Jon is a climate scientist, sustainability expert, science communicator, and executive director of Project Drawdown, the world’s leading resource for climate solutions. The work Jon and his team do at Project Drawdown is so valuable that I recommend it to someone at least once every single week.

They have an exhaustive library of the many ways we can fix climate change while also rebuilding and restoring nature and investing in people’s health. In fact, if you’re looking for detailed information about climate solutions, Project Drawdown should be your first stop!

Take it away, Jon.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the role the world’s food system plays in climate change, and how we can fix it. Most people are surprised to learn that food, agriculture, and land use contribute a whopping 22 to 33 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions – and that share is still growing! [👋 KH here—that includes agriculture-related fossil fuel emissions]

Nothing else humans do comes close to the sheer geographic size of the global food system. Together, croplands and grazing lands cover 38 percent of the Earth’s land surface. To put this in perspective, all the world’s cities and suburbs cover less than 1 percent of Earth’s land.

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So, we can’t fully address climate change unless we deal with this crucial sector. But solutions to the problem are abundant! We can curb food waste, shift our diets, protect rainforests from being cleared, farm better, and clean up the rest of the food system. We can also remove carbon by “rewilding” lands currently used for agriculture today, and practicing “regenerative agriculture” on our working lands.

For more, watch my latest TED talk, which focuses on food and climate solutions.

Clearly, this is a challenging time in the climate community. Political leadership on climate, particularly in the United States, is falling backward. Corporate leadership is stalling in many areas. And even media coverage focused on climate is rolling backward, as Katharine described in this newsletter just last week.

But there are some areas where we are making progress – particularly thanks to better climate solutions hitting the market. Solar PVs, wind power, heat pumps, EVs, batteries, LED lighting systems are getting cheaper, faster, and better all the time. That means they can beat fossil fuels in the open market. And, for the first time, they are!

Thanks to these forces, we are (finally!) starting to invest in climate solutions, which is great news. In fact, they are helping to drive down emissions in many advanced economies, starting with the electricity sector.

But sadly, we aren’t always putting our money in the best possible places or using the most effective solutions. Too often, we follow fads, profits, or political payback – not carbon – when investing in climate solutions.

We need to do much better with our limited time and money and ensure we make the best possible use of our resources. We can find solutions that are effective, large, inexpensive, and fast. We can also find solutions that offer other benefits to humanity – including clean air, improved health, and greater equity and well-being.

In this TED Talk, I describe a way forward. This framework asks how we can do a better job at climate investing and how science can guide the deployment of resources to the best solutions and strategies.

When it comes to taking personal actions on climate change, I’m a huge fan. I’ve been working to reduce my personal emissions – on and off – since the late 1990s. [KH again– Jon was the first scientific colleague I ever heard of, over three decades ago, who set a goal to cut his personal emissions by 50%– a huge inspiration for our community!]

I think shrinking your own carbon footprint is a great way to make a (small) difference, and talking about these changes is a wonderful way to engage and inspire many others to act themselves!

Each individual action we take can create unseen ripples that influence the larger systems of which we are a part – and we will need systemic change to ultimately solve this problem. When you switch to an electric vehicle or install solar panels, you reduce your own carbon footprint while also encouraging those around you to make similar choices. This also signals to politicians and the market that what’s good for the planet is also good for their politics or their bottom line.

We each have the power to do more — as consumers, citizens, employees, and members of our communities. In terms of what others can do, find your own paths and not just look at a “top 10” list. The “best” choice for you depends on who you are, how you live, and what you are willing and able to do. This article helps you look at how you eat, how you power and heat and cool your home, and how you travel, and recommends some tweaks you can make in your own life.

To help guide people to their own climate actions, I want to showcase the new SHIFT platform, co-produced by Professor Kim Nicholas and Project Drawdown, which helps people find their own climate “superpowers” – as consumers, voters, investors, and more.

SHIFT meets you where you are — your country, your lifestyle, your circumstances — and offers concrete, science-based actions that actually fit your life. [KH– including how to use your voice to drive change! To learn more about this fantastic tool, check out this past edition of Talking Climate.]

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Thank you, Jon, for reminding us that while climate change is a complex challenge, we already have so many of the solutions we need. Often, what’s missing is just the will to change, which in turn is fueled by knowing that what we do can make a difference.

If you’re looking for more inspiration, Drawdown has fantastic resources for everyone working on climate. Whether you’re a teacher looking for free, engaging videos through Drawdown Learn, a policy wonk who wants to sift through the latest data on countless climate solutions on Drawdown Explorer, or someone who just needs a reminder that hopeful, real-world climate action is already happening, that’s what Drawdown Stories is for.

You can find Jon on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Bluesky. Learn more about Project Drawdown by visiting drawdown.org. You can also sign up for their newsletter and follow them on social media @ProjectDrawdown. Whether you’re looking for the latest research, practical climate solutions, inspiring stories, or tools like SHIFT to help you find your own climate superpowers, it’s one of the best resources I know.

Last but not least, don’t miss the upcoming webinar Jon and I are doing together next week: “Where Does Climate Action Go From Here?” on Tuesday, June 16 at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Tues June 16 at 2pm ET - Where Does Climate Action Go From Here? With Project Drawdown - webinar

Wed June 17 at 5:30pm BST - The Financial Times Climate & Impact Summit - virtual presentation to an in-person event in London; prices vary

Her answers reminded me that some of the most encouraging climate progress we’ve ever seen is happening at the same time as some of the biggest risks we…

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Papua New Guinea just announced the largest marine protected area in its history: a nearly UK-sized stretch of ocean in the Bismarck Sea that will be fully protected from fishing and other destructive activities.

The new sanctuary, known as the Western Manus Marine Protected Area, will safeguard one of the most biodiverse marine regions on Earth while helping the country move toward its goal of protecting 30% of its waters by 2030. It also supports ocean resilience, as climate changes and ocean waters become more acidic.

The region sits within the Coral Triangle, often called the global epicenter of marine biodiversity. It’s described as a “marine highway,” where underwater mountains, ridges, and canyons connect coral reefs, deep-sea ecosystems, and open ocean habitats. The sanctuary will protect endangered reef sharks, dolphins, whales, manta rays, seabirds, and many other species.

Recent expeditions have documented deep-sea creatures never before recorded in Papua New Guinea’s waters, like the yokozuna slickhead. And if you haven’t heard of the amazing ways scientists can now sample ocean water to detect the DNA of both known and unknown species – known as eDNA - check out this article from the Smithsonian. It almost seems like science fiction!

What makes this news especially encouraging is that the protection effort was designed around both nature and community needs. Research from other large marine reserves suggests that healthy protected ecosystems can actually increase nearby fish populations through “spillover,” replenishing fisheries outside reserve boundaries. Leaders in Papua New Guinea framed the sanctuary not just as environmental policy, but as an effort to protect food security, local livelihoods, and what one official called their “blue heritage” for future generations.

That’s at least four wins, by my count.

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Last week, I covered NPR’s Climate Solutions Week—one of my favorite weeks of the year. This week, I have a sad update. NPR chief climate editor Neela Banerjee announced that she had been laid off, and that the network’s climate desk would no longer exist as a separate team. The cuts are part of a larger round of 10 NPR journalists laid off and at least 18 more taking buyouts after Congress clawed back $1.1 billion in public media funding.

If this feels familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it before. Over the past year, CBS News gutted its own climate unit, laying off most of the team, including its head, Tracy Wholf in January and its last climate reporter, David Schechter (who did this amazing episode of Verify with me, six years ago) in April. In the last few months, climate reporters left the LA Times and left NBC.

One by one, the newsrooms built to connect climate change to everyday life are being dismantled. Like NPR’s desk, that CBS team didn’t just report the news; it trained local stations across the country to cover climate in their own communities. This is bad news not just for journalism, but for all of us.

Most people are worried about climate change, but less than half understand how it will affect them. Bridging that head-to-heart gap (what researchers call “psychological distance”) is absolutely key to turning concern into action.

For years, that’s exactly what NPR’s climate journalists did—helping local stations connect the science to the lived experience of the communities they serve, showing how a warming world is reshaping daily life in ways that feel immediate and personal, not distant or abstract.

The climate crisis doesn’t get smaller when we stop covering it. It just gets easier to ignore.

Want to switch to solar—but don’t own a home or can’t afford a major rooftop installation?

Consider joining the growing number of people experimenting with “balcony solar”: small plug-in solar panels designed for apartments, condos, balconies, and other small outdoor spaces. In parts of Europe, these systems have become so common that they’re treated less like major infrastructure projects and more like household appliances. Some consumers can even buy plug-in solar kits from IKEA.

Balcony systems will not power an entire home; but they can help lower electricity bills while giving renters and apartment residents a way to participate directly in the clean energy transition. Some systems can be installed in minutes and cost far less than traditional rooftop solar.

Whether balcony solar is allowed depends heavily on where you live. Germany and Belgium adjusted regulations to make plug-in systems easier to use, while many places in North America still have unclear rules or building restrictions that make adoption difficult. Researchers and advocates say outdated regulations are one of the biggest barriers slowing the technology’s growth.

So my “what you can do” this week is two-fold:

If balcony solar is available where you live, consider looking into it for yourself or sharing the idea with someone who rents or lives in an apartment and assumes solar is out of reach.

But if you live in an area where regulations are a barrier, use your voice to call for change. Regulations around home energy systems are shaped by local governments, local power companies, and local building rules—which means public pressure can help open the door to wider access.

As past guest editors Brigid Shea and both emphasized, change often starts close to home. Paying attention to local elections and speaking up at public meetings can help push clean technologies from niche experiments toward more widely accessible options.

Thanks to at for sharing this story!

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TODAY June 4 at 11am EDT - What We Don’t Know, and Why It Matters, a plenary presentation to the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) 60th Congress -- which is being held 100% online this year!

Tues June 16 at 2pm ET - Where Does Climate Action Go From Here? With Project Drawdown - webinar

Wed June 17 at 5:30pm BST - The Financial Times Climate & Impact Summit - virtual presentation to an in-person event in London; prices vary

Last week was my favourite NPR time of year: their fourth annual Climate Solutions Week! Given the wholesale dismantling of climate action at the national scale in the U.S., this year they’re focusing on climate solutions at the regional, state, city, and even neighborhood level. And the stories are so good, I can’t pick just one.

So here’s a few highlights:

This dispatch from Montana describes how some tribes are creating their own climate plans that incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ plan focuses on reducing wildfire risk. Michael Durglo, the tribes’ climate change coordinator, has installed air quality sensors across the reservation. He’s also leading training sessions teaching people to build their own air filters to help during wildfire season.

This story from Utah details how a coalition of cities and towns in the conservative state are leading a push to transition to renewable energy. Today, three-quarters of Utah’s electricity comes from coal and natural gas. “The fact that our efforts here have been happening over the course of multiple federal administrations,” said Emily Quinton, sustainability director of Summit County, “shows that at the local level, you can continue to move on climate strategies regardless of the federal winds.”

Meanwhile, Denver CO has an ambitious plan to heat and cool its buildings downtown with geothermal energy, some of which will come from the warmth put out by treated wastewater. And Portland OR‘s had a billion-dollar climate fund since 2019, which residents created by passing a 1% sales tax on large corporations operating in the city limits. Since then, proceeds have built a community solar project, given out more than 20,000 free AC units to low-income families, and paid for energy retrofits of more than 3,000 homes.

You can find the full set of climate solution stories here, and I encourage you to listen to each and every one. We already have so many more solutions than most people realize: and when we see what others are doing, it gives us ideas for what to advocate for, where we live!

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A new generation of climate scenarios is out, and it narrows the range of projected warming by 2100 compared to previous scenarios. Why? Because we’re now in the year 2026, and our past actions have now closed a number of doors.

Although the update reflects a sobering reality, there is some good news. The higher end of the scenarios -- which the world had been tracking with as recently as 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed -- is now a bit lower, thanks to all the climate action that’s happened over the last decades. So don’t fall for the disinformation and hype that claims the higher scenario was alarmist and false. Back in 2005, it was very possible: and it served its purpose, warning us about what would happen if we continued on our current pathway.

Thankfully, enough people, countries, and organizations listened and took action to avert it. Instead of the virtually catastrophic 4-5C (7-9F) warming by 2100 that we used to be on track for, the world is now headed towards a lower but still dangerous 2.6C (4.7F) warming, thanks to all the climate policies and clean energy expansion of the last decade. That is a success to celebrate.

The bad news, however, is that the lower end of the scenarios is now higher, too. Specifically, thanks to insufficient emissions reductions over the last decade, limiting warming below 1.5C without an overshoot is no longer plausible. It is now virtually certain the world will exceed that threshold and the only question that remains is whether that overshoot will be permanent, or temporary -- in other words, will we be able to pull enough carbon out of the atmosphere to cool the planet back down, even if we deploy all the best nature-based solutions we have? The answer to that question is up to us.

The new scenarios, developed as part of the next major international climate modeling project known as CMIP7, are intended to guide global climate research for years to come. Our most likely future today may not be as catastrophic as the one we were heading to before the Paris Agreement. However, it’s also well beyond the safer limits set by that agreement. 1.5C isn’t a magic threshold: but what science says is that every fraction of a degree of warming matters. Additional warming intensifies heat waves, flooding, drought, freshwater scarcity, sea level rise, and many other impacts.

That’s why the most important message these new scenarios have for us is this: our future is in our hands and every choice matters.

Summer is often a time when we travel; and flying remains one of the most carbon-intensive parts of modern life, especially on short trips where takeoff and landing consume the most fuel.

If you are flying this summer, small choices can help reduce your impact. (But you know what else I’m going to say - make sure you share what you know with others, to scale larger change!)

Two of my favourite solution scientists, Kimberly Nicholas and Jonathan Foley , were recently asked whether packing lighter helps cut emissions. Honestly, that doesn’t have a big impact, they found: but choosing nonstop flights and flying economy definitely helps. Travelling by car with others or taking the train if that’s an option can reduce emissions even further.

Sometimes, though, the most meaningful shift is simply slowing down. Staying longer in one place, exploring destinations closer to home, or choosing fewer trips with deeper experiences can reduce emissions while making travel feel less rushed and more memorable.

Whatever you choose: think about it, give it a try, and let others know what you did!

Thurs June 4 at 11am EDT - What We Don’t Know, and Why It Matters, a plenary presentation to the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (CMOS) 60th Congress -- which is being held 100% online this year!

Wed June 17 6 at 5:30pm BST - The Financial Times Climate & Impact Summit - virtual presentation to an in-person event in London; prices vary

What if we thought about what homes should look like hundreds of years from now, before we built them?

That’s the question behind Watercolour, a walkable community of net-zero and net-zero-ready homes in Westport, Ontario, recently featured by David Dodge in Green Energy Futures. Its founder, Steve Rolston of Land Ark Homes, describes the vision as “Watercolour life”: a village at the base of a mountain (at least, what we call a mountain in southeastern Ontario!), surrounded by lakes, where people can walk through the community and live close to the landscape around them.

Watercolour is not only designed to feel like a better place to live—it is designed to function like one. Net-zero homes are built to produce as much energy as they use over the course of a year from day one. Net-zero-ready homes are built to the same high-efficiency standard, so they can become net-zero once renewable energy is added.

These homes show what it looks like to make climate solutions part of the structure itself. Since Westport does not have natural gas, Rolston says the team could have buried propane tanks, but that felt like “going back to the dark ages.” Instead, they turned to all-electric homes powered by modern technology, including cold-climate heat pumps that can handle Canadian winters.

Inside, the homes are built to waste as little energy as possible. One of the coolest features is an energy recovery ventilator, which brings in fresh, double-filtered air while recovering up to 80 percent of the heat from the outgoing air. The show home also includes a whole-home battery backup, so when the power goes out, the lights do not even flicker.

What makes Watercolour so compelling is that it brings together climate action, health, and quality of life. The homes are comfortable and efficient, the streets are designed for walking, and the surrounding trails and green spaces are preserved for everyone to enjoy—I’ve lost count of how many wins that is! If I lived nearby, I’d be moving there myself.

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Climate disasters are making already dangerous prison and jail conditions even worse.

A new Duke University School of Medicine study examined how climate disasters affect people who are incarcerated. Researchers interviewed 18 people in Houston, Texas, a region repeatedly hit by extreme flooding, heat, and hurricanes, and found that most had lived through at least one disaster while behind bars.

Participants described being crowded into small cells and left without basic necessities during storms. Some went days without drinking water or working toilets. Others lost contact with their families when the power failed and phones stopped working. Extreme heat made already dangerous conditions even more severe, especially in facilities with poor temperature control.

The study found that these risks often continued after release. Many participants struggled to find stable housing and reliable income, leaving them with fewer resources to evacuate or recover when the next disaster struck.

As the authors write, hurricanes and other disasters impose additional trauma on people already living in stressful and unpredictable environments. The findings are a stark reminder that climate change does not affect everyone equally, and that emergency planning must include those whose safety depends almost entirely on institutions that may not be prepared to protect them.

The new Watercolour community is an example of how climate solutions can be woven into the places we call home. But sometimes it is hard to picture what that future might look like until you experience it for yourself.

That is the idea behind Urban Future Walks, a free public experience created by my fellow climate scientist Simon Donner and graduate student Yunfei Li at the University of British Columbia. Participants are guided through real neighborhoods and invited to see how sustainability shows up in the design of buildings, streets, and public spaces.

Even if you don’t live in Vancouver, the concept is one anyone can try. Take a walk through your own neighborhood and ask yourself: What makes this place feel livable? Where could more trees, sidewalks, energy-efficient buildings, or public spaces improve daily life? I often ask my students to do this as one of their class assignments and they always report on being surprised by everything they noticed when they looked around with these questions in mind, even in a place as familiar as their own neighbourhood.

Climate solutions become much more tangible when we can see them around us. And once we can imagine a better future, it becomes easier to build one. So this week, why not go on a ‘climate walk’ in your city and invite a few friends along.

Compare notes and, if you have some ideas, check out what your city is already doing about climate action and consider sending them a note! Using your voice is a powerful way to help catalyze local change.

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TONIGHT Tues May 19 at 7pm ET BST - Talking Climate in the Age of Disinformation! Action Party with Climate Action Now; online, free

Wed June 17 6 at 5:30pm BST - The Financial Times Climate & Impact Summit - in person, London; in-person and virtual; prices vary

In this edition of Tea with Katharine, I share the books that have most deeply influenced my work on climate change and communication. These are the titles that helped me understand why facts alone are rarely enough, why fear can shut us down, and why hope is one of the most…

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In late April, in the coastal city of Santa Marta, Colombia, something remarkable happened. Representatives from 57 countries from across the globe gathered for the first-ever conference dedicated to transitioning away from fossil fuels.

After three decades of UN climate negotiations and still-rising emissions, many countries have had enough. And I do not blame them. Many of us feel the same. So as COP30 in Belem wrapped up last November, Colombia and the Netherlands announced they were co-hosting this new conference to provide a kind of practical reckoning: what does leaving fossil fuels behind actually look like, and how do we collectively get there?

The conference was inspired by the Fossil Fuel Treaty, a concept developed by my fellow Canadian and lifetime climate advocate, Tzeporah Berman. She explains it here so perfectly, you’ll wonder why everyone doesn’t see it as a no-brainer!

“We decided not to resign ourselves to an economy built on the destruction of life. The transition away from fossil fuels could no longer remain a slogan but must become a concrete, political and collective endeavour,” said Irene Vélez Torres, Colombia’s environment minister who chaired the talks. “When people look back on us from the future, they will remember whether or not we rose to the challenge of our time.”

The countries who showed up represent over half of global GDP, roughly one-third of energy demand, and about 20% of fossil fuel supply. They describe themselves as the “coalition of the willing” and all pledged to develop voluntary roadmaps for drawing down their fossil fuel use.

Next year’s conference will take place in Tuvalu co-hosted by Ireland, and participating countries have been asked to have drafted their roadmaps by then. Stay tuned!

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By the end of the century, the sea could swallow up much of coastal Louisiana and surround the city of New Orleans, a stark new study finds.

The study, which describes coastal Louisiana as the “most physically vulnerable coastal zone in the world,” calculates that a shoreline migration of 100 kilometers inland in southeastern Louisiana is “probably locked in” due to sea level rise, coastal erosion, wetland loss, and land subsidence. New Orleans—protected by its levee system—would become “a highly exposed island in the Gulf of Mexico.”

The authors also emphasize that coastal restoration projects (like the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project, which was halted by Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry last year) will be key to buy time. What the researchers are calling for is not panic, but planning—an organized, equitable process that works with nature to restore coastlines while helping communities move to higher ground before the migration falls hardest on those with the fewest options.

“We have to get serious about planning for our future right now,” said Tulane geologist Torbjörn Törnqvist, a co-author of the study. “We have to face the reality, and that is this city has an end date.”

One organization helping Louisiana restore its coastline and stave off migration is Glass Half Full. The company was started by two Tulane students in 2020 who were annoyed they were unable to recycle glass in the city of New Orleans. They started collecting glass themselves, first sorting and storing it in a backyard before moving into a local warehouse. Fast forward six years and today they have a commercial facility on a 3-acre site in St. Bernard Parish.

To date, Glass Half Full has turned some 13 million pounds of glass into sand and gravel that is both used in coastal restoration work and available for purchase. Earlier this year, they participated in a free glass recycling pilot program for businesses in New Orleans’ French Quarter. And this week, Glass Half Full co-founder Franziska Trautmann addressed the not-so-good news study I talked about above, saying, “Honestly… we’re mad. Doom and gloom gets us nowhere.”

Organizations like these are creative, community-driven solutions that may seem small on their own, yet together form an essential part of the broader transition toward a more sustainable and resilient future. To learn more about Glass Half Full and its nonprofit partner Glassroots, you can follow Glassroots and Glass Half Full on Instagram. And if you’re local to Louisiana, Glassroots has a number of volunteer opportunities you can check out here!

Know of organizations doing good climate work in your community? Let me know about them!

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Tues May 19 at 7pm ET BST - Talking Climate in the Age of Disinformation! Action Party with Climate Action Now; online, free

Wed June 17 6 at 5:30pm BST - The Financial Times Climate & Impact Summit - in person, London; in-person and virtual; prices vary

Katharine is also co-editor of the bestselling anthology of women’s voices, All We Can Save (to which I also contributed). She co-founded and leads The All We Can Save Project, co-hosts the podcast A Matter of Degrees, and writes the newsletter here on Substack. She is, in short, one of the most vital voices in the climate movement today.

Her latest book, which Bill McKibben calls “invaluable,” is Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home, and it was just released this week! Why “Climate Wayfinding”? Because we are living in a world where maps increasingly no longer work—quite literally, as shorelines slip beneath rising seas, glaciers melt away, and places we love go up in flames. But this is also true internally and societally. Many people feel lost or stuck in this liminal, unsteady time. Climate Wayfinding asks the questions I hear everywhere: How do we navigate lives of meaning, belonging, and contribution? How do we move through ache to action?

Katharine has said that this is a magnificent time to be alive, because we truly can make a difference with our actions. I agree, and I can’t think of a better guide for the journey.

Take it away, Katharine!

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Last July, the International Court of Justice issued a landmark climate ruling, declaring that nations have a binding legal duty to protect the climate. Many Talking Climate readers will know this piece of good news, but I’d like to bring it back up so I can share two key “morals of the story.”

When Jennifer Robinson and I were in graduate school together as Rhodes Scholars at Oxford, she was emphatic: “I’m a human rights lawyer, not an environmental lawyer.” We’d have long, heated discussions about it at our local pub.

But then fast forward to 2024, and Jen was a core part of the legal team for the pioneering climate case that went before the ICJ. Now a full-blown climate leader (among many other things), her story is a reminder: we all have gifts to bring to the work of mending our planet. As I write in Climate Wayfinding, “Each of us is a node of possibility for healing the climate crisis, whoever we are and whatever we’ve got to give.”

The ICJ story is also a reminder about the powerful role climate education has to play. The bold idea “to bring the world’s biggest problem to the world’s highest court” grew out of a classroom at the University of the South Pacific.

With social change, we tend to focus on the big, visible wins—like the moment in The Hague when the landmark opinion was read—but we must invest in the small, quiet spaces where change begins. A climate-centered classroom is one of those places.

Young people are feeling the emotional weight of the climate crisis—and they aren’t alone in that. As more and more of us encounter climate impacts firsthand, our distress continues to grow.

In 2025, my friend Dr. and her co-authors published the results of a survey of nearly 3,000 young people in the US. According to TIME, they “found that approximately 20% of them were afraid to have children—worrying about bringing a new generation into a steadily warming world. That figure jumped to over 30% among young people who had experienced a severe-weather event first hand.”

Young people have been given heaps of information. What’s often lacking is orientation. We owe it to the generations inheriting our planetary mess to help them move from isolation to connection, from doubt to possibility, from ache to action.

Too often, we hold this question alone: “What can I do?” Often, we hope someone will come along and answer it for us. But I believe the most powerful answers don’t come from a punch-list. They come from deeper exploration and navigation, especially in community.

We need to cultivate the kind of climate community where we can hold that question—“What can I do?”—and our other big wonderings about what it means to be human on Earth. We need spaces to work our way into meaningful answers that reflect our unique values, superpowers, contexts, and interests.

With Climate Wayfinding, there’s a group experience built right into the book. Learn more and sign up to lead a reading group—in your community, workplace, classroom—here.

Together, we can look inward with care, outward with curiosity, and forward with courage. That’s how we find our way.

Thank you, Katharine W! I especially appreciate your reminder that climate action isn’t about having all the answers right away—it’s about finding our way forward together, with courage, community, and hope.

If today’s edition resonated with you, I highly recommend checking out her new book, Climate Wayfinding, along with the accompanying reading groups designed to help people move from isolation to action in community.

You can also explore The All We Can Save Project, listen to her podcast A Matter of Degrees with my fellow Canadian Leah Stokes, find her on Instagram and LinkedIn, and subscribe to her newsletter Human on Earth for more reflections like these.

Her work is a great reminder that meaningful climate action begins by asking what your unique gifts are, and how you can use them to help build a better future.

Short film based on the book Climate Wayfinding by Katharine K. Wilkinson and design by Ampersand; generously created pro bono by BCG BrightHouse.

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IF YOU’RE IN THE UK, THERE’S ONE MORE CHANCE TO SEE ME IN PERSON THIS WEEK

• Fri May 8 at 2pm BST - Why Climate Science is Not Enough at UCL in London - in person; Archaeology G6 Lecture Theatre, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square

Of course science is always learning more. That’s how science works. But when it comes to climate change, the basics have been understood for a very long time. We know the planet is warming. We know humans are responsible. We know th…

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Last year, global investment in the clean energy transition hit a record $2.3 trillion. That’s up a full 8% from 2024, according to BloombergNEF’s latest annual report. Electric vehicles and charging infrastructure led the way at $893 billion, up 21% from the year before. Renewable investment added $690 billion. Grid investment, $483 billion.

And for the second consecutive year, clean energy investment outpaced fossil fuel investment, with the gap between them widening. Even in the US, where federal policy has been working against the transition, investment still rose 3.5%. The market is moving forward—with or without policy.

Is it enough? Not yet. A few years ago, growth was faster—in 2021, these investments grew by 27% year on year, compared to 8% this past year. Growth needs to accelerate, not coast. But here’s what this report tells us:

The transition is real, it’s resilient, and it’s happening despite political tailwinds. BloombergNEF forecasts that average annual investment in the global energy transition will hit $2.9 trillion yearly by 2031. Simply put, the energy transition is at hand.

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Climate change may be making antibiotics less effective.

New research suggests that warming temperatures and drought could be quietly fueling antibiotic resistance in the soil beneath our feet. In one long-term experiment, soils warmed by just a few degrees showed about a 25% increase in antibiotic resistance genes over time.

How does soil connect to the medicines we rely on? As soils heat up, microbes adapt to survive, and resistance traits can spread alongside those advantages. Add drought, and the effect can intensify. As water disappears, antibiotics become more concentrated, killing off weaker bacteria and giving resistant strains room to thrive.

That matters because antibiotic resistance makes infections harder—or sometimes impossible—to treat. Illnesses we think of as routine can become dangerous, linger longer, or require stronger drugs with more side effects. Even modern medicine depends on antibiotics to keep procedures like C-sections, chemotherapy, and transplants safe.

This is one more way climate change is reshaping the systems we depend on in ways we’re only beginning to understand.

Earth Day may be over, but the chance to connect with the world around us isn’t. The Nature Conservancy has created a free Earth Day guide filled with simple, everyday ways to get outside and notice nature again.

Learn more about bird-watching close to home, planting for pollinators, or building a scavenger hunt with kids. My personal favourite is finding new ways to “wander and wonder.”

These aren’t big, complicated actions; they’re small moments that help us reconnect with the places we live. They also remind us why it’s worth protecting. And when something matters to us, we’re far more likely to act. So, pick one thing, and give it a try this week!

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IF YOU’RE IN THE UK/IRELAND, THERE ARE SEVERAL CHANCES TO SEE ME IN PERSON NEXT WEEK

• Tues May 5 at 11am BST - ICARUS seminar at Maynooth University - in person; ICARUS Seminar Room, Laraghbryan House

• Tues May 5 at 2:15 BST - Kitchen Talk - virtual and in person at Trocaire, Maynooth, Ireland

• Wed May 6 at 2:30pm BST - McCosh Lecture on Finding Hope in the Climate Crisis - in person at Queen’s University Belfast: Canada Room & Council Chamber, Lanyon Building

• Fri May 8 at 2pm BST - Why Climate Science is Not Enough at UCL in London - in person; Archaeology G6 Lecture Theatre, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square

Wildlife wins: Around the world, rewilding efforts are bringing ecosystems back to life. Along coastlines and rivers, wetlands are buffering floods. In North America, large mammals like wolves and bison are returning to their former habitats. In Bangladesh and India, communities are restoring forests and rebuilding wildlife corridors after conflict and deforestation. Even forests in Brazil that were fragmented by agriculture and urban infrastructure are recovering through careful reforestation efforts using private lands.

Greening efforts: Cities and states are going greener. Today, green space makes up nearly a third of Berlin’s area. I’ve written before about MedellÍn’s green corridors that are keeping the city cool even as global temperatures rise. And when New York state’s ambitious push to plant 25 million trees stateside couldn’t find enough trees, The Nature Conservancy stepped up to create a tree nursery incubation program.

Around the world, “pocket forests” and urban rewilding efforts are turning small spaces into high-impact ecosystems. When I wrote about tiny forests two years ago, so many of you wrote in to tell me about efforts in your own community that I had to write a full update the next week! And these projects don’t just look nice—they cool neighborhoods, filter pollution, and even create wildlife corridors in cities.

Waste and pollution cleanup: Global efforts to tackle waste are gaining momentum. Last year, The Ocean Cleanup removed 25 million kilograms of trash from oceans and rivers—the result of coordinated volunteer events spanning coastlines around the world. At the same time, policy and advocacy efforts are targeting pollution at the source, like stopping plastic pellet spills before they reach waterways. Together, cleanup plus advocating for policies to reduce plastic use in the first place can make a big difference.

Youth-powered action: Across the globe, community-led restoration efforts are scaling up, in many places with young people blazing the trail. Youth-led groups are organizing tree-planting and restoration campaigns across Asia, Africa, and beyond, working directly with local communities to rebuild ecosystems. These five young “ecosystem champions” are leading grassroots projects across drylands, mountains, oceans, forests, and wetlands—working with local communities from Brazil to Indonesia to restore ecosystems and strengthen livelihoods.

The UN Environment Program’s Young Champions of the Earth supports young people turning local environmental ideas into scalable solutions (I’m one of their “old” champions!). Since 2017, the program has recognized innovators from around the world tackling everything from waste to water access.

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The Earth is our perfect home. From the air to breathe to the soil we need to grow our food, it gives us everything we need to survive and thrive. But each year, there comes a point when we’ve used more of the Earth than it can regenerate. That day is known as Earth Overshoot Day.

Last year, that date fell on July 24—meaning we used up a full year’s worth of resources in less than seven months. Not only that, but this date is trending in the wrong direction as we continue to add pressure to the planet year after year. Earth Overshoot Day used to be August 9 in 2020, and in 1990 it was all the way back on October 16.

This must be because Earth is home to too many people, you might think, right? Actually, no: that’s not the main reason. We have plenty of resources to go around—but only if we live sustainably. And we do not.

We waste almost one-third of the food produced for human consumption worldwide: that’s enough to give 2 billion people who currently lack food one square, nutritious meal a day. We destroy and fail to restore ecosystems that filter our air and water. We live in inefficient cities and deplete and waste nonrenewable resources despite having renewable options. For example, did you know that nearly a third of the polluting energy we get from coal, gas and oil is just used to extract, process and transport coal, gas, and oil?

Right now, we are using resources as if we live on a flat, infinite Earth. Yes, you read that right – our entire economic model is designed for a flat Earth. The reality, though, is that we live on a round planet. And as we learned last week, there truly is no Planet B. It is time to stop taking for granted the amazing gifts our home provides and treat it with the care it needs to continue to support our lives and those of all other living things that share our home.

If everyone on the planet lived like the average North American, we would need multiple Earths to sustain us. Want to know how many Earths we would need if everyone lived like you? Take the ecological footprint quiz here.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The good news is that many of the solutions already exist, and I share at least one example a week in this newsletter! Plus, the Earth Overshoot Day website provides an easy-to-read breakdown of five key areas that would make it possible to #movethedate.

Did you notice anything different about today’s good news and not-so-good news? I didn’t mention climate change once—even though it’s woven through every story.

This week’s What You Can Do might sound a little unusual coming from me, but having read the above, I think you’ll understand: if people in your life are resistant to talking about “climate change”—maybe because it’s too depressing, or stressful; too political, or too contentious—then just call it something else!

Talk about solutions that make our air cleaner, our water safer, and our communities healthier. That’s good news – and who doesn’t care about that? We see people’s interest in solutions each year on April 22nd when almost 1 billion people worldwide participate in an Earth Day event, such as picking up litter in their neighborhoods, teaching their children about nature, or planting trees in the park.

Of course, understanding the science matters. But if we all agree on solutions that will fix this crisis, then accepting that climate change is real and human-caused and we need to do something about it becomes a secondary no-brainer. Just check out the story about John’s dad I share here!

So, if leaving out a phrase that puts people on the defensive opens the door to a better conversation, this Earth Day is a perfect time to start.

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IF YOU’RE IN NORTH CAROLINA, THERE’S 2 MORE CHANCES TO SEE ME IN PERSON TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

• Wed April 22 at 7pm ET - Earth Week Keynote with Elon University - in person at McKinnon Hall, Moseley Center; open to EU students, faculty, and staff

• Thurs April 23 at 5pm ET – Climate Solutions at Duke University – in person at Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School

ONCE IN TEXAS

• Tues April 28 at 2pm CT - Connecting Global Change to Local Impacts with Angelo State University; in-person in San Angelo, TX

AND SEVERAL IN THE UK/IRELAND

• Tues May 5 at 10am IST - ICARUS seminar at Maynooth University (location TBD)

• Wed May 6 at 2.30pm IST - McCosh Lecture on Finding Hope in the Climate Crisis - in person at Queen’s University Belfast

• Fri May 8 - seminar at UCL in London (time and location TBD)

These days it seems like each news headline is worse than the last. That’s why I think so many of us were glued to the spectacular images and feeds from the Artemis II mission and its four joyful, intrepid astronauts the last few weeks.

The Apollo program ended the year I was born. This was the first time humans have ventured to the moon since then, and the ten-day lunar flyby mission was rich with historic firsts: Christina Koch became the first woman to orbit the moon; Victor Glover, the first Black man; and Jeremy Hansen, the first Canadian. This mission also set a new distance record, eclipsing the distance logged by Apollo 13 astronauts by some 4,100 miles. That’s farther away from Earth than any humans have ever traveled.

Who didn’t have a tear in their eye watching the astronauts call Mission Control to request an unnamed, bright crater be named for Carroll Wiseman, Commander Reid Wiseman’s late wife, who died of cancer in 2020? And you had to laugh at the floating Nutella container (and Nutella’s response!), the temperamental space toilet, and the maple cream cookies the Canadian astronaut brought to snack on while on the far side of the moon.

Above all, though, I keep returning to what the astronauts said about looking back at Earth from the darkness of space. “I found myself noticing not only the beauty of the Earth, but how much blackness there was around it, and how it just made it even more special,” Christina Koch reflected. “It truly emphasized how alike we are, how the same thing keeps every single person on planet Earth alive.”

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And just before the spacecraft passed behind the moon and lost contact with Mission Control, Victor Glover said something that gave me goosebumps, it is so close to what I say about why we need climate action: “As we continue to unlock the mysteries of the cosmos, I would like to remind you of one of the most important mysteries there on Earth, and that’s love,” he said, his voice crackling as the signal weakened. “To all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the moon. We will see you on the other side.”

That view from the moon has a way of putting things in perspective. As Dr. David Baker, co-director of Adams Observatory at Austin College, explained in Talking Climate last year, scientists have discovered more than 6,000 confirmed exoplanets -- but we have yet to find another one like Earth. The biggest reason we have to take care of our home and everyone who shares it with us is simple: there is no planet B.

The Earth’s climate system is “more out of balance than at any time in observed history,” according to the State of the Global Climate 2025 report. The report tracks 8 key indicators of climate change, including atmospheric carbon dioxide, global mean near-surface temperature, ocean heat content, global mean sea level, ocean pH, glacier mass balance, sea-ice extent, and one new indicator - Earth’s energy imbalance.

You might not be familiar with this last one. In my opinion, though, it’s the most comprehensive measure of how humans are changing climate: or, as we scientists would say, altering the radiative balance of the atmosphere. Here’s what it measures.

Every day the sun’s energy hits the Earth. The Earth absorbs that energy and, when climate isn’t changing much, it releases about the same amount of heat energy back to space. That’s how the climate system stays balanced.

But that changes whenever we burn coal, gas, or oil – or burn down trees. Why? Because these activities release massive amounts of heat-trapping gases that build in the atmosphere, effectively wrapping an extra blanket around the planet. And just like a real blanket would, this extra blanket of heat-trapping gases is trapping more heat inside the Earth’s climate system that would otherwise escape to space.

How much heat? That’s what the Earth’s energy imbalance measures. The extra heat averages about 5 Hiroshima bombs’ worth of energy every second -- and only 1 percent of that remains in the atmosphere. About 90 percent is going into the ocean (and the rest to melting ice and warming land).

In fact, as I write in Scientific American here, “Climate change’s impacts on the ocean are so massive that when I’m asked why we aren’t talking about it more, the only answer I can think of is, ‘Because we aren’t polar bears or corals.’ If we all lived on or in the ocean, the changes we’re seeing there would dominate our daily headlines.

As we begin to understand the vast impact our choices have on the ocean and, consequently, on us, the need for urgent action becomes even more apparent. It’s still possible to shape a future where people and the ocean can thrive together; but to do so, we must act now.”

A group of nuns in the southeastern Nigerian city of Aga have made care for creation central to their ministry. The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Christ have planted trees across the campus of the local nursing college. Across from their convent, the sisters have turned a plot of land into a “modest farm” dotted with fruit trees including pear, orange, avocado, and coconut, as well as a host of other plants.

Nigeria has been experiencing increased heat and shifting rainfall patterns from climate change, exacerbating existing problems from deforestation to water scarcity. “This is the area where we are promoting protection of the environment, doing many things that will help sustain our mother Earth, the planet that God has given us,” said Sr. Maria Obiomachukwu Osuji, one of the nuns leading the organic farming efforts. And she talks about it too, encouraging others to plant trees and plants where they can near their homes, and sharing her work online.

“The sisters see their work as a moral duty rooted in their religious calling to care for creation,” explained Nigerian journalist John Chukwu. “These sisters are not waiting for someone else to act. They are planting trees that reduce flooding, provide shade during brutal heat, and shield their community from destructive winds. They are modeling, with their own hands, what it looks like to care for creation.”

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IF YOU’RE IN NORTH CAROLINA, THERE’S 3 CHANCES TO SEE ME IN PERSON NEXT WEEK

• Tues April 21 at 7pm ET- Mitigate, Adapt, or Suffer with Wake Forest University - in person in Winston-Salem, NC; registration required

• Weds April 22 at 7pm ET - Earth Week Keynote with Elon University - in person at McKinnon Hall, Moseley Center; open to EU students, faculty, and staff

• Thurs April 23 at 5pm ET – Climate Solutions at Duke University – in person at Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School

TWO CHANCES IN TEXAS - THIS WEEK AND NEXT

• Sat April 18 at 10am CT - DFW Youth Climate Conference - in person at the UT Dallas Jindal School of Management

• Tues April 28 at 2pm CT - Connecting Global Change to Local Impacts with Angelo State University; in-person in San Angelo, TX

AND ONE NORTHERN IRELAND + TWO MORE IN IRELAND COMING SOON

• Wed May 6 at 2.30pm IST - McCosh Lecture on Finding Hope in the Climate Crisis - in person at Queen’s University Belfast

He shares how Indigenous-led approaches reshape climate solutions from finance and …

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Leslie wrote in to tell me about Bluedot Living, founded by Californian Victoria Riskin after she lost her home in a mudslide that followed devastating wildfires. Instead of rebuilding, Victoria chose a different path: working with her community to restore their local ecosystems… and founding a practical, solutions-based news source showing what climate action looks like in everyday life.

Ralf from Germany shared his newsletter, ClimateBash: Good News Only. As you’d guess from its name, it’s a steady stream of positive climate stories! And Lara emailed to recommend Anthropocene Magazine, an international, science-focused publication that translates research into accessible stories on climate solutions, from clean energy to food systems and urban design.

Patti from Canada is a lawyer, a journalist who writes for the National Observer, and a dedicated climate communicator. She collects inspiring stories about people taking action - many of them young people, like 23-year-old Jashan Gill from Green Mind Canada that equips youth with the tools they need to process what is happening and take meaningful action - and shares them on her website Awesome Climate Stories.

Last but not least, Ben from France reminded me of one of my own long-time favourites: Nick Hedley’s The Progress Playbook. From tracking which countries are leading on renewables to spotlighting scalable solutions like cycling infrastructure and regenerative agriculture, Nick is a font of information on how much progress is already underway. And, he’s based in South Africa.

Around the world, people are already putting climate solutions into action. The more we share their stories, the faster the solutions spread!

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Studies show that misinformation about climate change—especially when amplified by news outlets and trusted voices—has real and dangerous consequences. It delays action and worsens impacts. And Christian communities are often specifically targeted by these types of disinformation campaigns.

That is why it is so important that more than 100 U.K. church leaders (including the former Archbishop of Canterbury) recently signed an open letter calling out GB News for spreading climate misinformation. They make it clear that false climate narratives aren’t just a difference of opinion; they’re a matter of public harm.

When the GB News co-owner doubled down on rejecting climate action, the trustees of Operation Noah, a U.K. Christian charity working to inspire climate action in the church, responded with a pointed question: “As our dependence on expensive and volatile fossil fuels continues to lead to dangerous climate tipping points and wild spikes in energy prices, [Paul Marshall] and GB News appear so dedicated to keeping our unsustainable status quo intact. Why?”

I’ve written before about how the vast majority of Christian leaders agree that climate change is real, but they just aren’t talking about it enough. Why does that matter? Because “revealing the moral implications of fossil fuels” has been identified by scientists as a key societal tipping point that, when recognized by enough people, can rapidly tip the scales in the direction of climate action.

And who better to make this argument than religious leaders? Initiatives like these help people of faith connect what they care about and why climate action matters, giving them the clarity and confidence to speak up themselves.

I’ve talked before about how climate change is already pushing some species past their limits: like amphibians, which can’t tolerate higher temperatures and often can’t move to cooler places fast enough. In contrast, many snakes can move – and they are!

Venomous snakebites are already a major but often overlooked public health issue. They kill an estimated 138,000 people and cause hundreds of thousands of disabilities every year, primarily in vulnerable communities. As the climate warms, some snakes are being pushed out of their current habitats and into places where more people live.

A new global study finds that rising temperatures will drive many species away from arid interiors and toward densely populated coastlines. This will increase the risk of dangerous encounters. Specifically, researchers project that hundreds of snake species will move toward higher latitudes and more heavily populated regions in the coming decades, bringing them into closer contact with millions more people.

Across the Netherlands, people are taking climate action into their own hands—literally pulling it up from the ground.

It’s called NK Tegelwippen, or “National Tile Flipping Competition”: a lighthearted, nationwide effort where cities and neighbours compete to remove concrete slabs from yards, sidewalks, and public spaces and replace them with plants. You can see which cities are in the lead here. The last time I checked, Maastricht and Utrecht were battling it out for first place!

So far, nearly 13 million tiles have been removed. That’s the equivalent of hundreds of soccer fields’ worth of restored ground. And participants say the impact is immediate. In one Rotterdam neighborhood, residents transformed an entire stretch of sidewalk in a single day, turning a hot, flood-prone street into a cooler, greener space filled with flowers.

As climate change brings heavier rainfall and more intense heat, these kinds of small changes can make a real difference. When pavement is replaced with soil and plants, temperatures drop; rainwater can soak in; and it creates habitat for bees, birds, and insects.

What stands out about this effort isn’t just the scale—it’s how accessible it is. If you have pavement, tile, or brick outside your home, consider removing a strip and planting something in its place. For shared or public spaces, policies vary; but your city’s public works or planning department can usually tell you what’s allowed.

This movement shows how quickly small, practical changes can add up. It’s a great reminder of how climate solutions can start at your home; and when you talk about it with friends, family, and neighbors, they can spread!

In light of Easter Sunday being this past weekend, here is an additional recommended “read” and “watch.”

WATCH: Christians are wrong about God’s creation

READ: An evangelical take on climate science

Sun April 12 at 11:15am PT – Faith Conversation with Westwood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA – an in-person watch party of a virtual presentation (livestream tbd)

Weds April 22 at 7pm ET - Earth Week Keynote with Elon University - in person at McKinnon Hall, Moseley Center; open to EU students, faculty, and staff

Thurs April 23 at 5pm ET – Climate solutions at Duke University – in person at Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School

But did you know that you can actually measure how walkable your own community is? Geographer & Talking Climate reader Joseph Kerski Phd GISP sent me a crowdsourced map and survey where anyone can rate their neighborhood, upload photos, and contribute to a growing global dataset.

This useful tool offers a simple but powerful way to see your surroundings through a new lens and help build a bigger picture of what walkability looks like around the world.

Click here to participate!

You know that one of the best things you can do about climate change is talk about it. Back in Talking Climate’s first year, I shared the story of hairdresser Paloma Rose Garcia, who started a program she called “Brush With Climate” and invited two local climate scientists to teach classes on climate change to fellow hairdressers in Sydney, Australia.

Then last year, I was encouraged to see the program spreading. “Brush With Climate” reached Ireland, where a new initiative at University College Cork is implementing it in four towns across the country.

Now, a new U.K. study confirms what this effort has been showing all along: hairdressers are uniquely positioned to be effective climate messengers. They build trust with their clients over months and years, creating natural opportunities to weave climate and sustainability into regular conversations. The opportunity is there – but so far, it’s barely been tapped.

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When it comes to climate messengers, “we’re used to thinking of people in the public eye, such as celebrities, as influencers,” said Dr. Briony Latter, an author based Cardiff University. “But what about the people you actually talk to on a regular basis who know you and who you trust with your appearance and sometimes more personal aspects of your life? Hairdressers have an untapped ability to weave climate change into everyday conversations and actions.”

Just do a quick back of the envelope calculation with me. In the U.S. alone, it’s estimated there are over half a million hair dressers and hair stylists. The average number of clients seen per day is 12. Imagine if just 10% of them were having climate conversations with half the people they saw. That could add up to nearly 75 MILLION CONVERSATIONS a year!

Pair that with data from Yale Program on Climate Change Communication showing that 64% of Americans rarely or never hear anyone talk about climate change. That’s about 210 million people. So if only those 10% of hairdressers keep it up for a few years, that could nearly wipe out climate silence across an entire country!

Reality check - of course they can’t talk to everyone, and many of their clients would be repeats. But those clients would go on to have their own conversations, too. So I don’t think there’s any question this program has the potential to visibly change the number of climate conversations at a national scale.

And that’s not all these conversations could change. For the U.K. study, conversation starters were placed on salon mirrors to spark conversations. Almost 73% of clients who participated in conversations prompted by the “Mirror Talkers” intervention said they would adopt more eco-friendly habits. Could hairdressers be some of the best climate influencers there are?!

War is horrible for myriad reasons: above all, its toll on human life. One often overlooked impact, though, is that modern warfare is incredibly carbon intensive. The first two weeks of the Iran war have released some 5 million tonnes of carbon pollution. That’s more than the nation of Iceland emits in an entire year, according to this analysis from the Climate & Community Institute.

To calculate the carbon costs of the Iran war, the researchers looked at “direct ‘tailpipe’ emissions, indirect supply chain emissions, and conflict emissions—including destroyed equipment, missiles and drones used, destroyed fuel in storage and oil tankers, fuel used in combat operations, and destroyed civilian infrastructure.” And the cost of rebuilding infrastructure damaged by warfare is even more carbon-intensive than the war itself, the analysts found. That’s not even included here yet!

This is true of other recent conflicts, too. The Gaza war has resulted in more than 33 million tons of carbon emissions, one analysis found. Another assessment conducted by the Initiative on GHG Accounting of War found the first three years of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine created 237 million tonnes of carbon pollution (equivalent to the annual emissions of Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia combined), causing over $43 billion in damage.

And war, of course, makes existing environmental problems harder to address and climate goals harder to hit. In a nutshell, no matter who “wins,” we all lose.

When I first started this newsletter in April 2022, there were hardly any news sources that focused on good news other than Upworthy. But now, there are a lot of places dedicated to sharing uplifting stories of positive solutions and people making a difference, both about climate and in general.

This is so important, because behavioural science research finds that although “doom and gloom messaging is highly effective for stimulating climate change information sharing, like posting on the internet or social media, where negativity reigns… it is the absolute worst for motivating action and among the worst for changing climate change beliefs or support for climate change policies.”

So where can you find these stories? Here are a few places to start. Your to-do this week is to choose at least one of them and follow their content, so you have even more regular positive input to help you build efficacy and create hope.

Positive News offers solutions-focused reporting both online and with a quarterly print magazine. Recent stories include one about a British company aiming to turn energy from foot traffic into electricity, another about teens working together to stop child marriage in Bangladesh, and one about microgrid solar power coming to England.

The Anti-Doom Initiative from Crooked Ideas highlights “the projects already moving towards solving the climate crisis, and those in the pipeline that we need to get over the finish line.” They curate hopeful stories, like this one about the world’s largest wildlife crossing about the open in LA, this regular roundup of the week’s good climate news, and this one on environmental groups calling for a moratorium on new data center construction. I recommend following them on Instagram.

On Instagram you can also find Future Earth, which shares a roundup of good news stories every Tuesday; , aka The Garbage Queen and the “good climate news lady” who shares uplifting videos, news stories from around the world all while calling for climate action; and Sam Bentley, who narratives videos about good news from around the world every week.

Do you have a favourite source of good climate news? Let me know what it is, and I’ll share an update next week!

Sun April 12 at 11:15am PT – Faith Conversation with Westwood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA – an in-person watch party of a virtual presentation (livestream tbd)

Weds April 22 at 7pm ET - Earth Week Keynote with Elon University - in person at McKinnon Hall, Moseley Center; open to EU students, faculty, and staff

Thurs April 23 at 5pm ET – Climate solutions at Duke University – in person at Goodson Chapel, Duke Divinity School

Right to Grow advocates are pushing for people to have access to unused public land to grow food, restore nature, and build stronger communities. What a great example of how local action can lead to systemic change!

A few weeks ago, I highlighted the success of London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone in cleaning up the city’s air. But that’s not the only good news out of London. Last month, Mayor Khan approved a plan to pedestrianize a one-kilometre stretch of Oxford Street’s shopping district. Work will begin this summer to turn it into a traffic-free haven.

And London isn’t alone. In Paris, leaders have spent years replacing car lanes with bike lanes, adding green space, and removing tens of thousands of parking spots. The results are striking: maps of Paris’ air pollution over time show pollution levels dropping dramatically (pictured above).

Barcelona is using a different approach: the city’s “superblocks” limit traffic within groups of streets, creating space for walking, biking, play, and community life. Residents report quieter streets, cleaner air, and more opportunities to connect with their neighbors.

When cities are re-designed for people instead of cars, it doesn’t just reduce emissions: it materially improves people’s health and everyday lives. Research shows that walkable neighborhoods reduce pollution, lower the cost of transportation, support local businesses, prevent hundreds of premature deaths each year, and make it easier for us to stay active and connect with others.

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As global temperatures rise, new research shows that heat is increasingly disrupting sleep around the world. This is especially true for older adults, women, and people in lower-income regions.

That matters more than we might think. Sleep is critical for how we think, learn, and function day to day. Even small increases in nighttime temperatures can make it harder for our bodies to rest and recover; and over time, widespread sleep loss can ripple outward, affecting everything from our memory, mood, and health to educational outcomes and economic productivity.

If you’re interested in learning more about just how comprehensively sleep -- and, even worse, lack thereof -- affects every aspect of our lives, Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, PhD is a startling read.

Do you live somewhere where heat is a problem—even if it’s just in summer? In Texas, we already had our first 100°F/38°C day in late February!

Here are three practical ways to keep your home cool and save money at the same time:

Add window film. A lot of heat comes straight through our windows. Window films act like sunscreen for your glass – and one study found that, when installed on the outside of windows, they can reduce bird collisions as well.

Choose a reflective roof. The next time your roof needs replacing, opt for a white or reflective metal roof. “Cool” roofs reflect up to 90% of the sun’s energy, cutting energy bills and reducing your local urban heat island effect. One analysis found that switching to light-colored roofing worldwide could prevent the equivalent carbon emissions of up to 15 million cars per year.

Plant a tree. One of the most effective ways to cool a neighborhood is also one of the simplest: add shade. Trees can lower surrounding temperatures, reduce air pollution, and even cut energy use by reducing the need for air conditioning – and a recent study shows that living near trees can even reduce your chance of heart disease!

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You’ll never believe the troll comments I get on social media – oh wait, now you will!

In my latest Cold Facts, Hot Takes episode, I tackle common Christianity-and-climate troll comments and separate truth from ideology.

To support this newsletter and the video series and access the full video, upgrade your subscription on Patreon or Substack.

Tues March 31 at 1:30pm ET - ACA Climate Symposium with American Camp Association – virtual, $75 for members, $110 for nonmember

Sun April 12 at 11:15am PT – Faith Conversation with Westwood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA – an in-person watch party of a virtual presentation (livestream tbd)

But when you look cl…

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The Great Bear Sea is one of the most biodiverse cold-water marine ecosystems in the world. It’s home to kelp forests, whales, sea otters, and five species of Pacific salmon—but industrial activity, climate change, and habitat loss have been degrading its wildlife and fisheries for decades. Until now, that is!

In June 2024, 17 First Nations partnered with Nature United (that’s what The Nature Conservancy is called in Canada) and the governments of Canada and British Columbia to establish a vast network of marine protected areas across the Great Bear Sea.

The result was Canada’s first marine protected area network, and the largest Indigenous-co-governed ocean conservation initiative in the world. Together, these protected areas make up 10 million hectares (that’s nearly 25 million acres) of ocean, an area larger than Portugal!

The goal of this partnership is to restore the region’s unique marine ecosystems while supporting local communities whose cultures and livelihoods have depended on these waters for millennia. Backed by $335 million in funding, the initiative is already supporting Indigenous Guardians who monitor ecosystems and enforce protections. It ultimately aims to create thousands of jobs in sustainable fisheries, tourism, conservation, and renewable energy.

Over the last two years, conservation progress has continued. Areas in the Kishkosh and Kitkiata inlets, key habitats for humpback whales and wild salmon, were protected in July 2025. Then in October 2025, two new marine refuges, G̱aw Ḵáahlii and X̲aana K̲aahlii, were established the waters off Haida Gwaii as part of the Great Bear Sea protected area. The regions were identified by traditional Haida knowledge as “areas of high ecological and cultural importance.”

How does this relate to climate change? First, protecting coastal ecosystems on land and in the ocean builds climate resilience for both people and nature. Second, the Great Bear Rainforest is one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, with old-growth trees that store and absorb much more carbon than younger trees would. Safeguarding the forest from development while supporting local, ecosystem-based economies keeps its carbon stores intact. That’s a double win!

If you enjoyed this story, upgrade your subscription on Patreon or Substack to watch next month’s What’s the Latest episode. I’ll be catching up with past guest editor James Rattling Leaf, Sr., a geospatial expert and member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe who works to combine Indigenous knowledge and Western science to tackle climate change.

Last week, I talked about how climate change is affecting our mental health. This week, a new study highlights its impact on our physical health.

Combining over 70 years of global climate data with a physiological heat tolerance model, my Nature Conservancy colleagues Luke Parsons, Nicholas Wolff, and their co-authors found that a full 35% of the world’s population already lives in areas where outdoor activities are severely limited during the hottest time of the year. “Climate change isn’t just making heat more intense—it’s shrinking the amount of time people can safely go about their daily lives,” Luke says.

Even light activity like walking outside, climbing stairs, or doing household chores can become dangerous when temperatures and humidity climb too high. Older adults are especially vulnerable: people over 65 now experience roughly 900 hours each year when heat severely restricts safe outdoor activity, compared to about 600 hours in 1950.

And while the worst conditions are often associated with poorer regions, the study found that dangerous heat already affects parts of wealthier countries too. Access to cooling, infrastructure, and workplace protections are resources that aren’t available to everyone – yet that’s what’s needed to keep people safe in a warming world.

Have you ever walked past an empty patch of dirt, a cracked sidewalk, or a neglected roadside planter and thought it could use a little life?

That instinct is behind guerrilla gardening—a grassroots movement where people plant flowers or native plants in overlooked urban spaces. How does this help with climate change? Even small patches of greenery can cool overheated streets, soak up stormwater, and create habitat for other urban wildlife.

People are experimenting with this idea in creative ways. Last week in Toronto, I met a student who was planting clay “seed bombs” in nature-deprived public areas around the city. In Los Angeles, artist Doug Rosenberg built a temporary wetland in the concrete channel of the LA River, creating a small patch of habitat that quickly attracted birds and other wildlife. In the UK, gardener Harry Smith-Haggett used plants to highlight local problems in Horsham. He filled potholes with flowers, drawing attention to dangerous roads and prompting repairs.

In London, environmental activist Ellen Miles has been transforming overlooked corners of her neighborhood into mini-oases filled with pollinator-friendly plants. After sharing her adventures online, she has inspired others to do the same! She says part of the appeal is the immediate impact: “A lot of activism can feel intangible. With guerrilla gardening, you see the results. It’s empowering.”

Planting in public spaces can sometimes fall into a legal gray area. As this article explains, “authorities often turn a blind eye—so long as it doesn’t cause damage, obstruction or a public nuisance.” So the safest way to participate is by supporting local greening efforts: planting native species in your own yard or apartment balcony, volunteering with a community garden, or working with local groups to add pollinator habitat in your neighborhood.

With the first day of Northern Hemisphere spring arriving this Friday, now is the perfect time to get started. Don’t forget to talk about what you’re doing with others, and get your community involved too!

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Weds March 18 at 5:30pm CT - Spencer Lecture at the University of Michigan - in person, free

Tues March 24 at 6:30 pm ET - Keynote address at the 2026 AGM with CAFES Ottawa - virtual, free

Tues March 31 at 1:30pm ET - ACA Climate Symposium with American Camp Association – virtual, $75 for members, $110 for nonmember

Sun April 12 at 11:15am PT – Faith Conversation with Westwood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, CA – an in-person watch party of a virtual presentation (livestream tbd)

As you can imagine, a lot has happened since then. So in this month’s episode of What’s the Latest?, where I catch up with past guest editors, Christiana joins me to discuss how the U.S. is doubling down on fossil fuels and canceling clean energy projects. These moves won’t stop the clean energy transition, she explains—but they could leave the United States dangerously behind.

Watch the highlights from our conversation here, and subscribe to access the full video on Substack or on Patreon (Tier 2).

Why subscribe? You don’t just unlock access to my three video series (Hot Takes, Cold Facts where I respond to troll comments; Tea with Katharine where I share what I’m thinking about this month; and What’s the Latest? where I catch up with former Talking Climate guest editors) — you’re also supporting the small but mighty outreach team behind Talking Climate. This newsletter and my video series aren’t funded by my academic or nonprofit roles. They can only continue if readers like you choose to make it possible.

What if you could pull water out of thin air? Thanks to an invention from Omar Yaghi, a U.C. Berkeley chemistry professor and Nobel laureate, this may soon be viable and affordable at scale.

Yaghi has founded a company called Atoco, which is developing a new kind of Atmospheric Water Generator. This generator is the size of a 20 foot shipping container and uses reticular materials—ultra-porous structures that act like high-tech sponges—to capture invisible moisture from the air and release it as clean water. Powered by sunlight alone, these generators could produce up to 1,000 liters of fresh water a day, even in areas impacted by drought or natural disaster – and Atoco is also developing a form of carbon capture using the same materials.

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Affordable, scalable water generators could prove invaluable in a warming world. A U.N. report published in January minced no words about the precarious position billions find themselves in when it comes to water: “The planet has entered the Global Water Bankruptcy era,” the report stated plainly. “Nearly three-quarters of the world’s population lives in countries classified as water-insecure or critically water insecure. Around 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, 3.5 billion lack safely managed sanitation, and about 4 billion experience severe water scarcity for at least one month a year.” For reference, that number represents half the people on the planet.

Yaghi understands the stakes himself acutely: born in Jordan to Palestinian refugees, he grew up in a home that lacked both running water and electricity. “I remember the whisper through our neighbourhood, ‘the water is coming’, and the urgency as I rushed to fill every container I could find before the flow stopped,” he said in his Nobel prize speech.

He added, “On climate, the hour for collective action has already arrived. The science is here. What we need now is courage—courage scaled to the enormity of the task—so we may gift the next generation not only carbon capture, but a planet worthy of their hopes.” I couldn’t agree more.

Around the world, climate change is affecting people’s mental health. A 2021 global survey published in The Lancet Planetary Health found that 75% of young people describe the future as “frightening,” and 45% say climate concerns negatively affect their daily lives.

In some places, the impacts are already immediate. A 2025 study found that climate change is harming the mental health of young people in southern Madagascar, where chronic climate stress, including crop losses, drought, and economic hardship, affects everyday life. As one child told researchers, “I have no idea what I can do to be happy,” while another said simply, “Life is a misery.”

“Young people in southern Madagascar are the unwilling pioneers of the mental health impacts of climate change,” said the study’s lead author Dr. Kristin Hadfield of Trinity College Dublin. “Climate change is not just an environmental issue—it is a mental health issue as well. In higher-income countries, climate anxiety often focuses on future risks, but in Madagascar, young people are already living the reality.”

Now, a 2026 study suggests the United States will increasingly face similar challenges as temperatures rise. Researchers estimate that by the end of the century, acute heat exposure could lead adults in the U.S. to experience between 329 million and 1.4 billion additional days of self-reported anxiety and depression each year compared with today.

These extra days of anxiety and depression could cost the U.S. anywhere between $24 to $104 billion per year. And the heaviest burden is projected to fall on lower-income communities and regions such as Appalachia. (For a first-person perspective on how people in Appalachia are already being harmed by climate change, I strongly recommend following scientist and sustainability communicator , aka The Garbage Queen, on Instagram, TikTok, or here on Substack.)

Climate anxiety is a logical response to a real and growing threat. But there’s an antidote to anxiety and despair: agency! Find community, support solutions, and take action ourselves. That’s why this newsletter always includes good news, bad news, and either something we can do or something others have done that can inspire us to act.

Last month, three members of New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light completed a 320-mile, 25-day pilgrimage from the heart of New Mexico’s oil and gas territory in the Permian Basin to the State Capitol building in Santa Fe.

They arrived at the Capitol on the legislature’s Climate Action Day to stand in witness for meaningful climate action. “We have walked to express active hope in the family of humanity and pray for our elected leaders to have the political courage to meet the moment,” Desirée Bernard, the organization’s director, told Source NM.

As they walked, Bernard and her fellow pilgrims spoke to those they encountered about climate change. Bernard even asked people to write down their prayers and messages, sharing one anonymous letter she received from someone in Albuquerque when she reached the Capitol: ”Dear legislators, my hope for you is that you look into the faces of children, yours and others, and decide to leave them a future,” she read.

Why did they set out on this trek? “This pilgrimage is both confessional and prophetic—a call to act with courage, integrity, and love for our shared home. It is a journey of hope, learning, and community—witnessing that a more just and sustainable future is already taking root,” they wrote on the website. For more, see this series of blog posts they penned on their journey.

Compelled by their faith and a deep concern for our shared future, these modern pilgrims transformed their private concern into a visible, public witness you could see unfolding mile by mile. And they aren’t done yet! Later this month, they are hosting an immersive pilgrimage experience, starting in Carlsbad, NM. Learn more and register here; registration closes March 16th.

Thank you to Talking Climate reader Dana Loy for sending me this inspiring story!

READ: “Nature Report, Killed by Trump, Is Released Independently”

WATCH: My talk with Green is Health

Tues March 17 at 4:30pm CT - HMEI Taplin Environmental Lecture with High Meadows Environmental Institute - in person, free. Also recorded (I’ll share a link here when it’s available)

Weds March 18 at 5:30pm CT - Spencer Lecture at the University of Michigan - in person, free

International sports can produce a lot of emissions, and yet people involved in them often make excuses for climate inaction in sports. Pascal and Manuel interviewed 28 European elite athletes and sports federation employees to better understand why. They identified five main narratives: the people they interviewed would blame others, downplay the urgency of the problem, claim the system can’t change, focus only on the downsides of climate action, and/or simply say they didn’t have the resources to act. Sound familiar? I bet we’ve all heard those justifications!

The researchers conclude with recommendations for how to turn this tide, including encouraging narratives that highlight collective responsibility rather than personal solutions. And research from Planet Reimagined (founded by past Talking Climate guest editor, Adam Met) says fans will support this! In a 2025 survey of nearly 900 U.S. sports fans, 92% said they would not oppose their favorite teams or athletes using their platforms to call for climate action.

For more, I highly recommend giving Pascal and Manuel’s article a read yourself. Many scientific articles are behind journal paywalls, but this one is open access: which means the authors had to pay extra (yes, scientists have to pay journals to publish their papers) to make it open for everyone to read. Thank you, Manuel and Pascal!

Air quality in London, England, has always been a concern. In fact, the very first air quality legislation was enacted by King Edward I.

In 1307, he issued a royal proclamation stating that the burning of sea coal within the city limits was prohibited due to the “intolerable smell which diffuses itself throughout the neighboring places and the air is greatly infected, to the annoyance of the magnates, citizens and others there dwelling and to the injury of their bodily health.” The penalty? Hefty fines, destruction of furnaces, and even death!

Despite this early effort, London’s air quality remained at dangerous levels for many centuries. It began to decline at the turn of the 20th century, but it wasn’t until the Great Smog event, responsible for thousands of deaths, finally led to the Clean Air Act of 1956. Even still, the city’s air quality regularly exceeded legal limits, and researchers at King’s College London forecast that it would take 193 years to bring London’s air quality within legal limits… until recently. What changed?

In 2019, London Mayor Sadiq Khan introduced the Ultra Low Emissions Zone in central London, requiring non-compliant vehicles to pay a £12.50 daily fee to reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution and improve air quality. In 2023, he expanded the ULEZ to include all 32 London boroughs, making it the world’s largest clean air zone! Thanks to the ULEZ, London air complied with legal limits in 2025, a full 184 years earlier than forecast.

“Since the introduction of the ULEZ, nitrogen dioxide levels in central London have halved and millions of Londoners are breathing cleaner air,” Mayor Khan said. “It also supports a broader shift towards green and sustainable transport, with growing investment in active travel and zero-emission buses. Climate action in London is not just environmental. It’s a public health emergency and a social justice issue too.”

While London’s air quality still has room to improve, this system has been a great success. Air pollution causes an absolute myriad of health impacts including more than 8 million deaths worldwide each year; so this clean air zone is a huge win for one of the world’s biggest cities. For more, check out this short video from one of my favourite UK science communicators, Simon Clark.

If the planet’s warming, shouldn’t we see less snow? Shouldn’t we be getting a break from winter dangers such as avalanches and massive snowstorms? Unfortunately, depending on where we live, the answer can be no. In fact, in some places, climate change is increasing these risks.

It’s true that in a warmer world, more precipitation is falling as rain and less as snow, on average. The average snowline is moving upward and poleward. Glaciers are melting. Many mountain areas are experiencing both long-term declines in snow as well as increasing risk of snow droughts, particularly early in the season, and rain-on-snow events later in the season: the western U.S. this year, and the Alps three years ago.

In a warmer world, however, the atmosphere also holds more moisture. And this means that, when it’s below freezing, there can be more snow, not less. Here are three places that’s happening.

On the west coast of North America, atmospheric rivers stream in from the Pacific. When they hit the coastal mountains they rise, dumping massive amounts of precipitation. As climate changes and the ocean warms, these naturally-occurring features are strengthening and picking up more moisture than ever. This is a factor in why California’s Sierra Nevada mountains has seen extremely heavy snowfall events this year.

At elevations where temperatures remain below freezing, heavy snowfall can accumulate rapidly. This rapid loading of slopes increases avalanche risk, particularly when new snow overlies weaker layers: the exact conditions that led to the devastating avalanche that happened in the Sierra Nevada last month, the deadliest in modern California history.

In the Great Lakes region, downwind cities like Buffalo can get massive amounts of lake effect snow, when frigid air sweeps across lakes that are still relatively warm and ice-free. This creates powerful snow bands capable of dropping several inches or up to 10cm in a single hour. As lakes warm and ice cover decreases, the number of days when it’s still cold enough to snow but not cold enough for the lakes to freeze have been going up, increasing lake effect snow... for now.

Then, on the east coast of North America, there’s a particular type of winter storm that comes in from the ocean, known locally as a “nor’easter” (and a “bomb cyclone” elsewhere). The other week, Nor’easter Hernando dumped more than two feet of snow across parts of Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Here too, warmer ocean temperatures are strengthening these storms as well as increasing the amount of water vapour they can turn into record snowfall. My colleague Michael Mann has studied how climate change affects these storms, and explains the science here.

In short, climate change isn’t eliminating winter. In fact, in some places, it’s intensifying its most dangerous and damaging extremes.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by global warming, you’re truly not alone. Climate change is such a vast, global challenge that many people share the same sense of uncertainty—wanting to help, but unsure where to begin. That’s why I love sharing action items from this list of the six most impactful climate actions individuals can take.

Joining a climate action group is one of the most effective ways we can turn concern into impact, while simultaneously helping us feel more connected to others and aware of how many others care, too. Social science research consistently shows that collective action is one of the most effective ways individuals can help drive meaningful climate progress.

Don’t know where to start? On Bluesky I’ve created a starter pack of national and global climate action organizations, and a second starter pack featuring the local (city + country) chapters. I also have a list of organizations on my website by category, including groups for parents, grandparents and young people; nature-lovers, athletes, artists, and people of faith.

So this week, your to do is this: find a group and join it! Sign up for their email list, follow them on social media, and find out if they have events online or in your area that you can attend. Then tell someone you’ve joined a climate group and encourage them to do the same! It’s hard to go it alone; only together is it possible to truly build collective strength and drive the systemic change we need.

Mon March 9 from 4-6pm ET - Your Career in Climate with Catherine McKenna the Lawson Climate Institute at University of Toronto - in person, registration required, free. Also recorded (I’ll share a link here when it’s available)

Tues March 17 at 4:30pm CT - HMEI Taplin Environmental Lecture with High Meadows Environmental Institute - in person, free. Also recorded (I’ll share a link here when it’s available)

Weds March 18 at 5:30pm CT - Spencer Lecture at the University of Michigan - in person, free