🌱 The Grumpy Optimists #154
Trump repeals the endangerment finding, but does that mean the end for climate action? Absolutely not.
Happy Monday. 👋
There are weeks where finding six genuinely good climate stories feels like hard work. Right now, the challenge is the opposite. I am cutting stories rather than searching for them. That does not mean everything is fixed. Far from it. But it does suggest that beneath the political noise, structural progress is quietly building.
Speaking of positive stories, last week I spent 20 minutes talking about the future of packaging emissions. Riveting, I know. But to me, it genuinely was. If that sounds like your idea of a good time, email me at george@zevero.earth and I will send you the slides.
👀 News to make you feel good this week
🇨🇳 Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions have now been flat or falling for 21 months. New Carbon Brief analysis shows China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or declining for nearly two years. Record solar and wind deployment is now growing faster than electricity demand, limiting coal growth and signalling structural change. For the world’s largest emitter, this is not a marginal development. If sustained, it marks a genuine inflection point in global emissions trajectories.
💭 My thoughts? If China decisively bends the curve, global carbon maths changes quickly. The only thing that matters now is durability.
🇮🇳 India says it remains committed to its climate goals. India has reiterated its commitment to delivering on its climate targets, highlighting rapid renewable deployment and continued investment in clean infrastructure. A fast-growing economy increasing clean capacity at scale is a major signal for the global transition. This is growth and decarbonisation running in parallel.
🌍 Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster. UN chief António Guterres has called for moving beyond GDP as the primary measure of economic success. GDP ignores environmental degradation, resource depletion and inequality. As climate impacts intensify, alternative metrics that embed planetary boundaries are gaining credibility.
💭 My thoughts? We optimise what we measure. GDP has optimised extraction. A different scoreboard changes behaviour.
🇺🇸 The US story is more complicated than the headlines
🇺🇸 Trump EPA moves to roll back key climate rule. The Trump administration’s EPA has moved to repeal the 2009 “endangerment finding”, a cornerstone of US federal climate regulation. The decision signals a clear shift in federal posture and introduces legal uncertainty. However, analysis suggests the immediate emissions impact may be more limited than headlines imply, given existing market dynamics and state-level policies already in motion.
🧪 Scientists and states push forward on US climate action. At the same time, coalitions of states, cities and scientific institutions are mobilising to safeguard climate progress. Much of US decarbonisation is now driven by state mandates, corporate procurement and falling clean energy costs rather than federal directives alone.
💭 My thoughts? The US story is no longer just Washington. It is governors, grids and gigawatts. Structural change is harder to unwind than political rhetoric. So while you may think that we’re in a position where the US is screwed, it perhaps isn’t as bad as it could be.
⚡ Economics are shifting
⚡ Australia’s renewables boom delivers power price payoff. Australia’s rapid buildout of wind and solar is pushing down wholesale electricity prices. Greater renewable penetration is reducing fossil fuel exposure and softening volatility. Clean energy at scale is beginning to show up in consumer bills.
🌞 Google expands its solar power portfolio. Google continues investing heavily in solar to power growing data centre demand. Long term power purchase agreements are accelerating renewable deployment and reshaping energy markets. Corporate procurement remains one of the strongest transition levers globally.
🏪 The practical transition
🥯 Brooklyn bagel shop cuts costs and emissions with plug in batteries. A New York bakery installed battery storage to avoid peak demand charges, storing cheaper off peak electricity and using it during busy periods. The result is lower bills and lower emissions.
💧 Spain turns an engineering headache into a turbine free hydropower source. Spanish engineers have developed hydropower solutions that avoid conventional turbines by rethinking existing infrastructure. Incremental innovation across existing systems can unlock meaningful clean energy gains.
🌳 China’s tree planting turns desert edge into a carbon sink. Extensive afforestation around the Taklamakan Desert is restoring degraded land and absorbing carbon. Long term policy coordination has reshaped entire landscapes.
Lastly, today’s music hit of the week is Marlon Funaki’s ‘when sunday comes around’. A nice song to bring you into the week.
George, the Grumpy Optimist 💚