Since we began compiling this digest of local and statewide climate news in Georgia, we’ve both weathered storms and basked in the glow of progress. Cleantech has given us high hopes through high-paying jobs and economic growth across our state. At the same time, we’ve been deeply concerned about how climate change is affecting our ability to stay safe and thrive.
We all agree that we need reliable, affordable energy, but our economic future also depends on a stable climate. We need to be clear-eyed about the risks if we want our wonderful Peach State to thrive. As a group of citizens concerned about the economic, health, and national security impacts of climate change, we hope to build consensus across the political spectrum about the urgent need to address it. We welcome your support and ideas. Please reach out to us!
Sincerely, The C-Change Conversations Athens Team
Georgia News of Hope
Atlanta-based railroad company Norfolk Southern has introduced RailGreen, theworld’s first freight rail “carbon insetting” service, enabling customers to purchase biofuels to reduce supply chain emissions. This initiative allows customers to pay slightly more for shipping to ensure more biofuels (from vegetable oil, for example) or zero-emissions fuels are used by the trains, which could help companies meet their own sustainability and emissions goals. It’s an innovative approach in the rail sector that mirrors successful programs in maritime and truck shipping.
Solar farms are becoming more common in Georgia, and they are boosting local economies in some of the poorest counties. One innovative company,Silicon Ranch,is reaping the benefits of producing solar energy while still using the land to raise sheep. This is part of a trend called “agrivoltaics,” which keeps the land in food production while providing substantial amounts of energy. This innovative approach uses regenerative farming so it is good for the land and good for our state’s economy. Silicon Ranch has created more than 6,500 jobs, invested more than $4 billion in the state, and will generate $250 million in tax revenue.
Newfast-charging EV chargersare coming to Brookhaven at no upfront cost to the city. Sona Energy Solutions will own and operate the chargers, with the city receiving 10% of the net revenue as well as a discount for charging municipal vehicles.
Georgia News of Concern
Georgia’s recent legislative session ended with little progress on climate and environmental protections. Despite significant bipartisan support, two bills to restrict mining that would harm ecologically sensitive areas of the Okefenokee Swamp (amajor carbon sink) stalled for the fourth year, leaving the fate of a proposed titanium mine in the hands of state regulators.
A recent investigation shows how Georgia Power’s own planslimit growth of renewable energyin our state. By removing incentives to expand or keep the net-metering solar program that encouraged rooftop solar, the utility and the Public Service Commission (PSC) that regulates it have failed to help Georgians capitalize on an abundant, cheap source of clean energy. As a result, Georgia ranks 43rd in the nation for rooftop solar.
Improving efficiency and adding more rooftop solar could save ratepayers $300-$400 per solar home in Georgia. Georgia Power’s load factor is well below the national average, which means less energy efficiency and higher costs for consumers – the cost of electricity has jumped by more than $44 per month since 2023.
As Georgia continues to recover from Hurricane Helene’s devastation, experts warn that recent budget cuts and staff reductions at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which houses the National Weather Service,could weaken hurricane forecastingaccuracy ahead of the summer storm season. Meteorologists say deteriorating monitoring systems—including satellites, flood gauges, and weather stations—will also make forecasting storms more difficult. Emergency managers also face frozen federal disaster grants, which will likely complicate recovery and preparedness efforts.
A prominent Georgia-based environmental philanthropy, the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, has announced itwill wind downoperations by 2030 after distributing its remaining funds to climate and sustainability initiatives. Since 2012, the foundation has granted more than $36 million to projects like The Ray, an 18-mile stretch of I-85 that has served as a laboratory for renewable energy, biodiversity, and traffic safety solutions research. Carpet company mogul Ray Anderson’s story was documented in the film“Beyond Zero,”which provides a roadmap for business leaders who want to reverse climate change.
Ways to Act
A Yale study recently found that68% of Georgians want a clean energy transition(two points higher than the national average). It’s important for us to participate in the regulatory process in order to make that transition happen. Here are some ways we can do that:
Providepublic commenton Georgia Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource plan, which outlines how the utility intends to meet surging energy demand in the state. You can find more informationhereandhere.
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration has taken a wrecking ball to cleantech and climate action, even to the point of stopping new, shovel-ready, clean-energy projects, shutting down weather forecasting that millions use to stay safe, and dismissing the experts who compile the Congressionally-mandated “National Climate Assessment,” which is used by states and companies to help prepare for climate-related disasters.
The cost has already been substantial – over $8B in clean energy projects have been cancelled – and the chaotic policy swings have frozen many cleantech manufacturers’ process of reshoring jobs in the United States.
The administration claims this approach will tamp down on climate anxiety and provide energy “security.” But how can an energy system be considered secure when it causes greater insecurity across our economy and our lives as climate change impacts our infrastructure, health, and insurance costs, and makes it much harder to grow enough food, have clean water, and work or recreate safely outside?
Energy “security” means updating and upgrading our current system so it can meet today’s and tomorrow’s energy needs – safely, affordably, and reliably. It means using fossil fuels when we must, but pushing forward cleaner alternatives when we can.
And to reach energy security we should be investing more, because the real excitement (and hope) lies in what is coming – the innovation already in the works and just being dreamed of. Whether it’s ways to harness solar power, methods to capture carbon, or sensors that enable farmers to better forecast long-term weather patterns and risks, we need to create new tools to help us succeed in this different, more dangerous world.
Investment in cleantech makes economic sense, moral sense, and – because most clean-energy projects are in conservative areas and drive energy costs down – political sense.
Why are we going backward?
Notable Quote
“What we’re saying is, ‘Don’t just put a partisan hat on.’ Let’s put a ‘What-is-best-for-the-country’ hat on.”
– Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah), signer of a letter to the Senate majority leader asking for protection of some clean-energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act
News of Concern
Nearly half of Americans live with dangerous levels of air pollution.Source: Leo Visions/Unsplash
At a time when carbon dioxide levels are jumping off the charts, and when we are experiencing weather-related disasters every four days, our scientific institutions that monitor and study the climate are being shut down and muzzled. States and NGOs are fighting back with legal challenges but in the meantime we’re left with a vacuum of information and guidance.
Following up on campaign pledges, President Trump is moving so briskly and forcefully to dismantle climate action and to bolster support for fossil fuels in this country, it’s hard to keep track. Of all of his executive orders since taking office, a fifth, or 20, have been in the environmental area.
Some of the President’s most recent steps:
Bolstered coal production by exempting a third of coal-fired capacity from the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule. Energy from coal is almost double the cost as that from renewable sources and burning coal is highly polluting.
Sped up environmental reviews that generally take 12 months to just 14 days for oil, gas, and mining projects. Importantly, these sped-up reviews do not extend to renewable projects.
Announced plans to fast track permits for mining, drilling, and fossil fuel production on public lands
Moved to block states from implementing policies that reduce fossil fuel use and mitigate climate impacts
All of this is counterproductive because most of the energy ready to be deployed most quickly and cheaply onto the grid is in renewable energy and battery projects. And while the administration pays lip service to supporting fossil fuels on one hand, its trade policies have set off dizzying market losses for oil and gas companies, putting drilling plans on hold. In fact, the oil and gas industry’s drop in market value has been the largest decline of any sector, and gas prices have increased since President Trump took office.
In another area where things are not as straightforward as expected, action to curb air pollution is exacerbating climate change. More specifically, China’s efforts to clean up its air pollution have taken reflective particulates – which help reflect solar energy back into space – out of the air. This has sped up anticipated temperature increases since 2010. It’s a poignant reminder of how complicated our climate system is and how important research and scientific investigation is to understand it.
Recent reports about our air and soil have left us feeling rather breathless. The sky above us is too dirty and the ground below us is too dry. About half of Americans are living with dangerous air quality year round, increasing our risks of asthma attacks, higher blood pressure, cardiac disease, lung cancer, and premature death. And across the globe, the decrease of moisture in our soil may indicate an “irreversible shift” in our water supply that will make droughts more severe and more frequent, devastating food production and forcing millions of people to migrate away from arid regions.
The longer we wait to take action, the greater the cost and pain will be – for our economy, our health, and our planet.
News of Hope
The IRA was designed to benefit millions of Americans. Source: Yale Climate Connections
As Congress wrestles with the impending budget bill, what will win out when it comes to clean energy – economic sense or partisan brinkmanship? There’s growing pushback from Republican leaders who want to preserve IRA tax credits and project funding. Four U.S. Republican senators recently urged their GOP peers to consider the economic benefits of building out and utilizing clean energy in their districts. About 73% of IRA investments were allocated to states that voted for President Trump – and, as the chart above shows, the payoff will be galaxies beyond “just” lowering our carbon emissions.
While we wait to see how that plays out, we were heartened when a federal judge ordered the immediate reinstatement of frozen funding for both the IRA and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Now, here’s some undeniably hopeful news – we passed some big clean energy milestones recently. These are:
We also received good news in our transportation sector – the sector where the U.S. emits its largest portion of greenhouse gases. Electric vehicle sales accelerated in the first quarter of 2025, with almost 300,000 sold – 11% more than in the first quarter of 2024. And globally, EV sales were up 29% in March. Impending tariffs may play a role as the year goes on, but these numbers are clear evidence that more and more drivers are happy with EV technology – and that’s only going to improve as new battery designs drive costs down.
And as always, there were announcements of some very cool innovations. One really piqued our interest: Researchers at Cornell University are working on a solar “morphing skin” that would wrap around large buildings. Not only would these skins have the potential to generate 10-40% more energy than solar panels, they would be more eye-pleasing and could reduce the need for vast swaths of land for arrays.
From sun-drenched fields in Indiana to windswept plains in Missouri, solar and wind can be so important to a community. We loved these tales of evangelical groups embracing solar as a “mandate” to protect nature and of a funeral director who helped rescue his town through the power of wind. Stories like these remind us that we’re far from alone in caring for the future of our families and neighbors – they give us hope to weather the storm.
Notable Graphic
Because renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuels in many parts of the country, congressional cuts to the Inflation Reduction Act could significantly increase energy bills for households and businesses across the country. This chart shows the states that are projected to be the most affected by rate hikes.
Notable Video
Climate change is causing shifts in weather that we’re just beginning to understand. AccuWeather took a look at two recent reports: aNational Geographicinvestigationon how tornadoes might be affected and aNew York Timesstoryabout how increasingly rapid temperature swings affect us.
