Google launched its latest sustainability tool, a series of environmental geospatial APIs that help cities, businesses, and other partners map solar, air quality, and pollen data worldwide.

Overture Maps was originally announced in late 2022, with Google’s biggest competitors on board. Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, TomTom and more mapping specialists have teamed up to create the project.

Using the Google Cloud Platform, developers can start a Google Cloud Project and download relevant software to use Google Maps APIs.

Breaking the yoke of the Google Maps API All this data and interoperability talk makes this project seem aimed more at the Google Maps API rather than the consumer-level navigation app.

For example, app makers pay per thousand Google Maps lookups through an application programming interface (API). Apple allows access to Apple Maps for free for native app developers, but web app ...