r/climatechange

This graphic shows how solar beat the IEA’s 2015 forecast for 2025 by 1,800%.

Back then, the IEA expected the world to add about 34 GW of solar each year through to 2040. In 2025, the world added almost 650 GW.

As for solar generation, that reached almost 2,800 TWh in 2025, about as much electricity as the EU consumes in a year. That helped clean power meet all new electricity demand growth globally and nudged fossil generation into decline.

The story implicit in this graphic is that #solar behaves more like semiconductors than fossil fuels. As manufacturing scales, costs fall. Every doubling of global cumulative solar capacity has historically reduced costs by about 20%.

It also explores the 'killer app' of the transition: solar + batteries. As Ember puts it, 'the accelerating build-out of solar power is increasingly taking place alongside battery storage deployment, enabling the next paradigm shift – from daytime solar to anytime solar..'

Full infographic and write-up: https://www.climatetrunk.com/infographics/the-sun-has-won

To put this in perspective: China alone installed 415 GW of solar in 2025. That single country's solar installations in one year exceeded the entire cumulative capacity of every operational nuclear reactor on Earth combined (~376 GW).

One thing I can’t stop thinking about lately is whether we’re underestimating how unusual the current Pacific conditions actually are.

I just finished The Pacific Is Wrong and the author’s main point is basically that the developing 2026–2027 El Niño, as the news suggest, may be landing in an ocean state we don’t really have historical analogues for.

What really got to me was the discussion of how El Niño events have historically been tied to cascading droughts, crop failures, famines, wildfire conditions, and major disruptions across multiple regions at once. The book even references the late-19th-century El Niño-linked famines that contributed to tens of millions of deaths globally.

Not trying to be dramatic, but it genuinely left me wondering whether current forecasts are still treating these systems as more stable and predictable than they actually are.

r/climatechange

Despite more coal power stations being built, actual global coal use fell 0.6% in 2025.

Meet the new stealth Dust Bowl: Blowing dust causes $154 billion in losses in the US alone each year, spreading disease and wrecking property. That toll, as bad as the worst hurricane seasons, will keep rising as the planet heats.

Australia installs 400,000 home batteries in 10 months for 11.2 GWh

Scientists improve knowledge on sea level rise—and confirm it has been accelerating since 1960

France’s reactors are now bending for European solar: Between 2019 and 2025, the average swing between midday and evening nuclear output across the April to September window grew from 582 MW to 4,426 MW. Import hours no longer signal scarcity at home but rather cheap renewable surplus abroad.

Extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the United States. The biggest danger zones are where risk is high and concern is low. Many rural, older, and higher-poverty counties face serious heat risk with little public awareness—undermining preparedness and adaptation

Countries are “back on track” to adopt a net-zero framework for curbing global shipping emissions, following the latest International Maritime Organization’s meeting in London, UK. With negotiations ongoing and support growing, they will try to adopt it at the December 2026 meeting.

Solar beat the IEA’s 2015 forecast for 2025 by 1,800%.

Study finds massive solar farms on agricultural land do not push up food prices

A Green Mineral Could Help Oceans Absorb Carbon And Its First Beach Test Looks Promising: The first ocean olivine trial looked safe after one year, but questions remain.

Close to 30% of cars sold this year are set to be electric as countries and consumers respond to energy crisis - News - IEA

Prescribed Burns and Forest Thinning Averted Millions of Tons of Emissions and Billions in Damages

FACT FOCUS: Trump distorts recent revisions of scientific projections of global warming

Air conditioning will become 'unavoidable' in parts of England as summer heat becomes unbearable, says Climate Change Committee

New York City plans to achieve 30% tree canopy by 2040 through protection, preservation, and planting of more trees. It will cool neighborhoods, help manage stormwater, improve air quality, reduce GHGs emissions, increase habitat for wildlife, and enhance the health and quality of life for all.

Nio's EV battery-swapping isn't just a gimmick: The Chinese EV maker has handled over 100 million swaps since 2018, a few minutes per swap, up to 1 million swaps and GWh of energy per week. Nio is working with Chinese battery giant CATL on battery-swapping standards.

Research suggests hope may inspire better climate solutions than fear

Do we actually know for sure that a super el Nino will act the same way that other super el Ninos have acted in the past.

What if current El Niño models no longer fit current ocean conditions?

California startup opens DC fast charging station powered entirely by 1,080 solar panels (640 kW). Located on I-15, the off-grid station has 4 CCS1 ports sharing 360 kW, with 6 NACS soon to be added; a 3.6 MWh battery pack keeps the lights on around the clock. More stations are in the works.