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A key challenge in conservation and decarbonization today is gaining real-time, verifiable insights into environmental impact from the first-mile. This is the origin point for commodities like agriculture, timber, and minerals— and often where the most significant environmental and ecological risks exist, yet it has traditionally been the most opaque.

AI is transforming this by making massive datasets—satellite imagery, IoT sensors, and environmental risk models—actionable in near real time. With the ability to analyze everything from land-use changes to methane emissions, AI enables companies and regulators to detect deforestation, illegal activities, and sustainability risks with unprecedented accuracy.

Beyond monitoring, AI plays a role in risk forecasting and compliance. It can model climate risks—such as drought, wildfires, or extreme weather—and help organizations proactively adapt their operations and sourcing strategies. As regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) become more stringent, businesses will increasingly rely on AI-powered analysis to ensure compliance and mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities.

How does AI technology improve the accuracy and reliability of carbon offset measurements compared to traditional methods?

Historically, carbon markets have relied on manual verification and estimates based on projections rather than real-world impact. This has led to concerns about credibility and market integrity.

AI and remote sensing technologies revolutionize this process by enabling near real-time measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV). For example, AI can detect deforestation and land-use changes, ensuring that credits for forest conservation are genuinely additional and permanent. Advanced models can quantify carbon tracking - such as methane emissions and reductions - particularly in agriculture and landfill projects. AI-powered analysis of soil carbon sequestration ensures that carbon farming and regenerative agriculture credits are measurable and defensible.

This milestone-based approach, where credits are issued based on verified progress rather than speculative claims, is helping shift the market toward greater transparency and trust.

What are the biggest challenges in applying AI and machine learning to forest conservation and carbon credit verification, and how can these be addressed?

One of the biggest challenges is data integrity. AI models are only as good as the data they are trained on, and for environmental applications, gaps in first-mile data have historically led to inefficiencies and unverifiable claims.

To address this, there is a growing emphasis on combining multiple data sources – satellite imagery, LiDAR scans, ground-truth observations, and machine learning models – to ensure that carbon sequestration, deforestation, and biodiversity impacts are measured accurately.

Another challenge is the time and cost of project verification. Traditional methods can take years for a carbon credit project to be audited and approved. AI-powered automation is now reducing project registration times from multiple years to just weeks, significantly accelerating climate action.

Regulation is also catching up. Emerging policies are increasingly requiring verifiable, high-resolution environmental data to ensure that credits issued in the market represent real, additional carbon reductions.

How will AI shape the fight against climate change over the next 5-10 years?

AI tools are already proving its value in climate risk management and emissions reduction, and over the next decade, its impact will only expand.

For example, AI will improve carbon tracking, particularly for Scope 3 emissions, which remain the hardest to quantify and manage. It will also optimize nature-based solutions, such as regenerative agriculture and reforestation projects, ensuring they deliver measurable carbon benefits. AI can also enhance climate risk forecasting, helping businesses and governments anticipate disruptions and adapt before crises hit.

We are also seeing a growing intersection of AI and blockchain in sustainability. By integrating AI-powered measurement and monitoring with immutable records on blockchain, businesses can create auditable, tamper-proof sustainability claims – critical for regulatory compliance and investor confidence.

How has technology directly contributed to more effective decarbonization efforts or improved sustainability practices?

Transparency has long been a challenge in sustainability efforts. While satellites and AI can provide visibility into environmental impact, the real issue is verification and accountability.

Historically, registering and verifying a carbon project – whether a reforestation effort or a methane reduction initiative – was an expensive, slow process. But with AI and blockchain-backed registries, project validation timelines have been cut from multiple years to just a few months.

This acceleration is critical because it increases the speed at which capital can flow into high-impact climate projects. Whether it’s reducing emissions from land use, improving soil carbon storage, or transitioning to regenerative supply chains, technology is making it possible to measure, verify, and scale these efforts faster than ever before.

We list the best IT management tool.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

China will impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, and soy. They follow Trump's order to raise tariffs on imports of Chinese products to 20%.

(Image credit: Andy Wong)

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 4.

Interest in AI agents that can peruse the internet on your behalf has ticked up of late, partly thanks to OpenAI's Operator, along with Browser Use and the recently released Proxy 1.0. Popular browser provider Opera has joined in to offer a tool that will actively do tasks on the web for you. If this catches on, the way we interact with the internet might never be the same, especially if it's baked right into the browser like Opera's is.

The idea for the Operator is that, instead of just answering questions or giving you information like Opera's Aria AI assistant, it can go out onto the web and do things on your behalf. You can tell it to buy concert tickets, book a hotel, track down the best deals on a gadget, or research a topic, and it will navigate sites, fill out forms, and complete tasks for you while keeping you updated.

You’re still in control, but now you have a digital errand runner handling the tedious stuff. And that could change a lot about how we use the internet. Here are five ways it could shake things up.

Shop for me

(Image credit: Opera)

Online shopping could become radically simpler with Opera's Operator. Right now, finding the perfect item can require having ten tabs full of reviews, price comparisons, and shipping data. With the Browser Operator, you could just say, “Find me the best-rated wireless earbuds under $150 and order them to my address.”

Instead of doom-scrolling product pages for an hour, you’d get a curated recommendation, approve it, and be done in seconds. Imagine never dealing with sketchy third-party sellers again because your AI assistant already weeded them out for you.

Trip AI

The Operator could make planning travel actually fun instead of stressful. A simple weekend trip requires juggling flight options, hotel rates, rental car bookings, and activity reservations, all while praying you don’t accidentally book a 10-hour layover.

With the Browser Operator, you could say, “Plan a weekend getaway to Chicago with a hotel near downtown and a rental car,” and it would handle the legwork, presenting you with an itinerary to approve. No more agonizing over which travel site has the best deals or whether that budget hotel actually has walls. The AI would be able to do the tedious searching; you just decide what sounds good.

Subscribe AI

Managing subscriptions and online accounts could stop being a nightmare using AI. These days, half of our digital lives are spent trying to remember where we signed up for what, why we’re still being charged for something we don’t use, and how to cancel a subscription before it renews for another year. Normally, you have to dig through emails, track down obscure account settings, and fight a desperate battle with “Are you sure you want to cancel?” pop-ups.

With the Browser Operator, you could say, “Find all my active subscriptions and show me what I should cancel.” It could even handle the cancellations for you, sparing you from guilt-tripping retention prompts. Suddenly, your bank account isn’t a graveyard of forgotten free trials turned full-priced commitments.

Bills to pay

(Image credit: Opera)

Even the most mundane online tasks could become hands-free with the Operator's help. Paying bills, managing subscriptions, downloading bank statements are all the little things that chip away at your day. The annoyance of having to remember which day you need to log in, navigate a website, and remember your passwords is just part of life.

However, you can set up the Browser Operator to handle routine tasks automatically. Imagine just getting a notification that your phone bill has been paid instead of remembering to do it yourself. That’s not just convenience but fewer minor annoyances cluttering your brain.

Information filter

Keeping up with the internet’s relentless firehose of content might actually become manageable using the AI Operator. Staying informed today means subscribing to newsletters, following a bunch of blogs, and hoping the algorithm decides to show you nothing but cat videos. But the Browser Operator could act as your own personal news curator.

You could tell it, “Keep me updated on the latest breakthroughs in space exploration,” and it would regularly collect and summarize the most relevant articles. Instead of wading through an endless news feed, you’d get just what matters to you, neatly packaged. That way, you can stay informed without feeling like the internet’s infinite scroll has hijacked your entire day.

Operator opening

The internet has always required us to be the operators; clicking, searching, navigating, managing. But with AI tools like this, that might be changing. Opera’s Browser Operator takes the first real step toward making the browser an active participant instead of a passive tool. It doesn’t just give you a new way to browse; it changes what browsing is. Sure, this could make everything more efficient, but it also raises questions about what happens when we offload so much of our online activity to AI. If the internet can browse itself for us, how much do we really need to engage with it? Will we still know how to search for things manually in a few years, or will that start to feel as outdated as dialing a rotary phone?

For now, though, it’s hard not to be excited. This is the kind of innovation that makes you wonder how we ever lived without it. If AI can start handling the tedious parts of the internet, maybe we’ll finally have time for the things we actually enjoy. Or, more realistically, maybe we’ll just use that extra time to doom-scroll even more efficiently. Either way, the future of browsing just got a lot more interesting.

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A spring storm is bringing various weather conditions across the U.S. Some regions are facing snow, possible tornadoes, and critical fire conditions, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

(Image credit: NWS/NOAA)

The news comes just days after a disastrous meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

The word-find puzzle is one year old, so of course, the puzzle theme makes a sly reference to it.

The White House describes the tariffs as a response to inadequate border and drug enforcement. They are forecast to add thousands of dollars to the price of vehicles.

(Image credit: Guillermo Arias)

The White House has been clear that it intends to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, and that it will be McMahon's job to oversee that effort.

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At MWC 2025, Samsung revealed a range of concept devices showcasing new, exciting display formats that could someday come to market.

• Lego debuted its first Steamboat building set at Toy Fair
• It's filled with details and is quite large at 27 inches
• The River Steamboat made its debut alongside a new Jurassic Park set

Lego Ideas sets are some of the most fun to shop for and build simply because fellow fans think of and then vote on them in hopes of making these models real. The River Steamboat is the next set to arrive in a port from Lego Ideas and looks incredible.

While Lego has made all sorts of vessels – a massive model of the Titanic and a submarine included – this is the brand's first steamboat. It’s done right, at least from our early look at Toy Fair 2025. The River Steamboat is constructed from over 4,000 pieces – 4,090 to be exact, stretches over 27 inches in length and stands 15 inches tall at its highest point.

The Lego Ideas River Steamboat will run you $329.99 / £289.99 / AUS $499.99 when it launches on April 10, 2025, but Lego Insiders – a free rewards program – can purchase it early on April 7. It’s expected to also be available on Amazon at launch.

(Image credit: Lego)

As you might expect with a steamboat model, you’ll be building a range of features across the interior and the exterior of the steamboat. On the rear, you’ll build a large, vibrant red paddle to push this vessel down a river or even up one. Like most other Lego boats, though, this one will not float.

While not visible once the set is fully built, you’ll also make the steam engine, which connects to the steamboat's tall standing plumes. It’s quite impressive, and while not a Technic set, some significant details are included here, and you’ll find some working gears.

Of course, you’ll also build various quarters for the staff, including the captain and for guests. There’s a “Texas deck,” a restaurant, and even a music deck. You can remove each deck to let you explore each one after the build is complete. That makes this set for display and play.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

This Lego Ideas set was created by fan Aaron Hall, who’s from Illinois in the United States, and thanks to reaching the needed number of community votes, Lego made it into a real set. It’s a really neat program that Lego offers, and some other sets, including Jaws, the Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Camera, and countless others have come for this program.

While Lego isn’t taking preorders for the Ideas River Steamboat, it’ll go on sale on April 10 for everyone and April 7 for Insiders members on its online store for $329.99 / £289.99 / AUS $499.99.

@techradar

♬ Rock and Roll Session - Canal Records JP

Also unveiled at the New York Toy Fair was the Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus rex set from the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World universes. While a T-Rex will undoubtedly be in the upcoming film, this set includes two Minifigures from the 1993 Jurassic Park movie.

This Tyrannosaurus rex is massive, even longer than the Steamboat, with a posable tail and limbs. You can, of course, simulate a chomp by moving the mouth of the T-Rex. This set launches on March 15, 2025 for $249.99 / £219.99 / AUS$399.99..

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• CWWK S7 mini PC offers up to 48GB DDR5 RAM and 12TB storage
• Fanless design minimizes noise and dust
• Dual internal fans enhance the passive cooling system

There are many unique mini PC options available, and the new CWWK S7 is set to join them, running on the Intel Core i3-N355 processor with eight cores, eight threads, and a maximum speed of 3.9 GHz.

Per AndroidPC (originally in Spanish), the chip is built using Intel’s 7nm process and has a maximum TDP of 15W, ensuring efficient power use. The integrated UHD graphics, with 32 execution units running at 1.35 GHz, supports multimedia playback, light gaming, and design applications.

Unlike many mini PCs that use active CPU cooling, the CWWK S7 has a fanless design (though it does include two internal fans to maintain performance under heavy workloads), with an aluminum alloy housing that helps dissipate heat and reduces noise and dust build-up — making it suitable for industrial use, digital signage, and home office setups.

Connectivity and networking

The S7 includes two 10Gb Ethernet ports (AQC113-B1-C controller) and two 2.5Gb Ethernet ports (i226-V controller), offering strong networking performance for NAS setups, firewalls, and virtualization.

It supports up to three 4K monitors at 60Hz via HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, and a USB-C port with video output.

Additional connectivity options include two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports (10Gbps), a USB-C port (with power delivery) for data transfer and display output, two USB 2.0 ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The CWWK S7 supports up to 48GB of DDR5 RAM via a single SO-DIMM slot, operating at a maximum speed of 4800 MHz.

It also includes two M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD slots, allowing for a maximum storage capacity of 12TB. One of these slots can also be used for an M.2 Wi-Fi module.

The S7 comes with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed, but also supports the best Linux distributions. It is priced at approximately 558 euros (about $579) on Amazon, with free shipping available in some regions.

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Our correspondent takes a look at the near future of the the war with Hamas in Gaza through the eyes of Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He is being pulled in opposite directions politically: President Trump wants the ceasefire in Gaza to continue, while influential right-wing members of Netanyahu's political coalition want fighting to resume.

(Image credit: Kayla Bartkowski)

Clearing land for cattle and cows is the single biggest driver of rainforest loss in the Amazon. This "hotel for cows" in Colombia offers a solution.

(Image credit: Julia Simon)

Trump's threats to put tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico have weighed on markets, even though there has been considerable uncertainty over whether he would make good on his threat.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

The new 8.5-foot telescope is set to launch this Tuesday by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory with a clear objective: to explore the origins of the universe.

(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Richard Haass, who served three republican presidents. Haass says President Trump's foreign policy has effectively put the post-WWII world order "on life support."

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