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Blueprints for a Miracle

Can technology slow emissions of greenhouse gases enough to halt climate change? IEEE Spectrum reporters fanned out across the globe to find out

The Green Promise of Vertical Farms

Indoor farms run by AI and lit by LEDs can be more efficient than field agriculture, but can they significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

11 min read

Bioengineers Aim to Break Big Ag’s Addiction to Fertilizers

Designer microbes could replace the chemical fertilizers that contribute to climate change

9 min read

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Blueprints for a Miracle

Can Technology Reverse Climate Change?

IEEE Spectrum’s editors and writers investigate a dozen of the world’s most promising projects to cut greenhouse gases

Fuel Cells Finally Find a Killer App: Carbon Capture

At an Alabama power plant, FuelCell Energy and ExxonMobil aim to capture 90 percent of CO2

This Power Plant Runs on CO2

Carbon capture costs nothing in NET Power’s new plant, which uses supercritical carbon dioxide to drive a turbine

Cement, Steel, and Natural Gas Are Major Greenhouse Gas Emitters, Too

Taken together, cement production, iron- and steelmaking, and natural-gas leaks rival transportation in their effects on climate

TerraPower’s Nuclear Reactor Could Power the 21st Century

The traveling-wave reactor and other advanced reactor designs could solve our fossil fuel dependency

The Struggle to Make Diesel-Guzzling Cargo Ships Greener

How these emission-belching behemoths will transition to batteries and fuel cells

Methanol-Fueled Cars Could Drive Us Toward an Emissionless Future

Icelandic firm Carbon Recycling International is turning industrial pollution into a low-carbon fuel for cars, trucks, and ships

Hybrid Electric Airliners Will Cut Emissions—and Noise

Electric propulsion will develop in the air as it did on the ground, by initially using batteries to assist a fuel-burning generator

A Critical Look at Claims for Green Technologies

Green technologies are not yet proved, affordable, or deployable—but even if they were, it would still take them generations to solve our environmental problems

The Green Promise of Vertical Farms

Indoor farms run by AI and lit by LEDs can be more efficient than field agriculture, but can they significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

How Sensors and Mobile Payments Are Getting Indian Women to Use Cleaner Cookstoves

New and improved stoves don’t belch out black carbon—but 3 billion people around the globe need motivation to use them

New Tech Could Turn Algae Into the Climate’s Slimy Savior

Low-power ways to grow algae could lock in carbon dioxide and feed the world

We Grew Algae and Asked Spectrum Editors to Taste It

Algae could be the environmentally-friendly superfood we've all been waiting for. But will anyone actually eat it?

Bioengineers Aim to Break Big Ag’s Addiction to Fertilizers

Designer microbes could replace the chemical fertilizers that contribute to climate change

The Race to Make a Great Fake Steak

With funding from food giant Unilever, a Dutch engineer is fine-tuning a machine designed to help make meat obsolete

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Blueprints for a Miracle

IEEE Spectrum’s editors and writers investigate a dozen of the world’s most promising projects to cut greenhouse gases

At an Alabama power plant, FuelCell Energy and ExxonMobil aim to capture 90 percent of CO2

Carbon capture costs nothing in NET Power’s new plant, which uses supercritical carbon dioxide to drive a turbine

Taken together, cement production, iron- and steelmaking, and natural-gas leaks rival transportation in their effects on climate

The traveling-wave reactor and other advanced reactor designs could solve our fossil fuel dependency

How these emission-belching behemoths will transition to batteries and fuel cells

Icelandic firm Carbon Recycling International is turning industrial pollution into a low-carbon fuel for cars, trucks, and ships

Electric propulsion will develop in the air as it did on the ground, by initially using batteries to assist a fuel-burning generator

Green technologies are not yet proved, affordable, or deployable—but even if they were, it would still take them generations to solve our environmental problems

Indoor farms run by AI and lit by LEDs can be more efficient than field agriculture, but can they significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

New and improved stoves don’t belch out black carbon—but 3 billion people around the globe need motivation to use them

Low-power ways to grow algae could lock in carbon dioxide and feed the world

Algae could be the environmentally-friendly superfood we've all been waiting for. But will anyone actually eat it?

Designer microbes could replace the chemical fertilizers that contribute to climate change

With funding from food giant Unilever, a Dutch engineer is fine-tuning a machine designed to help make meat obsolete