5 things that make us hopeful about climate progress in 2025

Climate change keeps getting harder to ignore. Phoenix lived through 113 consecutive days above 100 degrees last summer. A record number of fires burned in rainforests in South America in 2024. “Climate havens” like Asheville, North Carolina, were devastated by floods. Emissions keep growing. But it’s also true that climate solutions are rolling out faster than ever before. It took decades, for example, for the world to install 760 gigawatts of solar power by 2020; in 2024 alone, the world installed another 593 gigawatts, breaking a record set the year before. Here are five ways that the world is moving in the right direction. New climate solutions are becoming reality Some industries are especially hard to decarbonize—for example, shipping, since cargo ships can’t easily run on batteries. But new solutions are successfully proving themselves and scaling up. The world’s largest wind-powered cargo ship made its first trip across the Atlantic in 2024. Infinium, a company that makes fuel from CO2 and green hydrogen that can be used in planes, ships, and trucks, started commercial-scale production in 2024. Twelve, another company pioneering CO2-based fuel, expects to begin commercial-scale production in 2025, and will partner with Alaska Airlines to power a commercial flight. Clean energy projects are booming in the U.S. Since the Inflation Reduction Act passed two years ago, driving new investment in climate tech, more than 140 new clean energy projects—from massive battery factories to plants assembling EVs—have been built in the U.S, according to the Clean Economy Tracker. Another 93 are under construction, and 293 are in planning. Recently launched plants are scaling up production, such as a factory that now makes batteries inside a formerly abandoned Rust Belt building near Pittsburgh. In West Virginia, on the site of a former steel factory, another startup is making cutting-edge, sustainable “iron-air” batteries. Now, the Trump administration wants Congress to repeal the IRA, though the jobs that new clean energy factories are bringing to red districts may help keep it in place. And even if IRA incentives are taken away, state support and other investment could potentially keep the sector growing; some solutions are already more economical for customers even without incentives. EVs are getting more affordable In China, where more than half of new car sales are reportedly now electric or hybrid vehicles, most electric cars are cheaper than their gas equivalents, according to the International Energy Agency. That’s without subsidies. And though tariffs in the EU and U.S. will limit the sale of cheap Chinese cars abroad, Chinese manufacturers are also exporting large numbers of affordable EVs to places like Thailand and Brazil. Battery prices dropped by 20% in 2024, which will also help bring down the cost of EVs. Even in the U.S., where the upfront cost of EVs is still higher, the lifetime cost of owning an electric car is often already less expensive than a gas car. And new options for affordable EVs will be hitting the market in 2025. Solar power broke new records The U.S. installed a record 32 gigawatts of solar power in 2024, enough to power as many as 32 million homes. China installed as much as 260 gigawatts of solar, including an enormous 33,000-acre solar farm that produces, on its own, as much energy as the entire country of Luxembourg uses in a year. Solar is also growing in less expected places like Pakistan, where farms, factories, and homeowners installed 17 gigawatts of solar over the year to help fight the rising cost of fossil fuel–powered energy. Global solar installations could hit 593 gigawatts this year—29% more than 2023, which was already a record year. While growth is likely to slow in the U.S. in 2025 because of tariffs and potential Trump administration policies, the exponential global growth is much faster than expected. Communities are becoming more resilient This year was the hottest year on record—and incredibly destructive, from wildfires in the Amazon to hurricanes in the U.S. Cities are nowhere near prepared. Still, some communities are beginning to make changes that can help. Cities from Asheville to Seattle are using public libraries as disaster hubs. A recently built neighborhood in Florida was designed to survive hurricanes and keep the power on. In Paris, to help deal both with extreme heat and extreme rainfall, the city is “de-paving” some areas to add more green space.

5 things that make us hopeful about climate progress in 2025

Climate change keeps getting harder to ignore. Phoenix lived through 113 consecutive days above 100 degrees last summer. A record number of fires burned in rainforests in South America in 2024. “Climate havens” like Asheville, North Carolina, were devastated by floods. Emissions keep growing. But it’s also true that climate solutions are rolling out faster than ever before. It took decades, for example, for the world to install 760 gigawatts of solar power by 2020; in 2024 alone, the world installed another 593 gigawatts, breaking a record set the year before. Here are five ways that the world is moving in the right direction.

New climate solutions are becoming reality

Some industries are especially hard to decarbonize—for example, shipping, since cargo ships can’t easily run on batteries. But new solutions are successfully proving themselves and scaling up. The world’s largest wind-powered cargo ship made its first trip across the Atlantic in 2024. Infinium, a company that makes fuel from CO2 and green hydrogen that can be used in planes, ships, and trucks, started commercial-scale production in 2024. Twelve, another company pioneering CO2-based fuel, expects to begin commercial-scale production in 2025, and will partner with Alaska Airlines to power a commercial flight.

Clean energy projects are booming in the U.S.

Since the Inflation Reduction Act passed two years ago, driving new investment in climate tech, more than 140 new clean energy projects—from massive battery factories to plants assembling EVs—have been built in the U.S, according to the Clean Economy Tracker. Another 93 are under construction, and 293 are in planning. Recently launched plants are scaling up production, such as a factory that now makes batteries inside a formerly abandoned Rust Belt building near Pittsburgh. In West Virginia, on the site of a former steel factory, another startup is making cutting-edge, sustainable “iron-air” batteries.

Now, the Trump administration wants Congress to repeal the IRA, though the jobs that new clean energy factories are bringing to red districts may help keep it in place. And even if IRA incentives are taken away, state support and other investment could potentially keep the sector growing; some solutions are already more economical for customers even without incentives.

EVs are getting more affordable

In China, where more than half of new car sales are reportedly now electric or hybrid vehicles, most electric cars are cheaper than their gas equivalents, according to the International Energy Agency. That’s without subsidies. And though tariffs in the EU and U.S. will limit the sale of cheap Chinese cars abroad, Chinese manufacturers are also exporting large numbers of affordable EVs to places like Thailand and Brazil.

Battery prices dropped by 20% in 2024, which will also help bring down the cost of EVs. Even in the U.S., where the upfront cost of EVs is still higher, the lifetime cost of owning an electric car is often already less expensive than a gas car. And new options for affordable EVs will be hitting the market in 2025.

Solar power broke new records

The U.S. installed a record 32 gigawatts of solar power in 2024, enough to power as many as 32 million homes. China installed as much as 260 gigawatts of solar, including an enormous 33,000-acre solar farm that produces, on its own, as much energy as the entire country of Luxembourg uses in a year. Solar is also growing in less expected places like Pakistan, where farms, factories, and homeowners installed 17 gigawatts of solar over the year to help fight the rising cost of fossil fuel–powered energy.

Global solar installations could hit 593 gigawatts this year—29% more than 2023, which was already a record year. While growth is likely to slow in the U.S. in 2025 because of tariffs and potential Trump administration policies, the exponential global growth is much faster than expected.

Communities are becoming more resilient

This year was the hottest year on record—and incredibly destructive, from wildfires in the Amazon to hurricanes in the U.S. Cities are nowhere near prepared. Still, some communities are beginning to make changes that can help. Cities from Asheville to Seattle are using public libraries as disaster hubs. A recently built neighborhood in Florida was designed to survive hurricanes and keep the power on. In Paris, to help deal both with extreme heat and extreme rainfall, the city is “de-paving” some areas to add more green space.