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Happy Tuesday, dear reader.

Some good news to kick things off:

• The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that authorities failed to consider climate impacts when approving a new oil well in 2019 — a landmark ruling that could end all new fossil fuel projects in the country.

• China now has 35GW of modern energy storage capacity (that excludes pumped hydro), according to the country’s energy administration.

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Thanks for reading.

Nick Hedley

Editor, The Progress Playbook

Gas power output nearly halves in California in one year as batteries steal the show

Big batteries are rapidly muscling gas out of California’s electricity mix.

In the 100 days to June 14, the state saw a 45% reduction in gas-fired power output, relative to the same period a year before, according to data collated by Stanford University Professor Mark Z. Jacobson.

The decline was mostly thanks to a surge in battery installations in recent months.

- Read the full story here.

Rooftop solar boosts household finances in low-income communities, US study shows

Rooftop solar installations help to relieve financial pressures in low-income communities in the US, a study of 500,000 residential solar adopters has found.

Even when including financing and other costs, rooftop solar systems reduced the median energy burden (the percentage of income spent on energy) for low-income households from 7.7% to 6.2%.

- Read the full story here.

Philippines emerges as Southeast Asia’s renewable power pacesetter

The Philippines has leapfrogged its Southeast Asian neighbours to become a regional leader in planned clean-power projects as fewer investment restrictions and green-minded policies attract domestic and foreign cash.

Changes including allowing full foreign ownership of renewable energy projects have already helped secure a pipeline of 99 gigawatts of wind and solar developments. That’s more than enough power to supply all Philippine households.

- Read the full story here.

Hemp and flax shoe soles bring footwear a step closer to sustainability

In a lab on the outskirts of the small city of Huesca in Spain, shoes are the main topic of conversation. The priority, however, isn’t fashion. Over the past two years, scientists at the company Podoactiva have been creating customised shoe soles using hemp and flax.

- Read the full article here.

The American Climate Corps officially kicks off

Within weeks, the US will deploy 9,000 people to begin restoring landscapes, erecting solar panels, and taking other steps to help guide the country toward a cleaner, greener future.

More than 20,000 young people are expected to join during the programme’s first year, according to the White House

- Read the full article here.

Other articles you might find interesting:

• China’s emissions now ‘in a structural decline’, data suggests

• How Finland won the war on homelessness (mostly)

• What the world can learn from Copenhagen’s cycling revolution

• Australia’s community battery programme is cutting power bills and strengthening the grid

• No rooftop? No problem: Inside Germany’s ‘balcony solar’ boom

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Thanks in part to their ambitious renewable energy programmes, Denmark and Estonia are the world leaders in climate action, a recent assessment by a group of non-profit researchers has found.

Both countries aim to complete the transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2030, notes the 2024 Climate Change Performance Index, which was complied by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute, and the Climate Action Network.

Denmark is well on its way, with renewables comprising 88% of its electricity mix in 2023, according to data collated by Ember. Estonia has more work to do, but the share of renewables in its electricity system has surged from 16% to 44% in just five years.

- Read the full story here.