Environment

Fossil fuels are a ‘crutch’: How AI’s unlikely winner could be renewable energy
World

Fossil fuels are a ‘crutch’: How AI’s unlikely winner could be renewable energy

Stalled demand for energy in Europe pushed investors away from renewables, but artificial intelligence could see cash flow back into the sector, while also uplifting fossil fuels. Global electricity generation from renewables is expected to jump by 60% in 2030, accounting for 45% of total electricity output, per the International Energy Agency. Almost 50% of […]

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Greenland’s freshwater reserves seen as ‘frozen capital’ as water becomes a national security issue
Politics

Greenland’s freshwater reserves seen as ‘frozen capital’ as water becomes a national security issue

Water is a finite resource — and increasingly a national security issue, analysts told CNBC.  Water demand is expected to outpace supply by as much as 40% in 2030, according to a 2023 landmark report on the economics of water. At the same time, climate change is affecting weather patterns and once water-abundant areas are […]

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Big Tech is poaching energy talent to fuel its AI ambitions
Technology

Big Tech is poaching energy talent to fuel its AI ambitions

Big Tech has been on an energy hiring spree. Technology companies investing heavily in artificial intelligence are bolstering their workforce with energy experts as they look to overcome the biggest bottleneck in scaling AI: access to power. Energy-related hiring jumped 34% year-on-year in 2024, according to data compiled by Workforce.ai for CNBC. Last year’s hiring […]

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Bill Gates is still optimistic about the world’s future—depending on these 3 questions
World

Bill Gates is still optimistic about the world’s future—depending on these 3 questions

Bill Gates is as optimistic about the world’s future as ever, despite the fact that we’re living through “an era with so many challenges and so much polarization,” the billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder wrote in a blog post on Friday. The world faces plenty of causes for concern over issues like climate change, global […]

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Trump’s Greenland rare earth bet looks ‘absurd’ as reality check looms, experts warn
World

Trump’s Greenland rare earth bet looks ‘absurd’ as reality check looms, experts warn

Washington’s push to tap Greenland’s rare earths is an “absurd” solution to reduce its dependence on Beijing, industry experts said, citing low-grade deposits, harsh weather and the reality that any mined material would still need to be processed in China. Markets have nonetheless piled into rare-earth stocks with exposure to Greenland after U.S. President Donald […]

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BYD’s China EV deliveries sharply decline in December, but lead overall sales in 2025
World

BYD’s China EV deliveries sharply decline in December, but lead overall sales in 2025

MUNICH, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 09: The Chinese producer of electric cars BYD presents its vehicles (EV) on the opening day of the IAA MOBILITY 2025 automobile fair on September 09, 2025 in Munich, Germany. The IAA is taking place as German automakers are seeing profits lag and are struggling to maintain market share while Chinese […]

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China encircles Taiwan in massive military display
World

China encircles Taiwan in massive military display

A giant screen shows a news report on China’s “Justice Mission 2025” military drills around Taiwan, in Beijing, China Dec. 30, 2025. Tingshu Wang | Reuters China fired rockets into waters off Taiwan on Tuesday, showcased new assault ships and dismissed prospects of U.S. and allied ⁠intervention to block any future attack by Beijing to […]

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From data center spas to servers in space: How the energy crunch is reshaping cloud computing
Technology

From data center spas to servers in space: How the energy crunch is reshaping cloud computing

Lenovo in partnership with AKT II and Mamou-Mani imagines the data centers of the future: a data center spa James Cheung, partner at Mamou-Mani Artificial intelligence is advancing at breakneck speed, forcing a rethink of how the power-hungry servers behind the boom can coexist with — and draw less from — the environment. Data centers […]

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China launches war games around Taiwan as island vows to defend democracy
World

China launches war games around Taiwan as island vows to defend democracy

WEST PHILIPPINE SEA, PHILIPPINE – APRIL 27: A Chinese warship is seen sailing near several Philippine and United States Navy vessels partaking in a multilateral maritime exercise as part of the Balikatan drills, after Washington deployed advanced missile systems to the Philippines, in West Philippine Sea, Philippine, on April 27, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Ceng/Anadolu […]

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Europe at ‘fork in the road’ between AI competition and climate: fund managers
World

Europe at ‘fork in the road’ between AI competition and climate: fund managers

Europe stands at a crossroads: compete meaningfully in the AI race or stick to its world-leading climate goals.  “It’s like a fork in the road moment for Europe,” Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives told CNBC. The bloc can either “play in the future” or risk “missing a big part of this technology wave.” The dilemma is compounded […]

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