Its fossil fuel production will shrink by at least 1 million barrels of oil a day compared to what it produced in 2019 as it expands its clean energy portfolio. But the company will still be a major contributor to climate change. One of the largest oil companies in the world is now making a major shift to renewable electricity. By 2030, BP plans to spend $5 billion a year on low-carbon energy, becoming one of the largest producers of renewables in the world. The company announced a new strategy today that it says “will reshape its business as it pivots from being an international oil company focused on producing resources to an integrated energy company.” Read Full Story

There are many ideas for what the 400-acre island in the middle of New York be transformed into: affordable housing, an energy hub, or a new manufacturing center. In six years, Rikers Island, a New York City jail complex notorious for inhumane treatment, will be closing, as the city opens a series of smaller jails in each borough instead of housing all its inmates in one place. A new report highlights some of the ways that the land—a 400-acre island in the middle of the East River—could potentially be transformed. Read Full Story

And by 2045, the electric grid could be entirely renewable. Until recently, climate experts projected that it wouldn’t be possible to decarbonize the electric grid until 2050—and that moving to fully renewable energy could raise the price of electricity for consumers. But the cost of wind, solar, and battery storage has fallen so quickly that in just 15 years, the U.S. could feasibly run on 90% clean electricity, with no increase in electric bills. And adding new renewable infrastructure could create more than half a million new jobs each year. By 2045, the entire electric grid could run on renewables. Read Full Story

This could be an opportunity to reshape our energy system. But it could also simply lead to a bailout of oil companies. As the pandemic has shut down much of the global economy—at the same time as a price war on oil—oil prices have cratered. In the U.S., crude oil prices went negative for the first time in history on Monday. Whiting Petroleum, a large shale oil company, filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, and hundreds of other oil companies are also now at risk of bankruptcy. Natural gas prices are also falling. At a time when the world needs to transition from fossil fuels to avoid the even bigger catastrophe of climate change, what does the state of the industry mean for the climate? Read Full Story

As part of its plan to lower its footprint, Unilever is removing petrochemicals from its home cleaning products. Benzene, a chemical found in crude oil, might also be in your laundry detergent (you might miss it—it’s often in the form of somewhat unpronounceable ingredients such as sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate). Other petrochemicals are also commonly used to make similar products. But Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies, now plans to transition the ingredients in its line of home cleaning products—including dishwashing liquid and laundry detergent—completely away from fossil-fuel-based carbon. Read Full Story

The proposal would invest 750 billion euros in energy-efficient renovations, clean transportation, and renewable energy. While the Trump administration tries to help struggling oil companies and continues to roll back environmental policies , the European Union is planning a green recovery, with a new proposal to pour hundreds of billions of euros into new renewable energy, clean transportation, building renovation, and other programs designed to help Europe shrink its carbon footprint. Read Full Story

Bulgaria, Czechia, Poland, and Romania are among the European Union’s most coal-intensive economies. A new report shows how investing in clean energy in these countries could drive Europe’s green recovery. As European countries such as Belgium and Sweden shutter coal power plants and invest in renewable energy sources, Eastern Europe has clung to coal—in part because the switch to renewables has been an expensive investment. But with wind and solar getting cheaper , and with a need for robust economic recovery plans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report shows how four Eastern European countries could affordably invest in clean energy, and with that investment, help bring about a green recovery for all of Europe. Read Full Story

What would it take for every household to fully decarbonize? A typical American household runs on fossil fuels: natural gas for heat, hot water, and the kitchen stove, gas or diesel to power the cars in the driveway, and coal and natural gas still powering the majority of the electricity flowing in the home, even as the amount of wind and solar on the grid quickly grows. Read Full Story

See the full list of honorees. Solar, wind, and any other innovative ideas to create clean power (either for personal use or at a large scale) or new systems for better electricity distribution. Read about the winner: a startup that uses mirrors to create solar-powered, 1,800-degree heat for industrial factories . Read Full Story

Even a global pandemic might not dampen the island's prospects as a new-business hub.