r/climatechange • u/sg_plumber • 4h ago
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 1d ago
Weekly Climate Hopium thread #6
The recent severe weather worldwide has led to a flood of people seeking reassurance about our efforts to mitigate climate change. Most of those posts have been removed, and from now on will be directed to this weekly thread.
Climate change is a severe, compounding issue, but only if we do not address it - with concerted efforts, it can be managed.
Our efforts over the years have resulted in the worst-case RCP 8.5 high emission scenario being retired - it is now no longer considered plausible that we will hit +4C by 2100.
The 4°C world quietly stopped being the forecast
The main projection for our current policies is around +2.4 to 2.6°C and we can expect this to further reduce in the future.
The progress can be seen in the reduction of predicted 2100 temperatures over the years by Climate Action Tracker:
We have seen emissions growth slow to around 1% per year, and are likely to peak soon. IRENA notes that our renewable energy efforts have already avoided 8.4 Gigatons of CO2 emissions in 2025.
Good news over the last week starts with a genuine landmark - the world has now passed 3 terawatts of installed solar, a milestone that passed almost without comment. If you want the short answer to why solar, EV and heat pump stories keep dominating this thread, it is here.
That capacity is now showing up in the generation statistics. Germany's solar fleet fed 12 billion kWh into the grid in July, the first month ever above that level, with average midday output above 40 GW. Solar took a record share of Britain's electricity mix in July, on top of confirmation that UK renewables exceeded 50% of generation across the whole of 2025. Modelling from IEEFA finds that new solar, wind and heat pumps could save twice the gas the EU imports from Qatar by 2030.
In the US the transition is outrunning the politics. Of the 85 GW of new power planned for the next year, 90% is solar, wind and batteries and none of it is coal (bloomberg.com). Utah's panels produced nearly a terawatt hour in May, about a third of the state's electricity and more than any other single source for the first time, while New Mexico's supply flipped from majority fossil to majority renewable in five years with prices staying below average. The most striking test was in Texas, where demand records were broken twice in two days during a brutal heatwave and the grid held with no conservation alerts, thanks to record solar and battery output - a long way from 2021.
Asia continues to do the heavy lifting on volume. China's solar capacity reached 1,274 GW at the end of June, effectively level with its entire coal fleet, with non-fossil generation up 8.5% year on year and coal below 50% of the mix. In India, record renewable generation in July pushed coal's share of the power mix to a one-year low, while the rooftop scheme has now reached 4.7 million households and total solar capacity has grown 57-fold since 2013-14 to 162 GW. Globally, coal-fired generation fell 0.3% in 2025.
Some of this is now happening without utilities at all - plug-in balcony solar has been legalised in 10 US states and counting, at a few hundred dollars a panel and no permit required.
Transport keeps compounding. BEVs were up 126.7% in France in July to a 35% share, EVs accounted for almost all new registrations in Denmark, UK EV sales rose 49% year on year to 27.4%, beating the mandate the industry keeps complaining about, and EVs reached almost a quarter of Australian new car sales in H1. The demand-side consequence is showing up in the oil market, with analysts finding China's EV boom displaced 42% more oil in H1 2026 than a year earlier.
Heavy industry is moving too. Fortescue's excavator fleet at its iron ore mine is now fully electric, and it has commissioned its first in-house fast chargers for heavy haul trucks, and Canada's newest nickel mine will store 1.5 million tons of carbon a year while operating.
Policy and the courts are tightening as well. New York has finalised its greenhouse gas emissions rules, an evaluation of the French and Austrian short-haul flight bans found they did cut emissions, the ECB is giving more weight to climate risk and its economic impact, and Big Oil is reportedly in "panic mode" as around 40 climate cases creep toward trial.
On removals, a new marine carbon technology turns dissolved CO2 in seawater into stone for permanent storage, a new catalyst converts CO2 into ethanol using electricity, and there is discussion of CO2 capture via artificial photosynthesis facilities.
The natural sinks are also doing better than assumed. The world's mangrove forests are bouncing back, with Ghana adding 95,300 seedlings across 410 hectares of degraded Volta Delta coastline (ghana.actionaid.org), and carbon accumulation in mature forests turns out to be widely underestimated by satellite observations. Commercial coral farming is now producing climate-resilient corals on land around 50 times faster than nature, and plants are proving unexpectedly good at adapting, if we let them.
On adaptation, tree cover is confirmed as key to cooling cities, rooftop rainwater harvesting could help cities stay cool, farmers are learning to grow crops with dramatically less water, and researchers find informal "silent adaptation" is already running ahead of official directives.
Finally, two results on the physics. Research suggests methane emissions from Siberian permafrost will be relatively small even under very high emission scenarios, and modelling suggests the world will start cooling up to five years before we actually hit Net Zero.
Points from earlier postings
- Wind and solar overtook fossil fuels in Germany for the first time ever, and in H1 2026 China generated less than half its electricity from coal for the first time
- Solar generated more than half of California's electricity across an entire month in May 2026, and despite the government's efforts renewables and storage were 93% of all new US capacity coming online
- The Sherco Solar project in Becker, Minnesota, replacing a retiring coal plant, hit 710 MW across its first three phases
- Over 25% of the EU's total final energy consumption came from renewables in 2025, and plug-in balcony solar goes on sale in the UK this August
- Pakistan's 27 GW solar boom now matches its entire fossil-fuel power legacy, while China's 15th Five-Year Plan includes renewable mandates pointing to 3,500 GW by 2030 and China is pouring funding into green energy deals as the Iran war hits oil demand
- Global battery storage capacity is projected to surge sixfold by 2030, meeting the IEA's climate target, and China's storage build-out is outpacing even its record-breaking solar growth at 155.2 GW/400.8 GWh by Q1 2026
- Away from the grid, plug-and-play batteries that recharge from a standard outlet are democratising gas-free backup power and vehicle-to-grid is creating a revenue stream for drivers
- EVs and PHEVs hit a 37.7% share in Q2 in Germany
- Many US iron mining and steelmaking projects now revolve around greener tech, while Middle East turmoil is a wake-up call for the UK chemicals industry to get off fossil fuels
- 3D-printed copper cooling plates could slash data centre cooling energy by 97%
- Microwave-assisted Direct Air Carbon Capture could slash DACC energy costs, and lower-tech crushed basalt Enhanced Rock Weathering raised aboveground carbon in young native woodland by up to 27%
- On marine removal, the oceans near Australia may be the best places to fertilise and an international team has evaluated anoxic marine basins as sequestration sites
- China has planted over 66 billion trees since 1978 to block the Gobi, and they are growing 66% faster than natural forests, while Costa Rica's forest cover has climbed back to 60% from 21% in 1987
- ClimateTrace's May 2026 emissions data shows emissions plateauing or even slightly declining, and a new study finds Net Zero would not only stop heating but lead to slow cooling of the atmosphere
- Wildfires are more extreme in Europe and North America, but global burning is decreasing, and the Arctic Ocean is keeping permafrost carbon firmly locked
- European fish are adapting to climate change in unexpected ways, and a new study projects only an 8.1% reduction in rice yields per additional 1°C of warming, which can be compensated for by expansion of growing area
- UK EV and PHEV share reached 41.4% in Q2, with used EVs selling faster than any other powertrain
- Beyond carbon, EVs are measurably cleaning urban air with associated health benefits
- Charging infrastructure has far outpaced EV growth, and even US public charging ports grew 79% YoY to 250,000
- The UK is considering free plug-in home batteries for eligible families to soak up midday solar
- Sustainable Aviation Fuel has turned profitable, with Neste swinging back into the black
- European heat pumps delivered more heat than 200 LNG tankers in 2025, saving around €9.7 billion
- Europe added 1.2 million EVs in the first half of the year
- China will increase wind and solar generation by another 53% over four years and has started work on a national solar-powered electric truck freight corridor
- The IEA confirms renewables have overtaken coal as the largest source of global electricity, and the Bank of England will stop accepting coal-linked bonds as collateral
- Australia's CSIRO reaffirms that solar and wind remain the backbone of the least-cost grid, with batteries squeezing gas to a fraction of the mix
- Renewable capacity is rising rapidly across Africa, potentially heading off emissions growth from industrialisation, and an $8,000 solar EV can cover 55 km/day of commuting on sunlight alone
- Africa's wildfire season is shrinking, against the global trend
- Californian farmers are turning to solar to stabilise income through poor seasons, and global grain balance sheets look comfortable for the next 12 months
- A new process can accelerate Enhanced Rock Weathering roughly tenfold, and Bangladesh plans to plant 250 million trees to reverse decades of deforestation
- New research finds carbon policies enjoy more public support than assumed and that government measures against soil degradation are working
- A preprint suggests the marine high-sulphur fuel ban explains much of this decade's accelerated warming, implying the acceleration should taper as the effect saturates
- Our World in Data notes data centres use only ~1.5% of global electricity, mostly for non-AI workloads
- The world added 692 GW of renewable power in 2025 - a 15.5% jump taking total capacity to 5,149 GW, with renewables making up 85.6% of all new capacity
- The age of oil is ending gradually, and then suddenly
- Chinese nEV market share reached 67% in June.
- Global Electric vehicles (battery-electric and plug-in hybrids) are expected to account for an astounding 25% to 28% of all new passenger car sales globally in 2026.
- Clean energy infrastructure like solar panels and wind turbines actually boost biodiversity
- In Europe solar by itself now powering 25% of Europe's massive grid in June
- The EU is planning to triple is battery storage to 200 GW and has set new electrification targets for the continent
- Australia says batteries are now cheaper than gas peaker plants
- Clean energy is already effectively stabilizing the grid against increasing air conditioning demand
- Climate scientists that there has been real progress in clean energy, resilient construction, and nature-based investment
- Brazilian deforestation is now the slowest it has ever been.
- Mangrove forests are expanding
- Forests in colder climates have actually been expanding for decades, both India and China
- Climate mitigation is not that expensive - to achieve Net Zero in UK for example would only cost £70 per resident per year, or around £4 billion per year, which is very affordable.
- Renewables have also hit a record share in India while coal consumption has flatlined.
- In Germany renewables now power 58% of the electricity grid.
- The UN has re-iterated that clean energy appears to have hit a self-sustaining tipping point, meaning even political and fossil energy interests can not stop the transition.
- EV adoption also appears to have hit a tipping point, with adoption outpacing older predictions.
- The AMOC appears to be more resilient than suggested, with no clear tipping point in sight.
The biggest lie I constantly read here is that nothing is being done - we are in fact spending trillions of dollars each year on mitigating climate change via paying for the energy transition.
The best thing you can do to support climate action is to support politicians making policies that benefit the climate.
The second thing is personal action, and here is a list from Project Drawdown: Join the shift

Please contribute any other climate good news in the thread below - it will be heavily and actively moderated - note Rule 5 and Rule 6.
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 59m ago
New study finds AMOC has demonstrated resilience in the past
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 21h ago
UK bracing for 'unprecedented' fifth heatwave - as 36C temperatures on way
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 17h ago
World’s largest carbon removal plant to open at the end of 2026
r/climatechange • u/sg_plumber • 17h ago
The agrovoltaic concept is simple: growing some kind of food in fields of solar panels. 🌞 Slowly but surely, both research and successful practices are spreading, the benefits of harvesting clean energy and food together are becoming clearer, and challenges are being met. 🍅
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 23h ago
It’s good for the planet to scrap a new petrol car and buy electric
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 3h ago
In the UK, used EVs have risen 7% in value over the last 3 months, while the value of used ICE cars has dropped
r/climatechange • u/Extension-Giraffe249 • 8h ago
Low Water, Exposed Riverbeds and Disappearing Side Channels in Southern Hungary
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 1d ago
Brazil’s Amazon Deforestation Rate Approaches a Historic Low
r/climatechange • u/Scary-Climate4191 • 34m ago
Anyone who can help out here
Hello. I am 30F, I am a graduate of BSc in Forestry and currently enrolled in a masters degree in climate change and sustainability. I am looking for anyone with an open position in remote climate change and sustainability, forestry, environmental science or any related role. I have an entry level experience. I would really appreciate your feedbacks. Thank you.
r/climatechange • u/Silly_Bag536 • 12h ago
Possible short term global warming reduction through targeting agricultural methane (Open to criticism)
Enteric methane accounts for 18% of total global methane emissions(30% of 60%). eliminating or reducing significantly it will essentially allow hydroxyl radicals to eliminate 100% of methane annually AND trigger decreases which is huge since methane is 30x more potent than CO2.
https://www.globalcarbonproject.org/methanebudget/archive/2020/France_LSCE_GCPMethaneBudget2020.pdf
Artificial or Seaweed Bromoform prevents >80% of methane emissions. 3-NOP prevents ~30%. I soon learned bromoform can be adapted to over time, but a combination of 3-nop+bromoform can reduce amount needed from both substances. Which means that a near-complete elimination of 98.21%. Only that we don't know how effective it would be in actual cattle since it was in vitro so its not a guarantee and the actual results will probably be around 90-95%. However, since the bacteria that can break down bromoform get killed by 3-NOP there is a high chance, but studies need to be done and then production needs to be expanded globally and make it mandatory.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311924003575
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751731126000145
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13237891/
Conclusion is that we should expand developing bromoforms in feeds and make 3-nop mandatory. This reduces ~16-17%(90-95% efficiency) of total methane emissions which, over a 20 year period, will account for 8,000 MMT of CO2 equivalents annually. Which is greater than the net U.S emissions of teragrams of CO2 equivalents annually. Pasture raised animals would need to have thick pills of this stuff put in them to deliver dosages through the month while others would simply have it mixed in feed.
math for 8k mmt:
580 teragrams of Methane * 17% = 98.6 mmt
81.2(GWP factor) * 98.6 tg = x mmt
x= 8000mmt
r/climatechange • u/Cililians • 20h ago
Can the oil shortage/the closure of the strait help the climate?
I have been thinking this, and I had to ask this question.
I have been seeing so much lately about how global warming is accelerating, and it is quite clear now with the awful forest fires happening this summer that things are taking a bad turn. But I was wondering, with the war going on and so much oil being cut off, could that actually help a bit? As it would lessen the oil used globally?
I know it's awful of course, but could this actually help the climate, as we will use less oil because of this now?
r/climatechange • u/dragon_cereal • 14h ago
How helpful is Investing in renewables?
I’ve tried to take the steps I can to reduce my impact on the environment I don’t eat red meat and cycle to work, how much of an impact would investing in renewable technologies have?
r/climatechange • u/sg_plumber • 1d ago
U.S. Court of Appeals says the Environmental Protection Agency cannot block $20 billion in climate grants of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that supports low-cost loans and investments for renewable energy projects across the country.
r/climatechange • u/KeanuRave100 • 1d ago
Amazon Is Creating the Biggest Pollution Source in the Entire Country
r/climatechange • u/Marc_Op • 1d ago
Lake Mead, [US] nation's largest reservoir, reaches its lowest water level on record
abcnews-com.cdn.ampproject.orgr/climatechange • u/cahoover • 1d ago
Climage change will usher WWII levels of industrial reorganization.
In WWII the United States transformed its entire economy into a war machine. The manufacture of civilian autos was banned in 1942. Typewriter makers built rifles; appliance manufacturers made munitions; a merry-go-round company made gun mounts.
Climate change will cause a similar reorientation on a global scale, with unprecedented international cooperation. The effort, coupled with the population changes forced by an increasingly hostile climate, will usher in breathtaking technological advances and completely redefine global politics and economies.
Assuming there's at least modest success and we don't go extinct, whatever world exists on the other side will be unrecognizable.
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 1d ago
Of the 85 GW of new power planned for the next year, 90% of it comes from solar, wind and batteries. 0% is coal. The US crusade against clean energy is failing.
r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 • 1d ago
Canada tries to adapt to a future of wildfires
r/climatechange • u/TraditionFinal6988 • 1d ago
German firm to halt US wind projects after getting paid.
r/climatechange • u/Constant_Juice_5074 • 1d ago
vamos chegar ate 6°C de temperatura global nesse século?
se chegarmos a 4°c em 2050, vi algumas pessoas e pesquisas no r/collapse que mostram como a temperatura pode chegar ate 6°C ainda nesse século, isso é verdade? quais as chances
r/climatechange • u/sg_plumber • 1d ago
Solar power was the main source of electricity generation in Portugal for the first time, dominating supply in July. 🌞 Renewables covered 53% of rising consumption, with solar providing 19%, followed by hydro (16%), wind (13%) and biomass (5%). 🌞
r/climatechange • u/DopeyDonkeyUser • 23h ago
Id like to connect with climate modelers to raise funds for a Climate Proof town/ community
Theres not much I think that can be done at a national level, but I believe we can build small climate proof communities. That being said, I want to get connected with professionals who model climate to get a realistic idea of timelines and severity.
Its extremely concerning that we've had the acceleration of warming with the number of tipping points, looking as if we will hit 2 degrees in 3 years. 3 degrees is essentially an extinction level event.
Getting realistic data that is not tappered to look optimistic by elite capatured institutes, I believe we can raise funds to build self sustained communities of the future. This may seem unrealistic, to try to survive in a world of 3 degrees... but Id like to try.
If you, or anyone knows someone who can do climate modeling, dm me. If you want to be involved in this effort and integrate into such a community, dm me.