When the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, South America had eighteen coal-fired plants on the drawing board, reflecting global uncertainty about the role coal would play in powering emerging economies. Today, that uncertainty has vanished. Coal, once perceived as a staple of industrialization and economic stability, has essentially vanished from the continent’s energy future.
The legislation stipulates that responsible parties provide financial assurance to cover spills, conduct regular inspections and audits, and address any issues found.
The legislation stipulates that responsible parties provide financial assurance to cover spills, conduct regular inspections and audits, and address any issues found. It also includes penalties for companies that fail to comply with regulations, including the suspension of licenses to explore and produce oil for those that do not provide the financial assurance required. The bill, which passed with a majority of votes cast in a simple voice vote, is expected to be signed into law by President Irfaan Ali soon.
China CO2 emissions fell for the first time on record in 2024 C.E. — not because of an economic slowdown, but because wind and solar power have grown fast enough to outpace rising electricity demand. Analysts say this could mark a genuine peak, with major implications for global climate progress.
According to a report by Forum Energii, an energy think tank, electricity produced from coal in April 2025 amounted to 6.5 terawatt-hours (TWh), accounting for 49.4% of the total energy mix. This represents an 18.9% decrease from March and a 9.6% drop compared to the same month in 2024. Forum Energii described recent changes in the electricity mix as “unprecedented”, noting that the use of coal had fallen by 29.9 percentage points between April 2015 and April 2025.
England will legally require solar panels on all new-build homes by 2027, saving homeowners more than £1,000 a year on energy bills. The solar panel mandate is part of the U.K. government’s broader push to decarbonize its electricity grid by 2030 and build 1.5 million new energy-efficient homes. Grants and loans for existing homes are also in the works.
Justice Flávio Dino of the Brazilian Supreme Court has directed the government to seize private lands where forests have been illegally razed. By one estimate, more than half of the forest lost in the Brazilian Amazon has been on private lands. The ruling also calls for halting the process known as regularization, by which land grabbers are granted title to stolen lands, even when they have illegally destroyed forest on those lands. The decision, which may be appealed, further requires the government to seek compensation from landowners who have destroyed forest.
After years of negotiations, the international community has reached a landmark deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions from global shipping, setting mandatory fuel standards and introducing a carbon pricing mechanism. The framework – agreed during a meeting of the U.N. International Maritime Organization – aims for net-zero emissions from the sector by 2050 and will come into force in 2027. It will apply to large ocean-going vessels over 5,000 gross tonnage, which account for 85% of carbon emissions from the marine shipping fleet.
According to a new report from U.K. think tank Ember, clean energy accounted for 40.9% of electricity produced worldwide in 2024. The push past the 40% mark was fueled by an unprecedented growth in solar, significant contributions from wind, a recovery in hydropower, and a small rise in nuclear power. China and the E.U. demonstrated the most remarkable increases in clean electricity generation, meeting 81% and 71% of their new electricity demand from renewables in 2024, respectively.
After years of campaigning, activists from the Pacific Islands and beyond secured an advisory opinion from the world’s top court integrating climate and human rights law, providing a baseline for state climate action and guiding climate adjudications around the world.
U.S. clean electricity reached a historic milestone in April 2025 C.E., with fossil fuels falling below 50% of total power generation for the first time on record. Wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear now power the majority of the American grid — a shift driven by plummeting renewable costs, sustained investment, and contributions from communities that rarely make the headlines.
