Despite intense political headwinds, 2025 delivered a series of meaningful environmental and climate achievements.

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	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more The Best Environmental News Stories of 2025 Despite intense political headwinds, 2025 delivered a series of meaningful environmental and climate achievements. Richard Matthews Jan 5   READ IN APP   2025 delivered a series of meaningful environmental and climate achievements, spanning wildlife recoveries, declining deforestation in key regions, rapid renewable energy expansion, and transformative advances in sustainability-focused technologies. At the same time, local climate initiatives and Indigenous leadership strengthened community-driven conservation and stewardship efforts. Despite intense political headwinds, global environmental agreements continued to move forward, underscoring the resilience of international cooperation in the face of mounting challenges. Listen as a Podcast Nature & Wildlife Conservation Nature-Based Solutions Nature-based solutions (NCS) are contributing to the revitalization of ecosystems, the rebounding of wildlife, and forest conservation. This includes efforts to protect, restore, or manage natural ecosystems in ways that address societal challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, while delivering benefits for both people and nature. In 2025, the United Kingdom began protecting native ecosystems by deploying biological control releases—including fungi—to combat invasive species threatening local biodiversity. At the University of Hawaii, fungi were shown to be able to digest ocean plastics. There were also advances in research that guide human stewardship of nature. Kelp forests in Portugal were proven to be major carbon sinks, and sea otters were confirmed as key drivers of kelp forest recovery. Research in 2025 continued to reveal the complex interconnectedness of wildlife and natural systems. One study showed how penguin guano helps seed cloud formation, aiding cooling near Antarctica. Sub-National Community Action In the United States, sub-national climate leadership continued to push forward despite political headwinds. The federal government’s strident opposition to climate action did not deter US states from enacting policies that reduce emissions. Many of these states strengthened utility regulations and green building codes. Cities around the world are acting locally. Municipal incentives in Oslo have succeeded in replacing polluting combustion engine vehicles with EVs. In 2025, EVs accounted for 95.8 percent of new car sales in Oslo, up from 13.6 percent a decade ago. To reduce waste, resources, and emissions, Lisbon launched Europe’s first citywide reusable cup scheme. The city of Breda in the Netherlands safeguarded wildlife habitat by becoming the EU’s first National Park City. To aid in pollination, Athens expanded urban rooftop beekeeping, and the Dutch helped thousands of fish migrate upstream. The Klamath River salmon returned to their spawning grounds in Oregon and Northern California following major dam removals Revival of Endangered Species In addition to fish in the Netherlands and the Pacific Northwest, other species also rebounded in 2025. The green sea turtle was removed from the endangered species list, and Florida recorded a record season for leatherback turtle nesting. India doubled its tiger population in just over a decade, and bearded vultures were reintroduced in Bulgaria. Mediterranean octopuses, grey seals, and puffins all saw significant population increases. Thousands of new species were discovered in 2025 including more than 800 marine species in the deep ocean. Forest Conservation Efforts Forest conservation is improving in a few important regions, including the Brazilian Amazon, where deforestation rates fell 11 percent compared to 2024, its lowest level in 11 years. A UN report found global deforestation rates have been cut in half since the 1990s. At COP30, Brazil launched a $125 billion forest protection investment fund, and an additional $2.5 billion was raised for a forest conservation initiative in Congo. Alternatives that help prevent deforestation were also developed, including lab-grown oils traditionally made from trees (cocoa butter, palm, and shea oils). Thanks for reading Change Oracle! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribed Green Tech Innovation There were gains in sustainability-focused technological innovations in 2025. China began integrating artificial intelligence into its green energy strategies to optimize renewable power and grid efficiency. In India, Andhra Pradesh implemented efficient technologies and behavioral engagement as part of a national model, which significantly reduced CO₂ emissions. Innovative battery technologies are also proliferating. The UK began construction of the world’s largest liquid-air battery facility, Swiss researchers created a 3D printed battery made of fungi that fully decomposes, and a waste-derived grid battery was developed in the US Waste from discarded smartphones was repurposed into “tiny data centres” for environmental monitoring. Scientists looking for new renewable energy sources demonstrated that electricity could be generated from falling raindrops. Other sustainability-focused technologies have advanced the circular economy, like using compostable seaweed-based packaging to replace 21 million plastic items in Europe. Renewable Energy Growth Declining costs have helped renewable energy to keep exceeding expectations. Clean energy generated more electricity than coal for the first time in 2025 due in large part to the fact that renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels. Solar is now the world’s least expensive power source, with costs down more than 99 percent since the 1970s. China is the world leader in solar and wind power, and this helped the country to reduce its CO₂ emissions for the first time in 2025. The Vatican signed a solar deal to become the world’s first carbon-neutral state. The EU generated over 54 percent of its electricity from renewables in Q2 2025, and the UK generated 42 percent of its electricity from wind. Poland produced more power from renewables than coal for the first time, and Finland’s coal phase-out is four years ahead of schedule. California significantly expanded its clean power infrastructure in 2025, with more than two-thirds of the state’s energy demand being met by renewables on many days. Nationally, renewable energy supplied more than half of U.S. electricity demand in March 2025. The surging deployment of renewable energy is a salient reason why growth is being decoupled from emissions for the first time. Share International Environmental Governance Multilateral Collaboration Despite the United States largely retreating from multilateralism, international cooperation—an essential pillar for addressing the many dimensions of the global polycrisis—continues to advance. The American administration did not prevent the new High Seas Treaty (HST) from being ratified in 2025. The treaty safeguards nearly one-third of international waters through a global network of marine protected areas, including the world’s largest, the newly created reserve in French Polynesia, which covers 1.1 million km² of ocean. Although the US was not a signatory, 60 nations approved the HST. COP30, the 2025 edition of the annual United Nations climate talks, also went ahead without US participation. Nonetheless, 194 countries were part of the consensus that adopted the COP30 outcome document, which formally recognized Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge. Delegates at the climate summit also agreed to funding pledges for Indigenous People and an initiative to secure Native land rights. At the UN COP16 biodiversity talks, Indigenous Peoples were granted permanent representation in global conservation governance. Also in 2025, Australia returned 2.2 million acres of land to Indigenous Peoples. Rule of Law The courts also pushed back against environmental destruction and political corruption in 2025, including setting landmark climate law precedents. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights recognized people’s right to a healthy climate, and the International Court of Justice ruled that states must prevent climate harm and may owe compensation if they fail to act. Courts in the Hague upheld the world’s first ban on fossil fuel advertising, and France banned advertising from ultra-fast fashion brands. Drilling in oil and gas fields in the North Sea was ruled illegal by Scottish and Norwegian courts. Brazilian courts helped to shut down plans to build the country’s largest coalmine and power plant. A German court set a potentially important precedent on polluters’ liability for their carbon emissions in a case against energy company RWE Apple, TotalEnergies JBS, and Tyson Foods were successfully sued for greenwashing. In a greenwashing lawsuit brought by parents, EnergyAustralia admitted that the carbon offsets it used were not backed by meaningful emissions reduction. Australia’s largest NSW coalmine expansion was annulled, and Kenya’s Lamu coal plant licence was permanently revoked. The courts have challenged environmental harm and increased climate ambitions. Hawaii committed to a legally binding roadmap to achieve zero-emissions transport by 2045, following a lawsuit by young people, and the UK government was forced to publish a tougher carbon reduction plan after its earlier strategy was ruled unlawful. Share Change Oracle Combatting Corruption Corruption was also in the legal spotlight in 2025, and this is an environmental issue because corruption undermines environmental protections and social development. It diverts resources, weakens regulatory enforcement, and enables short-term, exploitative practices that erode long-term economic, ecological, and community resilience. The justice systems in both Brazil and France stood up to corruption, even when it hailed from the highest heights of executive power. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy were tried and convicted and are currently in jail. The former was incarcerated for orchestrating a Trump-style insurrection designed to overturn election results, and the latter was jailed for accepting foreign money to finance his electoral campaign. Even though Trump has managed to avoid jail time for his numerous crimes, judges have ruled against many of his executive orders, and millions of Americans came together to call out his corruption during the “No Kings” protests. In 2025, American public opinion turned against Trump, making him the most consistently unpopular president in history. Resilience in Action: Progress Is Still Possible In 2025, renewable energy continued to surge, and some endangered species rebounded. We saw the recognition of Indigenous stewardship and advances in sustainable tech. There was also a groundswell of community-level environmental actions. Organizations, scientists, lawyers, communities, and concerned citizens came together in 2025 to contribute to projects that conserve, restore, study, and protect the natural world. Despite opposition from Washington, the High Seas Treaty was ratified, and COP30 proceeded. The courts acknowledged climate change and upheld the rule of law by holding accountable those at the apex of political power. US states resisted pressure from the federal government by enacting emission-lowering policies, and millions of Americans stood up to an increasingly authoritarian presidency. Taken together, the developments in 2025 show that even as climate impacts intensify, we are still seeing tangible environmental gains and a scalable blueprint for action. Coming soon: The Avalanche of Bad Environmental News in 2025: It’s Far Worse Than You Think Leave a comment Thanks for reading Change Oracle! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. 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