We are currently facing a critical challenge with climate change. However, for those seeking silver linings, 2025 brought some encouraging news. Below are several positive developments that our climate journalists observed this year.
China’s stable emissions
This year’s most significant and uplifting indicator of progress was seen in China. The world’s second-largest economy and leading climate offender has succeeded in maintaining steady carbon dioxide emissions for the past eighteen months, as highlighted by an analysis from Carbon Brief.
While this has occurred in the past, it was typically during periods of economic decline, such as during the covid-19 pandemic. Currently, emissions are decreasing even while China’s economy is expected to grow about 5% this year, alongside increasing electricity demand.
What has shifted? China has installed an impressive amount of solar and wind energy systems, and deployed a significant number of electric vehicles, allowing its economy to expand without ramping up carbon dioxide emissions, thus decoupling the age-old connection between emissions and economic growth.
In particular, China added an impressive 240 gigawatts of solar energy capacity and 61 gigawatts of wind power in the first three quarters of the year, according to the analysis from Carbon Brief. This is almost as much solar capacity as the US has installed altogether, within just the initial nine months of this year.
It’s premature to conclude that China’s emissions have reached their peak, but the nation has stated it will officially achieve this milestone before 2030.
It’s important to note, China still is not progressing quickly enough to align with global temperature targets deemed relatively safe. (In fact, very few nations are.) Yet, it is producing a significant portion of the world’s clean energy technologies while simultaneously reducing its emissions growth, suggesting a blueprint for how industrial economies can detoxify without hindering economic growth—and laying the groundwork for accelerated climate advancements in the forthcoming years.
Batteries in the energy grid
Articulating the rapid emergence of batteries for grid storage is quite challenging. These large arrays of cells can absorb electricity when renewable sources like solar are plentiful and affordable, then release energy back into the grid when the demand peaks.
Back in 2015, the battery storage sector had deployed only a small fraction of gigawatts of storage capacity across the US. That year, it set an ambitious goal of adding 35 gigawatts by 2035. The industry surpassed that target a decade ahead this year and subsequently reached 40 gigawatts a few months later.
Prices continue to decline, which may sustain the momentum for the adoption of this technology. This year, battery costs for electric vehicles and stationary storage dropped once more, hitting a historic low, per data from BloombergNEF. Battery packs specifically for grid storage experienced an even steeper price drop compared to the average; they are now 45% cheaper than last year.
We are beginning to observe the implications of grids equipped with abundant battery capacity: in California and Texas, batteries are already assisting in meeting evening demand, minimizing reliance on natural-gas facilities. The outcome: a cleaner, more reliable energy grid.
AI’s surge in energy funding
The rise of AI presents complexities for our energy infrastructure, as we discussed extensively this year. Electricity consumption is rising: the amount of power supplied to US data centers increased by 22% this year and is projected to more than double by 2030.
However, at least one beneficial transformation is stemming from AI’s impact on energy: It is revitalizing interest and investment in advanced energy technologies.
In the near future, much of the energy required for data centers, including those powering AI, will likely rely on fossil fuels, particularly new natural gas power facilities. Nonetheless, technology giants like Google, Microsoft, and Meta have established objectives to lessen their greenhouse-gas emissions, prompting them to seek alternatives.
Meta entered into a contract with XGS Energy in June to acquire up to 150 megawatts of electricity from a geothermal facility. In October, Google finalized an agreement that will assist in reopening the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, a previously closed nuclear power facility.
Geothermal and nuclear energy could play pivotal roles in the future grid, as they offer constant power in a manner that wind and solar cannot. There is still a long journey ahead for many of these emerging technologies, but the increasing funding and interest from influential entities is beneficial.
Mixed outcomes
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of collective climate advancement thus far: We have successfully evaded the most dire threats that scientists feared just ten years ago.
The Earth is projected to experience approximately 2.6 °C of warming above preindustrial levels by 2100, as stated by Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific initiative that monitors policy advancements made by nations towards their targets set under the Paris climate agreement.
While this is notably warmer than our desired climate goals, it is also a degree better than the 3.6 °C trajectory we faced a decade ago, just prior to nearly 200 countries endorsing the Paris agreement.
This progress has resulted from an increasing number of nations establishing emissions regulations, funding subsidies, and investing in research and development—as well as private sectors ramping up production of vast quantities of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles.
On the downside, progress has slowed. Climate Action Tracker indicates that its warming projections have been frustratingly stagnant over the past four years, as governments have largely fallen short of implementing the further actions necessary to shift that curve closer to the 2 °C goal established in the international agreement.
However, having reduced a degree of peril serves as solid evidence that we can unite in response to a global challenge and tackle a truly difficult issue. It indicates we’ve accomplished the hard work of establishing a technical foundation for a society that can predominantly operate without releasing ever-increasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
With luck, as clean technologies continue to advance and climate change progressively escalates, the world will discover the collective determination to reaccelerate efforts shortly.
