We’re in a severe situation with climate change, but for those looking for glimmers of hope, 2025 offered some welcome positive developments. Our climate reporters have identified several encouraging stories from the past year that underscore progress, innovation, and a growing potential for a cleaner future. These bright spots, while not erasing the urgency of the climate crisis, provide tangible evidence that solutions are emerging and being implemented at an accelerating pace.

China’s Flattening Emissions: A Decoupling of Growth and Pollution

One of the most significant and heartening signs of global climate progress in 2025 emerged from China. The world’s second-largest economy and historically its largest emitter of carbon dioxide has achieved a remarkable feat: keeping its CO2 emissions flat for the past eighteen months. This achievement, detailed in an analysis by Carbon Brief, is particularly noteworthy because it’s occurring not during an economic downturn, but while China’s economy is projected to grow by approximately 5% this year and electricity demand continues its upward trajectory.

Historically, periods of flat or declining emissions in China have been linked to economic contractions, such as the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the current situation marks a paradigm shift. China has now deployed such an immense scale of solar and wind power capacity, coupled with a rapid expansion of electric vehicle adoption, that its economic expansion is no longer intrinsically tied to increased carbon emissions. This phenomenon, known as decoupling, signifies a fundamental change in the relationship between economic development and environmental impact.

The sheer scale of China’s clean energy deployment in 2025 is staggering. In the first nine months of the year alone, the nation installed an astonishing 240 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity and 61 GW of wind power. To put this into perspective, the 240 GW of solar capacity is nearly equivalent to the total solar power installed in the United States up to that point in the year, representing a massive leap forward in a remarkably short timeframe. While it is premature to definitively declare that China’s emissions have peaked, the country has formally stated its intention to reach that milestone before 2030.

It is crucial to acknowledge that despite this significant progress, China’s current trajectory is still not fast enough to meet the ambitious temperature targets set by international agreements aimed at limiting global warming. Indeed, very few nations are currently on such a path. Nevertheless, China’s dual role as the world’s leading producer of clean energy technologies and its success in curbing emissions growth provides a compelling model for industrialized economies. It demonstrates that economic prosperity can be pursued without a commensurate increase in atmospheric pollution, setting a promising precedent for accelerated climate action in the years to come. This decoupling of economic growth from emissions is a critical turning point, offering a blueprint for other nations grappling with similar challenges.

Batteries on the Grid: A Surge in Storage Capacity

The rapid expansion of battery storage for grid applications in 2025 has been nothing short of transformative. These large-scale battery arrays are proving indispensable, capable of absorbing excess electricity generated from intermittent renewable sources like solar power when prices are low, and then discharging that stored energy back to the grid during peak demand periods. This capability is crucial for ensuring grid stability and reliability as renewable energy penetration increases.

The contrast with the recent past is striking. In 2015, the entire US battery storage industry had installed a mere fraction of a gigawatt of capacity. At that time, a seemingly ambitious target was set to reach 35 GW by 2035. In 2025, this goal was not only met but surpassed a full decade ahead of schedule, with the sector subsequently reaching 40 GW just a couple of months later. This exponential growth underscores the rapid maturation and widespread adoption of grid-scale battery technology.

Further fueling this momentum is the continued decline in battery costs. This year saw battery prices for both electric vehicles and stationary storage systems reach new record lows, according to data from BloombergNEF. Battery packs specifically designed for grid storage experienced an even more dramatic price reduction, falling by an impressive 45% compared to the previous year. This cost-effectiveness makes battery storage an increasingly attractive and viable solution for grid operators worldwide.

The real-world impact of this surge in battery capacity is becoming increasingly evident. In states like California and Texas, which have faced significant challenges in meeting energy demand, batteries are already playing a vital role. They are effectively managing evening peak demand, thereby reducing the reliance on and operation of natural gas power plants. The result is a cleaner, more resilient, and more stable electricity grid, demonstrating the practical benefits of widespread battery deployment. This technology is no longer a futuristic concept but a present-day solution contributing to a more sustainable energy landscape.

AI’s Energy Funding Influx: Catalyzing Next-Generation Technologies

The burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, while presenting complex challenges for the energy sector, is also acting as a significant catalyst for renewed investment and interest in next-generation energy technologies. As extensively covered this year, the rapid growth of AI is driving a substantial increase in electricity demand. Utilities reported a 22% jump in power supplied to US data centers in 2025 alone, with projections indicating this demand will more than double by 2030.

This increased demand, particularly from energy-intensive data centers powering AI, poses a significant challenge to existing energy infrastructure. In the short term, a considerable portion of this power is likely to be sourced from fossil fuels, including the construction of new natural gas power plants. However, major technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Meta, driven by their ambitious goals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, are actively seeking cleaner and more sustainable energy alternatives.

This pursuit is translating into significant financial commitments and innovative partnerships. Meta, for instance, announced a deal in June with XGS Energy to procure up to 150 megawatts (MW) of electricity from a geothermal power plant. In October, Google reached an agreement that will facilitate the reopening of the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Iowa, a previously shuttered nuclear power plant.

Geothermal and nuclear power hold particular promise as essential components of the future grid. Unlike intermittent renewable sources like wind and solar, these technologies can provide a consistent and reliable baseload power supply. While many of the advanced versions of these technologies are still in development and face long implementation timelines, the substantial influx of capital and the keen interest from powerful industry players can significantly accelerate their progress. This AI-driven investment is injecting much-needed resources and attention into the development of dispatchable, low-carbon energy sources that are crucial for a decarbonized future. The potential for these technologies to contribute to grid stability and emissions reduction is immense, and the current investment climate is fostering their advancement.

Good News, Bad News: Progress Made, But the Pace Needs to Accelerate

The most compelling evidence of collective climate progress to date lies in the fact that the most catastrophic scenarios once feared by scientists a decade ago have largely been averted. According to Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific initiative that monitors national policy progress toward Paris Agreement goals, the world is now on track for approximately 2.6 degrees Celsius of warming above preindustrial levels by the end of the century.

While this figure represents a significant departure from the desired 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius targets and is still alarmingly high, it is a full degree Celsius lower than the 3.6 degrees Celsius warming trajectory the planet was on just prior to the signing of the Paris Agreement nearly a decade ago. This substantial reduction in projected warming is a direct result of concerted global efforts. Nations enacted emissions mandates, provided crucial subsidies, and significantly ramped up investment in research and development. Simultaneously, the private sector responded by massively scaling up the production of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles.

However, the optimistic narrative is tempered by a sobering reality: the pace of progress has stalled. Climate Action Tracker’s latest analysis reveals that global warming projections have remained stubbornly fixed for the past four years. This stagnation is attributed to a widespread failure among nations to implement the additional, bolder actions required to further bend the emissions curve towards the 2 degrees Celsius goal.

Despite this plateau, the fact that a full degree of projected warming has been avoided is a powerful and demonstrable testament to humanity’s capacity to unite in the face of a global threat and tackle an exceptionally difficult problem. More importantly, this progress signifies that the foundational technical infrastructure for a society that can largely operate without continuously spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has been laid. The innovations and deployments of the past decade have created the building blocks for a sustainable future.

The hope is that as clean technology continues its rapid evolution and the impacts of climate change become even more acutely felt, the world will rediscover the collective will to accelerate its efforts. The groundwork has been laid, and the potential for transformative change is evident. The challenge now is to translate this potential into the urgent and decisive action required to secure a habitable planet for future generations. The lessons learned and the technologies developed in recent years provide a solid foundation upon which to build, but the urgency of the climate crisis demands a renewed and intensified commitment from all sectors of society.