New Zealand's energy transition resumes ⚡

Hi,

Here’s some good news to start the day:

• Barbados now has a roadmap to reach net-zero emissions within the next 10 years, Bloomberg reported. That puts the Caribbean nation a full decade ahead of climate-leader Germany.

• On that note, the new German government will add the country’s 2045 climate neutrality target to its constitution, Clean Energy Wire reported.

• Germany's greenhouse gas emissions fell 3.4% in 2024, putting the country on track to meet its goal of reducing emissions by 65% by 2030, Reuters reported. And the country’s next leader, Friedrich Merz, has agreed to a €100 billion spending package for climate action.

• Across all OECD countries, renewables and nuclear accounted for 52% of electricity generation in December, according to the IEA.

• The US economy grew 2.8% last year, while primary energy consumption increased by just 0.5%, says BloombergNEF. That means “energy productivity” continues to grow. Meanwhile, solar additions helped push renewables to 24% of domestic power generation.

• The UK’s emissions fell 3.6% in 2024 as coal use fell to the lowest level since 1666, the year of the Great Fire of London, according to Carbon Brief.

• Covering the world’s rooftops with solar panels could provide 65% of all our electricity needs, according to a study by the University of Sussex.

• The world will add an estimated 698GW of new solar capacity in 2025, up from 599GW in 2024, according to BloombergNEF.

• Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, has a long track record of climate advocacy.

• India's biggest electricity producer will invest $23 billion in renewables in the state of Madhya Pradesh, including a 20GW clean energy complex, Reuters reported.

• Cape Town’s Golden Arrow Bus Service says it’ll have 120 BYD electric buses on the road by the end of the year.

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Thanks for reading.

Nick Hedley

Editor, The Progress Playbook

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Other articles you might find interesting:

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