissions would need to decline nearly 10 times as fast each year as they’ve fallen over the past decade. 

More: The New York Times 

BLM Approves Arizona Solar Project

The Bureau of Land Management has approved the 600-MW Jove Solar Project in Arizona. The project will be constructed in La Paz County. It will span 3,495 acres of public land and 38 acres of county land. 

More: KAWC