In the hot and sticky suffocation of summer, air conditioners are a breezy balm. And as climate change heats Earth, the need for them is only rising. Yet the cold air blowers consume a ton of energy. But now researchers say they have a solution for these energy hogs that actually helps the climate.

In a new analysis, scientists argue for using air conditioning units to capture carbon dioxide straight from the atmosphere and transform it into fuel. The idea is that these renewable-energy p