Newsletter (copy 64)

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March 05, 2025

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Hi,

Here’s some (much needed) good news to start the day:

China’s government says it’ll expand the nation’s emissions trading system to cover more industries amid a broader decarbonisation push, Bloomberg reported.
UN nature talks ended with a global goal of mobilising $200 billion a year by 2030 to reverse biodiversity losses.
Vietnam is revising its energy plan to focus more on solar and less on coal and gas, AP reported.
South Africa imported 3.3GW of solar equipment in 2024, bringing the total over the past three years to 10GW, says researcher Gaylor Montmasson-Clair.
A study by the UK’s Climate Change Committee has found that the country can reach net-zero emissions by 2050 by investing just 0.2% of GDP each year on decarbonisation.
London mayor Sadiq Khan has started consultations on his plan to pedestrianise the famed Oxford Street, Bloomberg reported.
Clean energy and transport investments in the US reached $272 billion in 2024, a 16% increase from the prior year, per Rhodium Group.
The US will retire 8.1GW of coal-fired power generation capacity this year, double the amount closed in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration. The agency also says wind, solar and storage will make up 93% of new power capacity additions in 2025.
Greek authorities aim to add 3.6GW of standalone battery capacity to the power grid over the next six years, PV Magazine reported.
China is looking to “effectively eliminate severe air pollution by the end of 2025” by ramping up investments in clean transport, machinery, and heating, among other measures, Reuters reported.
And China’s emissions per unit of GDP fell 3.4% in 2024, per the National Bureau of Statistics.

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Nick Hedley

Editor, The Progress Playbook

The EU’s new Clean Industrial Deal explained

The European Commission’s new plan to simultaneously revitalise and decarbonise the bloc’s industries mostly hits the right notes, but it’s not perfect, analysts say.

Here’s a summary of what’s in the Clean Industrial Deal, and how it’s been received.

The power of interconnections: Ireland’s electricity mix is cleaner than ever

Ireland’s power grid recorded its cleanest month yet in February 2025 thanks to a new sub-sea cable linking the country and Wales.

- Read the full story here.

The rise of the ‘sharing city’ model

Cities across Europe are embedding sharing practices into urban infrastructure to curb overconsumption and improve sustainability, writes Bax’s Nienke de Jong.

- Read the full story here.

Chemicals giant BASF turns to geothermal to reduce gas use

BASF and start-up partner Vulcan Energy aim to launch a geothermal plant by 2030 in Ludwigshafen, where the chemicals group aims to replace process steam currently derived from fossil fuels.

- Read the full story here.

WATCH: How much progress have we made on climate change?

Science communicator Simon Clark produced a great video on progress in the fight against climate change, drawing on a number of case studies by The Progress Playbook. It’s a great summary, in our humble (and of course not biased) opinion.

- Watch it here.

Other articles you might find interesting:

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