Edition 09: March 24, 2025
Between the Supreme Court rejecting a fossil fuel-backed lawsuit and solar expected to grow significantly this year, there is room for cautious optimism when it comes to climate action.
Supreme Court Rejects Case That Would’ve Blocked Fossil Fuel Litigation
Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against the fossil fuel industry for their contributions to the climate crisis by local and state governments in the United States. Most of these lawsuits aim to force the industry to help pay for climate damages, and the industry is doing everything they can to stop these cases from going to trial. That’s because they know at least one outcome will hold them accountable, and then there will be a legal precedent for other governments to do the same. One of their most recent attempts included getting nineteen Republican attorneys general to sue Democratic-led states for filing these fossil fuel accountability lawsuits. They argued that states do not have the authority to regulate emissions and that the outcome of the climate lawsuits would drive up energy costs for the rest of the country — and so therefore the cases should be thrown out. However, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case on the basis that there was no evidence to suggest these climate lawsuits should not proceed in state courts. Now these cases are expected to proceed — some as soon as this year.
Source: Mark Sherman writes for the Associated Press
Rooftop Solar Could Supply 2/3 of Global Electricity Demand
According to a study recently published in Nature Climate Change, rooftop solar has the potential to supply up to 65% of the world’s electricity demand. The researchers used a combination of geographic information systems and artificial intelligence to calculate how many roofs around the world are suitable for rooftop solar installations, and they found that rooftop solar could generate up to 19,500 TWh of electricity per year. The study concluded that East Asia has the greatest potential to reduce air pollution by scaling up rooftop solar, but North America and Europe have the largest installation potential because of the number of buildings on the continents. Despite Africa having the best overall solar potential, it currently has the least rooftop solar potential, however, the study authors argued that it could — and should — change with more international funding and partnerships. This just goes to show that we can significantly scale up clean energy without having to rely on developing arable or undisturbed land.
Source: Patrick Jowett writes for PV Magazine
Nearly Half of New Buses in The European Union Last Year Were Zero Emission
49% of new city buses purchased in the European Union last year were zero emission models in a win for both public health and climate. Finland, Iceland, and the Netherlands lead the pack with 100% of their new buses being battery electric. Zero emission models in Slovakia, Hungary, and Lithuania, on the other hand, accounted for less than 5% of new buses last year. However, that is expected to change soon because government incentives and rapid deployment are helping drive the cost of them down. This is happening because member nations are actually living up to their European Green Deal commitments. In fact, Europe is transitioning to zero emission buses quicker than is required — so much so that all new city buses are expected to be low emission by 2027. How refreshing is it to see countries go above and beyond on climate action?
Source: Max Molliere writes for Transport & Environment
New Study Reiterates Effectiveness of Biochar Carbon Sequestration
When biomass — such as trees — are heated up without fully burning it, it turns into a substance that is almost pure carbon known as biochar. Indigenous communities in the Amazon have been adding biochar to poor soil in order to improve its water retention and fertility for millenia, and you can still find the dark, fertile soil known as “terra preta” that develops as a result throughout South America. Scientists have long-known that adding biochar to soil is a form of carbon sequestration, but there’s been quite a bit of debate about how long that carbon can be stored for in the biochar. One recent study has suggested that biochar can sequester carbon for up to a thousand years under the right conditions by using Amazonian “terra preta” as evidence. Further studies will need to be conducted in order to investigate this claim, but either way, we know that biochar is an effective way to improve soil nutrients while sequestering carbon. It’s almost like Indigenous traditional knowledge is traditional for a reason — because it works!
Source: Matt Simon writes for Grist
Farmers in Vermont Are Turning To Urine for Fertilizer
Sometimes climate solutions aren’t pretty, and this is one of them. Urine has been used as a fertilizer for thousands of years because it contains nitrogen and phosphorus, but it’s decreased in popularity over the past century due the invention of synthetic fertilizers. These synthetic fertilizers unfortunately require immense amounts of fossil fuels to produce, degrade soil quality over time, and are quite expensive for farmers because the more you use them — the more of them you need. That’s why a non-profit in Vermont started a unique recycling program a little over a decade ago in order to help local farmers reduce their dependence on synthetic fertilizers. It’s called the Urine Nutrient Reclamation Program, and around 250 residents donate around 12,000 gallons of their own urine on an annual basis. How, you are inevitably asking? Through either a specialized toilet or what’s essentially a giant pee bucket. These pee donations are then pasteurized before it is applied on fields by participating farms, and it is carefully timed in order to avoid runoff into local waterways. This “peecycling” program has been so successful that neither the non-profit nor the farmers that use the urine have plans to stop anytime soon.
Source: Becca Warner writes for the BBC
Montreal Sees Success with Car Free Streets
In order to effectively reduce transportation emissions, the world must reduce its dependency on cars. North America has notoriously struggled with this due to post-World War II planning practices that prioritized vehicle traffic over pedestrians and cyclists, but one city is taking steps to address this. Starting at the beginning of the pandemic, Montreal closed one of their major downtown commercial streets to car traffic during the summer. It was such a success that the city did it again the next summer, and then after that they expanded the open streets program to include nine streets. Closing these streets to car traffic has reduced air and noise pollution, increased foot traffic for businesses, and improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists alike. Now the city is seeing if closing streets to car traffic during the winter will have the same impact; they just finished a short trial where three streets were closed for 10 days, and the city enticed people to visit through an ice rink, live music, and public art displays. It wouldn’t surprise me if Montreal brings back winter street closures next year considering they have committed to continuing the summer street closures for at least the next three years.
Source: Jack Wilson writes for The Montreal Gazette
World Expected To Add Up To 700 GW of New Solar This Year
According to a report recently published by Bloomberg’s clean energy research arm, the world is projected to build around 698 GW of solar capacity by the end of the year. This is a 39% increase compared to 2024 — and a 57% increase compared to 2023. A combination of government incentives, companies following through with their climate commitments, and the rapidly declining cost of solar has made this potential growth possible. China, Germany, and India are expected to be the main drivers of solar growth this year. The United States was supposed to account for quite a bit of this growth, but this report was written before the Trump administration enacted tariffs and illegally froze Inflation Reduction Act funds. Despite that, the American solar industry is cautiously optimistic that they will still see growth in rooftop solar and private solar farms.
Source: Emiliano Bellini writes for PV Magazine
Low Emission Zone in London Reducing Air Pollution Across City
Quite a bit of urban air pollution can be tied directly to diesel and gasoline vehicle exhaust, and that is why London enacted the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) back in 2019. It required any vehicle that did not meet emission standards to pay a fee whenever driving in the city center — regardless of the time of day unlike other low emission zones. It was expanded in 2021 and then again in 2023, and now it covers all 580 square miles of Greater London. The government offered grants and incentives to help non-compliant vehicle owners retrofit or replace their vehicle with something lower emission, and now 99.7% of vehicles that drive within the ULEZ are compliant. This has so far led to a 27% decrease in nitrogen dioxide levels, and air quality as a whole is increasing quicker in London than the rest of England. But London isn’t stopping there — they are also phasing out internal combustion engine buses and offering more public transit discount programs. This will only continue to improve public health, help the local economy, and reduce emissions.