Airports are feeling the heat: Airports around the world have recently begun to adopt new designs and procedures to accommodate operational challenges caused by climate change, such as extreme heat, drenching, and temperature fluctuations, Bloomberg reports. These designs include using heat-resistant materials for construction, relocating electrical equipment to rooftops, reinforcing runways, and enhancing air conditioning systems to combat climate change. In Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport has elevated and sloped its runways to ensure proper drainage during intense rainfall, while Nice Airport in France had to decrease its industrial water usage due to the limited supply of water. The number of airports vulnerable to flooding is expected to double along the North Sea coast, where the effects of sea level rise are more severe, between 2030 and 2080, according to a study (pdf).

Some MENA airports didn't get the memo yet: MENA is one of the world's most vulnerable regions in terms of climate due to its degraded marine and coastal ecosystems, rising summer temperatures, encroaching desertification, scarcity of freshwater, and increased air pollution, according to the World Bank. Dubai’s airport so far is resilient enough to handle its climate, as its runway is made up of combinations of asphalt that can withstand scorching temperatures, while Iraq’s airport, unprepared, had to shut down airports and public buildings after being hit by a sandstorm last year.

Ethanol groups slam EPA over claims the biofuel has “minimal climate benefits”: An advisory board to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under fire from the ethanol and corn industries for a draft report concluding that using corn-starch ethanol as fuel has little climate benefit, Reuters reported on Friday. The report, which was discussed in a public meeting by the advisory board on Thursday in Washington DC, found that there is “a reasonable chance there are minimal or no climate benefits from substituting corn-ethanol for gasoline or diesel,” a conclusion that has drawn criticism from industry experts.

The counter-argument: “We adamantly disagree,” said Geoff Cooper, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, citing stats by the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory saying that ethanol is 44% lower in emissions than gasoline.

The report will be revised…: The full board voted to accept the draft report pending revisions. Some suggested revisions include softening the report’s language and clarifying uncertainties in the scientific literature.

…but the debate remains unsettled: Biofuel lobbyist Chris Bliley argued that the draft comment “cherry picks certain data from a few anti-ethanol critics,” whereas others maintained that new studies suggest ethanol may be less climate-friendly than previously thought.