Carbon credits: How to tell if they're the real deal or not

Solar development can reduce or significantly alter local biodiversity, and this should be considered when planning sustainability projects in the desert, argues a new study. Scientists measured the impact of a solar plant built in California and found that while some grasses and native shrubs grew back, cacti and yucca didn’t fare well. They recommend building solar projects on places that have already been developed or have low environmental impact. Groups like the Nature Conservancy are using that advice to pilot a project demonstrating that old mine sites in Nevada can be used for clean energy.

The University of Notre Dame installed three Grind2Energy systems, which aims to reduce the amount of food waste from the campus’ dining halls. The systems process the waste and send it to a local dairy farm where they break down the material to produce biogas that is used to generate electrical power for 1,000 homes each day in Plymouth, Indiana. While not everyone at the university has committed to the sustainability efforts, these systems can be scaled to be used on other college campuses.

Mosques across Amman, Jordan are adorned with solar panels, resulting in some very energy efficient places of worship (along with many other buildings). The mosques now cover 100% of their energy needs and can even sell excess energy back to the national grid. The city is aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050, and in addition to recycling, environmental education, and solar water heaters, Amman is expanding their ecotourism industry to attract more environmentally conscious tourists.

California's farm-to-school grant program, launched in 2021, has successfully directed 100% of its funding to small and disadvantaged farmers. This has helped them expand their businesses through investments like refrigerated vans and partnerships with food hubs, enabling fresh local produce delivery to schools across the state.

China's strategic provision of affordable renewable energy infrastructure—such as solar panels and wind turbines—to developing countries like the Philippines, fills the vacuum caused by significant U.S. cuts in global climate finance under the Trump administration.

With the help of federal tax credits and localized policies for building, last year, Florida surpassed California as the state with the most new solar panels plugged into its grid, building three gigawatts of large-scale solar in 2024.

Researchers and conservationists in European countries like Finland are buying obsolete dams and dismantling them to allow river ecosystems to recover and fish to travel freely.

Federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act and added incentives from the state of Colorado and its municipalities is drawing in clean energy companies, creating new jobs, and helping the state meet its decarbonization goals.

The Solar Cooking project uses both solar power and a power grid to allow people to reduce their cooking fuel costs and fossil fuel consumption, making it a more environmentally-friendly way to cook.

Turtle Mountain Community College transitioned to geothermal and wind energy to reduce energy costs by 300%. The heating and cooling pumps are equipped with smart technology and sensors that allow them to be used at maximum efficiency.