Opinion: Good Climate News to Share

Love, Justice and Climate Change

The daily news is full of accounts of the latest violence by ICE, undermining of the international order, increased threats of war by Trump, and continued destruction of basic human rights and needed services by the MAGA forces. At the same time, we all know that the climate crisis, probably the greatest existential threat to human existence, continues. I think it is important for us, and for everyone we talk to, to be aware that there is some good news on the global climate front.

Good News

• Wind and solar energy overtook fossil fuels as the European Union’s largest sources of electricity in 2025, driven by another year of rapid solar expansion. Nearly half of EU electricity came from renewables overall. Coal’s contribution sank to its lowest level ever.

• Globally, in more than 80% of countries, the rate of growth in renewable power capacity is accelerating. By 2030, renewable capacity is expected to double from today’s level. Much of this is due to continued massive expansion of renewable energy in China which last year installed as much solar as the rest of the world combined.
  
• Thanks to a surging grassroots effort, Pakistan, the 5th most populous country in the world, now gets more than 25% of its electricity from solar (compared to 8% in the U.S.). Pakistan’s goal is 60% renewable electricity by 2030.
  
• There is also some indication that India, the most populous nation in the world, is poised to reduce coal use and increase solar even more rapidly than China did.
  
• In the U.S., courts have ruled against some of Trump’s anti-renewable orders, giving three wind energy developers the go-ahead to continue major projects already under construction; and ordering the administration to restore the millions of dollars of clean energy grants and cover the plaintiffs’ legal fees. ⁠
  
• As reported by Potential Energy, “Across 23 countries including the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, China, India, and Japan, three in four people agree with one simple statement: “It’s essential our government does whatever it takes to limit the effects of climate change.”

Share at Least One of These Often
I think we get to hold onto this good news, enjoy it, and share it for others’ benefit. We know there is bad news too, but most people are motivated more by good news and positive possibilities, than the negatives. We can help motivate people to act just by sharing good climate news.

The experts think having more conversations about climate change is key.

“The first step to action on climate change is to talk about it, that’s the number one thing we can do,” said Lucky Tran, a science communicator at Columbia University who focuses in part on climate justice.

One way to start is just to share one of the bullet points above. For more on how to start and continue these conversations, I invite you to look at a post of mine titled “How to Talk About Climate Change” from several years ago. It has some good concrete suggestions and examples and more.

Russ Vernon-Jones was principal of Fort River School from 1990 to 2008 and is currently a member of the Steering Committee of Climate Action Now-Western Massachusetts. He blogs regularly on climate justice at www.russvernonjones.org.