Key takeaways from COP30 halfway through the UN climate summit

Sometimes, the right learning environment can change everything. For Courtney Irwin, that place was a youth development center in Salinas, California. She shares her Brief But Spectacular take on how cooking and community helped her find her way. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

This weekend is the halfway point for the 30th U.N. climate summit known as COP30. In a report issued days before the meeting began, the World Meteorological Organization said 2025 is “on track to be among the three warmest years on record.” New York Times international climate reporter Somini Sengupta, who just returned from COP30, joins John Yang to discuss. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

So-called forever chemicals are both harmful to our health and are everywhere. Studies have found them in women's breast milk and even in rain falling in Tibet. A new book tells the story of how these extremely durable chemicals became so ubiquitous through the eyes of a small community that decided to fight for some measure of justice. William Brangham reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country. That includes a man who’s been dubbed the "Mozart of Math." Stephanie Sy examines what’s behind a potential scientific brain drain. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

The latest Consumer Price Index shows that the average electric bill went up more than 5% from September 2024 to September 2025. That's faster than the inflation rate for the same period. Conventional wisdom blames the demand for power on the explosive growth of data centers, but a new analysis concludes that it’s not that simple. John Yang reports on the other factors behind the rising costs. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Salt marshes exist on every coast of the U.S., but these important wetlands are succumbing quickly to the effects of sea level rise caused by climate change. Grace Go of our journalism training program, PBS News Student Reporting Labs, has the story of how one young photographer from Massachusetts is fighting to protect these places. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In the Arctic tundra of Alaska, climate change is forcing an Alaska Native village to relocate. Rising temperatures are melting the underground permafrost. The melted ice then mixes with the soil, creating unstable land the Yupʼik people call Alaskan quicksand. Amalia Huot-Marchand and a team from the Medill School of Journalism report. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

This week, countries may approve a carbon tax on the global shipping industry. The International Maritime Organization is poised to approve new levies on ships for their emissions, but the Trump administration argues it's a harmful tax. William Brangham has a profile of Andrew Forrest, a key business player who's attracting attention for his efforts to make industry greener. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

An unlikely partnership between a utility company and climate activists managed to convert a community to geothermal heating and cooling. Science correspondent Miles O'Brien reports on this project for our energy and climate series, Tipping Point. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

From its embrace of dubious research about autism, its skepticism over vaccines and its wholesale rejection of the consensus about climate change, the Trump administration has set off alarm bells within the scientific community. William Brangham spoke with two prominent researchers about "Science Under Siege," their new book chronicling what they argue is a concerted war on science. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy