No one person can halt global climate progress

U.S. climate action falters, but the world marches on - and so can you

GOOD NEWS

You’ve probably heard that the sun doesn’t shine at night and the wind doesn’t always blow. Clean energy tech is well aware of this: and that’s why energy storage is one of the fastest-growing areas of innovation today.

I’ve written before about the variety of energy storage techniques being developed in Texas, from gravity-based systems to compressed air. Just the other week, I mentioned that Finland is home to the world’s largest sand battery and is constructing one of the largest underground heat storage facilities in the world.

These technologies are ideal for large-scale systems, but for smaller applications—like home energy storage units, electric vehicles, and laptops—lithium-ion batteries remain the go-to solution. That’s why it’s great news that the global price of lithium-ion batteries has dropped 20 percent, reaching a record low of $115 per kilowatt hour. There was also a 44 percent increase in the number of battery energy storage systems installed last year around the world, and 80 percent of that went into grid-scale storage systems that will ensure around-the-clock supply of energy to the grid.

This is just one example of how, regardless of what the Trump administration says, the world is accelerating towards a clean energy future. Last year, the E.U. got a full 11 percent of its power from solar energy, besting coal, and that percentage is only expected to grow in coming years. Also in 2024, investors across the globe spent almost twice as much money on green energy than on fossil fuel projects, with investments hitting $2 trillion, a new record.

”The world is undergoing an energy transition that is unstoppable,” says Simon Stiell, executive secretary of the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change. And if his title sounds familiar, it’s because that’s Christiana Figueres’ previous role! In her guest edition last fall, she agreed, saying that “Renewables aren’t only healthier, faster, cleaner and more abundant. They undercut fossil fuels where they are at their weakest: their rampant and unsolvable inefficiency. Politics will not be able to stand in the way of this technological transition.”

NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS

The new U.S. president issued a slew of executive orders targeting climate action efforts since his inauguration, rolling back many Biden-era programs with the stroke of a pen. One Executive Order pulls the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement again, although it will take a full year to legally go into effect. This means the U.S. will join Iran as the only two countries in the world not participating in this global treaty.

The U.S. already receives 10% of its electricity from wind, and U.S. wind energy production reached a record high in 2024. However, another sweeping Executive Order pauses new federal permits for both onshore and offshore wind farms. And yet another Executive Order reverses the Biden-era incentives for electric vehicles, stating that “the US will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity.” But last year, more than 50% of vehicles sold in China were EVs, compared to only 20% in the US. In Norway, the global leader, the EV share stands at 90%.

In his inaugural address, Trump doubled down on fossil fuels. “We will drill, baby, drill,” he said. “We have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have – the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth, and we are going to use it. We’re going to use it.” According to the BP Statistical Review, though, it's Venezuela that has the most oil reserves of any country; the US is number nine. Russia has the most natural gas, while the US is number five.

Trump also declared a “national energy emergency” and yet failed to mention solar and wind as domestic energy sources. “If there’s an energy emergency and we need energy, then you would want to [include] wind and solar energy--but he is clearly excluding expressly those,” said Michael Burger of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University. “It lays bare what’s really driving this, which is fossil fuel interest.”

If you want to learn more about these executive orders, I recommend this episode of The Daily. The Climate Backtracker, a project of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, is keeping tabs on all the things the new U.S. administration is doing to “scale back or wholly eliminate federal climate mitigation and adaptation measures.”

WHAT YOU CAN DO

It’s easy to feel discouraged when we see the impacts of climate change-fueled disasters like the LA wildfires juxtaposed against policy changes and setbacks we know will make the problem worse. In weeks like this, when the weight feels heavy, it’s more important than ever to remember that no one can tackle the climate crisis alone. Now, more than ever, we need each other. And when we work together, we can change the world.

History illustrates the power of the individual when we come together. As I wrote in this essay after the most recent IPCC report came out:

In a world that seems increasingly out of control, we are desperate for hope: real hope, a hope that acknowledges the full magnitude of the challenge we face and the very imminent risk of failure.

Where can we find such hope? We find it in action. The world has changed before and, when it did, it wasn’t because a president, a prime minister, a CEO or a celebrity decided it had to.

Change didn’t begin with the King of England deciding to end slavery or the President of the United States giving women the vote or the National Party of South Africa opting to end apartheid. It began when ordinary people – people of no particular power, wealth, or fame – decided that the world could and should be different.

Who were William Wilberforce, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and all the countless others who shared and supported and fought for their visions of a better world? They were people who had the courage of their convictions, who used their voices to advocate for the systemic societal changes needed.

We are the people who changed the world before: and we are the people who can change it again.

Change begins with individuals, but it thrives in communities. In the past, individuals have altered the course of history by coming together, and tackling climate change is no exception. That’s why it’s so important for each of us to find our people— to amplify our voices and experience the strength, comfort, and hope that comes from knowing we’re not in this alone.

What inspires you to care about climate change? Is it your children, your garden, the sport or place you love, your faith, or your community? Whatever your motivation, there’s a group out there for you—people who share your values and vision for a better future. From Science Moms to Third Act, EcoAthletes to GreenFaith , countless communities are already making a difference. I’ve compiled a list of climate action groups on my website. Check it out, and find the one that feels right for you.

As my book, Saving Us, concludes, “The first step across the abyss we all face together is to recognize we are not alone. Together, we are the answer to climate change; and building that bridge begins with a conversation, today.”

Wed Jan 29 at 6:30pm ET - Envisioning a Livable Future with Nancy Tuchman, Benjamin Sovacool, and John Carroll University - in person at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio, and free online, but registration is required.