Around the world: ahead of COP26, the carbon-cutting innovations that could help
After a summer of floods, forest fires and heat waves, the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, COP26, can’t get underway soon enough. While we await the outcome, here are the initiatives and plans that are already working to reduce carbon emissions.
Google Maps is making greener choices easier
Google Maps updates are providing people with greener choices when getting from A to B to help lower transportation CO2 emissions.
In addition to showing the fastest route, Google Maps will also display the one that’s the most fuel-efficient, if it doesn’t happen to be the fastest. To make it easier to get around via bike, cyclists can also quickly see important details about their route without needing to keep their screen on or enter turn-by-turn navigation.
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Words by Russell Dicker
Coldplay’s next tour will be net-zero
In collaboration with the Swiss company Climeworks, Coldplay has announced its Music of the Spheres tour will have a net-zero carbon footprint.
The British brand said its environmental initiatives would reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent compared to its last tour. It also pledged to use various carbon-removal methods, including direct-air carbon capture technology, to offset the remaining carbon emissions.
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Words by Rima Sabina Aouf
Ionic wind could power planes
Engineers have known about electric wind for centuries, but it is only in the past few years that they’ve come to understand the precision needed to control it. Now the challenge is to put it to work.
Airflow induced by electric fields, known as ionic wind, has already propelled a small aircraft—now engineers think it could help improve the efficiency of industrial processes like steel-making and to lubricate our transition to a greener energy system.
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Words by Ben Skuse