Julia Simon Julia Simon is the Climate Solutions Correspondent on NPR's Climate Desk.
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Julia Simon

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Headshot of Julia Simon
Courtesy of Julia Simon

Julia Simon

Climate Solutions Correspondent, Climate Desk

Julia Simon is NPR's Climate Solutions correspondent. She covers the ways governments, businesses, scientists and everyday people are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In her role on NPR's Climate Desk, Simon helped launch and now helps run the network's annual Climate Solutions Week.

Simon has traveled around the world in search of climate solutions. She went to Paris to learn about a 15-minute climate solution, and watched a rocket blast into space so a satellite can spot planet-heating methane. She trekked deep into the Sumatran rainforest and visited a "hotel for cows" in Colombia to learn about solutions to reduce deforestation.

She also works to hold institutions accountable for the climate solutions they push–and those they block. Simon visited a small town in Mississippi to meet residents still suffering health impacts of a carbon dioxide pipeline explosion and investigated the lack of regulation of solar geoengineering experiments. She's also reported on misinformation derailing renewable energy projects across the U.S..

She began her career at the BBC Cairo bureau and has worked as an energy reporter at Reuters. A longtime guest host for Planet Money, Simon was a part of a Planet Money team that was a finalist for the Gerald Loeb award.

Simon lived in and reported from Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria, where she was a Fulbright Scholar covering the oil sector. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago and studied international energy and climate change as a KSP scholar at the Sciences Po in Paris.

Simon speaks and reports in Egyptian Arabic, Spanish, French and Indonesian. She can be reached via encrypted message at juliaradio.33 on Signal.

Story Archive

Wednesday

When the power went out in Spain this spring, many theories about the blackout centered around renewable energy. A new expert panel report contradicts the narrative that too much solar and wind was to blame. Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images

After Spain's blackout, misinformation about renewable energy thrived

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Tuesday

Saturday

Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaks during a meeting of the White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education in the East Room of the White House in September. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

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Alex Brandon/AP

Thursday

A new study found that more than 200 heat waves, including the China heatwave in 2013, were substantially more likely and intense because of the activity of major fossil fuel producers. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Scientists link hundreds of severe heat waves to fossil fuel producers' pollution

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Tuesday

Energy Secretary Chris Wright spearheaded a recent DOE report about climate science. A new rebuttal from more than 85 scientists finds the report is full of errors and misrepresents climate science. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Dozens of scientists find errors in a new Energy Department climate report

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Saturday

Friday

Monday

People play rugby in the hazy weather on July 27 in New York City. There are currently smoke advisories across the Midwest and Northeast as a result of wildfires in Canada.
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Liao Pan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images

Friday

Experts say there are key questions parents and guardians should ask camp operators about wildfires, flood and heat risk. Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption

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Danielle Villasana for The Washington Post via Getty Images

SUMMER CAMP SAFETY

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Wednesday

TKTKTK Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Do you want federal money for an EV or home solar? Time is running out — fast

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Thursday

Preparing for the next heat wave

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Tuesday

With temperatures hovering near 100 degrees, a woman protects herself from the sun while walking through Boston on Tuesday. The East Coast and much of the Midwest are experiencing the first major heat wave of the year. Charles Krupa/AP hide caption

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Charles Krupa/AP

How to get cool and stay cool during the heat wave

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Sunday

Sebastian Schublach has lived in this climate-friendly affordable apartment in Vienna for six years with his wife and two kids. At top: Schlubach sits in the building's light filled rooftop kitchen and dining room. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Kellman/NPR

The Sunday Story: Two Problems, One Affordable Green Solution

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Sebastian Schublach is a resident of Gleis21, a climate-friendly social housing building in Vienna. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Kellman/NPR

Monday

Climate solutions for reducing home energy use can be extremely simple — and sometimes even free, says Dorit Aviv, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. Illustrations by LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

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Illustrations by LA Johnson/NPR

Climate: 5 Easy Ways to Reduce Electricity Use

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NPR brings housing-related climate solutions this week

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Tuesday

green spaces Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Kellman/NPR

This country is slowing climate action. Its capital city is stepping up

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Friday

Nodules containing valuable metals can be found scattered across the seabed in some parts of the ocean. Here, manganese nodules found off the Southeastern U.S. in 2019. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research hide caption

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NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research

Thursday

The Trump administration is halting an offshore wind project in New York. Energy experts worry that the U.S. will fall behind other countries with booming offshore wind, like the United Kingdom. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images hide caption

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Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A wind project is stalled in New York. Experts worry about impacts across the U.S.

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Thursday

Signage outside NOAA's headquarters in Silver Spring, Md. Hundreds of employees at the climate and weather research agency have been fired, including at least three Bay Area weather service employees, raising concerns about NOAA's ability to serve the public. Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Monday

A herd of brown cows gather under trees at the El Hatico farm near Cali, Colombia. Researchers think that this type of silvopasture could reduce deforestation in Latin America. Julia Simon/NPR hide caption

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In Colombia, a 'Hotel for cows' offers a solution to deforestation of the Amazon

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Wednesday

Friday

A Trump executive order temporarily pauses leases and permits for onshore and offshore wind projects. Andrew Marszal/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Marszal/AFP/Getty Images

Here's how Trump's pause on wind projects could threaten jobs and climate goals

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Monday