Guardian: Republican Candidates Skirt Surprise Climate Change Question at Debate

The subject of climate change was raised on Thursday at the Republican debate in Miami -- a city with pressing concerns about its effects.

Marco Rubio, the Florida senator fighting strongly on home ground as he sought to revive his presidential campaign, was asked: “Will you acknowledge the reality of the scientific consensus of climate change?”

Rubio said: “Sure, the climate is changing. […] There was never a time when the climate was not changing.”

MIT Technology Review: The Sky May Hold the Secret to Efficient Air Conditioning

Air conditioning accounts for almost 15 percent of all energy use by buildings in the United States. One way to cut that is to send heat to outer space, according to Aaswath Raman.

Raman is the co-founder of a new company called SkyCool Systems. The startup, spinning out of Stanford University, is one of several groups commercializing an energy-efficient cooling approach that takes advantage of the coldness of space.

PV Magazine: First Solar Targets Greener Solar Panel Production

Arizona-headquartered thin-film solar producer First Solar has published this week its inaugural Corporate Sustainability Report, which outlines the steps the company is taking to reduce its carbon footprint and lower the impact of its PV plant projects across their life cycle.

The report sheds light on First Solar’s life cycle management process, which is a key link in the company’s production chain. Manufacturing First Solar’s thin-film panels is a less energy-intensive process than typical silicon crystalline solar modules, but responsible management and disposal of the mining byproducts is imperative, the company states.

NPR: U.S., Canada Announce Shared Goals for Fighting Climate Change

Canada and the U.S. have announced a cooperative plan to tackle climate change by cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, investing in clean energy research and reducing future hydrofluorocarbon use.

At a joint press conference in the White House Rose Garden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Obama praised the strong ties between Canada and the U.S. They also announced plans to further facilitate trade between the two countries and expressed a shared commitment to protect the environment.

Bloomberg: Porsche Said to Weigh Bosch, Panasonic for Tesla-Fighter Battery

Porsche AG has been weighing bids from Panasonic Corp. and Robert Bosch GmbH for a long-range battery as it prepares to challenge Tesla Motors Inc. with an all-electric sports car, according to people familiar with the matter.

Costs for the package offered by crosstown neighbor Bosch would be higher than the competing technology from Japanese peer Panasonic, which supplies Tesla’s batteries, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential. The advantage to Bosch’s offer would be less-complex logistics.