Here Come the Wildfires!
April, 2026
Dear Friends,
Here come the wildfires. They are popping up in all sorts of unusual places and spreading toxic smoke for hundreds, if not thousands, of miles. And if they feel like they are “bigger and badder” than in the past, they are: NASA confirms that our fires are burning larger, hotter, and longer than in past decades.
The fires in Georgia and Florida in April were a special delivery from our overheated climate. Hot, windy days, drought conditions, and an excess of dry, fallen trees from recent hurricanes created the perfect fire conditions. And while we don’t hear about them as much, the wildland fires in the Arctic are even more concerning. They are very big – much larger than the state of California – and are burning down top layers of permafrost and exposing methane-rich lower layers to the atmosphere, locking in more climate change.
Wildfires are a tough challenge. Forest management and prescribed burns can help lower their intensity, but the scale of the problem is overwhelming as “fire conditions” become more common across the country. The amount of smoke we are exposed to is increasing – research shows Americans are breathing in four times more smoke since 2020 than a decade ago. That smoke is extremely toxic: it contains small particulate matter that can pass through our lungs into our bloodstreams, causing inflammation, heart attacks, strokes, lung disease, and even cancer.
The frustrating part? We have the tools in hand to stem the damage to our climate and save more of the world for future generations.
Many Americans understand climate change is happening, but too few believe it will impact them personally. Maybe as climate impacts grow and our insurance rates soar, our food becomes more expensive, and our home values teeter, we will begin to care more. Maybe it will take a wall of flame or a blanket of choking smoke for some to truly understand that the threat is real, and it’s coming. But I sure hope not. The sooner we act, the safer we will be.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Biggins
Founder and President
Notable Quote
“You actually cannot stop a lot of these really large intense wildfires. They’re simply too big.” — Liz Henderson of Swiss Re, the world’s largest reinsurance company
News of Concern
At the same time that our land is heating up, climbing global temperatures are wreaking havoc in our oceans. Right now, the Pacific is experiencing an intense heat wave that has implications not just for marine life, but life on land as well. Warmer oceans contribute to hotter, longer heat waves (like we experienced in March) and supercharged rainfall. Pair this with the strong El Niño that is predicted for this summer, and we could be in store for some dangerous weather ahead.
As we worry about coming weather woes, we were also concerned by many headlines this month:
- After an extremely dry and hot winter across the U.S., a wide range of crops and cattle are in a precarious state – and it’s likely to hit both our farmers and our grocery budgets hard. Beef prices are already 14% higher than winter a year ago, and are projected to go up another 10% by year’s end.
- Climate change is making our lives less affordable, from health costs to home-related costs, a new study shows. The big picture? It’s cheaper to pay for climate action than to pay for climate damages.
- Support for developing fossil fuels over renewables has doubled among Republicans over the last six years, reaching 71% and widening the partisan spread.
- Senate Republicans introduced a bill to provide immunity to fossil fuel companies from laws or lawsuits that hold them accountable for climate damages. This push comes as major fuel companies face a growing wave of lawsuits from cities, states, and individuals.
- After courts ruled past actions to curtail renewable growth were illegal, the administration expanded a new strategy: paying companies (using taxpayer dollars) to halt offshore wind projects and invest in fossil fuels instead.
- The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an ocean current that is a critical part of our global weather systems, is weakening faster than predicted. It could collapse within 150 years, bringing significantly harsher winters to Europe (think -4°F in London) and dramatically increasing sea level rise along the Northeast coast of the United States. This is an excellent explanation of how AMOC works, why it’s changing, and what the impacts will be.
News of Hope
We achieved a major milestone in the energy transition: the world produced more electricity from renewables than from coal last year. Coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, had been the primary fuel for global electricity since the Industrial Revolution. Another milestone? Wind and solar grew so much, they began to displace fossil fuels within the electricity sector for the first time. Even in China and India, two of the world’s top emitters, coal use dropped and solar soared last year. In contrast, U.S. coal use increased 13%.
And while the war in Iran has plunged the world into an oil crisis, there’s a silver lining – globally, rising gas prices are prompting increased consumer interest in electric vehicles. Last year, EVs around the world displaced 1.8 million barrels of oil demand a day (equal to 13% of all U.S. oil output) and the IEA predicts these vehicles will displace more than 5 million barrels of oil a day by 2030.
In other optimistic news about EVs this month:
- Used EV sales just jumped 12% versus a year ago as Americans responded to war-fueled gas prices. And while our charging network still isn’t fully up to speed, experts expect infrastructure to expand this year.
- Coming soon: EVs that can go nearly 1,000 miles on a charge! As battery technology improves by leaps and bounds, these cars are becoming superior to gas guzzlers in every way.
- Rivian is thinking outside the box for its EV production facilities. The company is using its own old vehicle batteries to power its Illinois factory – now that’s reduce, reuse, recycle!
Representatives from nearly 60 nations met in April for the world’s first global conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels. (The U.S., China, and India were not invited.) This conference was in direct response to oil-, gas-, and coal-producing countries, which have continued to block agreements on fossil fuels at the annual United Nations climate talks, known as COP. While no enforceable outcomes were adopted this year, organizers hope this will set the tone for COP 2026 and add momentum to global decarbonization.
To end on a feel-good note: reforestation and rewilding in tropical land seems able to occur much faster than scientists once believed – in a matter of decades rather than centuries. Healthy forests are so important to moderating our climate and sequestering carbon, so this news indeed brings us much hope.
Notable Graph
As U.S. average gas prices hit an all-time high as we wrote this newsletter, these EV charging prices are looking pretty good. As we said above, the fast pace at which EVs are becoming cheaper and more reliable means it’s only a matter of time until many more of us are able to benefit from being part of this growing fleet.
Notable Video
Solar is the fastest-growing electricity source in history – and global solar power generation grew by a whopping 30% in 2025. China remains the driving force behind this surge, with India quickly picking up the pace. These two nations – fossil fuel heavyweights – are leading our transition.
Interview with WJCT’s First Coast Connect, Jacksonville
Taking action on climate change is about saving the things that sustain our way of life and protect the future for our loved ones.
That’s at the heart of C-Change Founder and President Kathleen Biggins’ radio interview on WJCT public radio in Jacksonville, FL. She discussed the intersection of faith and climate with Rev. Mark Anderson of St. John’s Cathedral on “First Coast Connect” while she was in town for a series of C-Change presentations.
Volunteering is Good for the Climate and You
MARCH 2026
By Karen Dougherty
The climate is changing before our eyes, and the B-Change blog is here to share ways we can all be part of the solution. Past topics have highlighted changes we can make on our own, but today the focus is on amplifying our individual efforts.
How? In a word: volunteer. You may be thinking that, between work and family commitments, you can’t squeeze in one more thing. If this is you, I’ve been in your shoes. But in reality, committing as little as one hour a month can make an impact. Or maybe you just don’t know where to start. Whether you enjoy interacting with others or prefer sitting at home on your computer, there is a volunteer role for you.
You may have noticed we focus a lot on “win-win” situations here at B-Change. In other words, nearly all of the possible actions to help address climate change also make our lives better. Volunteering is no exception. Many of us feel overwhelmed and frightened by climate change. There is plenty of evidence that action is the antidote to anxiety, so getting involved can help us feel better. Simply interacting with other like-minded people can make us feel understood – and more hopeful about the future.
National Groups
Wondering where to start? There are countless national and local organizations working on this problem from every possible angle. We’ll highlight a few reputable national ones, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. A quick search can uncover even more possibilities.
What they do:
Influence climate policy through nonpartisan advocacy
Organize time-efficient activities to make an immediate impact
How you can help:
Attend a virtual “Hour of Action”
Follow a weekly “Action Plan”
What they do:
Facilitate grassroots efforts that focus on climate policy
Train volunteers to lobby Congress and build political support
How you can help:
Join a local chapter
Participate in advocacy activities like meeting with lawmakers and writing letters
What they do:
Engage conservative/right-leaning audiences on climate change, focusing on market-based solutions
Build bipartisan support for climate action
How you can help:
Sign up to participate in outreach within conservative communities
Work on advocacy efforts with Republican policymakers
What they do:
Focus on community-based climate action and education
Coordinate hands-on actions and local sustainability projects
How you can help:
Join local workshops or initiatives like environmental cleanups
Explore the “Action Carousel,” which offers quick action suggestions
Sign up for an “Action of the Day” email
Surprise! How could I not include this one on the list? After all, I believe in it enough to volunteer time here myself.
What they do:
Provide nonpartisan, science-based climate change education and communication, with an emphasis on building consensus across the political spectrum
Conduct live presentations explaining climate science and impact
How you can help:
Attend, promote, or help host a presentation with a groupor club in your community
Follow and share their materials
Local Groups
If you prefer to get involved where you live, try searching for groups in your community. Some national organizations have local chapters, and there are also many locally-based organizations looking for help. Here’s an example: I’m passionate about reducing food waste, and keeping food out of landfills happens to be an impactful climate solution. I found a local organization called Feeding Charlotte. They rescue prepared food from commercial kitchens that would otherwise be wasted and deliver it to nonprofits. This helps fight climate change while also feeding hungry neighbors. It also makes me feel like I’m making a tangible difference. A true win-win.
Do you have a specific passion or interest? If so, take a look to see if there’s a connection to a climate organization. If you’re not currently active in one, why not give it a try? As the saying goes, you don’t have to do everything … just don’t do nothing.
In addition to volunteering for C-Change, Karen blogs about climate change at unheating.com.
What’s Making our Weather so Fickle and Dangerous?
March 2026
Dear Friends,
March is famous for coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb, but this year, it seems we got the whole menagerie. On the heels of a winter of extremes that wreaked havoc on economies all across the country, March was in a category by itself, with a heatwave of such intensity, severity, and geographical reach that more than 1,500 daily heat records were shattered. Some meteorologists went so far as to say it was without precedent.
What’s making our weather so fickle and dangerous?
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) 2025 State of the Global Climate gives a clear clue to what is going on:
Humans are throwing the Earth’s energy balance out of whack.
In the past, much more of the energy coming from the sun and hitting the Earth’s surface bounced back out to space. But now that humans have added many more greenhouse gases to our atmosphere through activities like burning fossil fuels, more energy is trapped by our atmosphere and less rebounds out to space. This excess energy is stored as heat in our oceans, atmosphere, and land, creating dangerous weather patterns like more extreme drought, wildfires, rainstorms, hailstorms, and hurricanes.
The amount of excess heat the Earth absorbed last year is absolutely mind-bending. Our oceans do the heavy lifting, absorbing about 90% of that excess. Experts have tried to help us understand the vast quantities of energy involved by contrasting the energy absorbed by our oceans with the energy created when the Hiroshima nuclear bomb exploded. Professor John Abraham of the University of Minnesota notes that the amount of energy the ocean absorbed in 2025 alone is about the same as the energy from 12 Hiroshima bombs exploding every second, or the equivalent energy of 365 million bombs exploding every year.
And as this overabundance of greenhouse gases hurtles us rapidly toward a 2°C (3.6°F) temperature increase, we know the impacts of this increasing energy imbalance will only get more dangerous.
So, what do we do?
Wean off fossil fuels as fast as is feasible. Invest in new technologies and processes that can power our economy more safely, or that can absorb and lock away some of this excess energy. Support scientific inquiry. Break the old energy paradigm and create something new.
Fortunately, we’re already doing that. The transition is happening all around the world. It’s just not happening fast enough. And that is going to hurt us.
It is no longer just about doing the “right thing” for the planet. As March’s wacky weather clearly shows, it is now about doing the right thing for our own safety and financial security. So, let’s shake off our torpor and get cracking. We all need to speed up this transition to put the world back in better balance.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Biggins
Founder and President
Notable Quote
“The State of the Global Climate is in a state of emergency. Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red. Humanity has just endured the 11 hottest years on record. When history repeats itself 11 times, it is no longer a coincidence. It is a call to act.”
– UN Secretary-General António Guterres, WMO 2025 State of the Global Climate report
News of Concern
It may be near impossible to wrap our minds around the sheer quantity of heat we’re absorbing, but this fact is plain as day: in the past 10 years, our planet has warmed faster than in any decade on record. And we’re feeling that heat – the number of hours when it’s too hot outside for even the healthiest of us to do simple activities (walking the dog, for example) has doubled since 1950.
In other news this month, we were concerned to learn:
- In March, wildfires tore through Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming – unexpected areas for such blazes. Experts fear this heralds an “expanding frontier” for fire risk – with more communities in harm’s way – as well as a ferocious season this year.
- The conflict in the Middle East is driving emissions up in the short term, as countries have burned off (or flared) higher volumes of natural gas as infrastructure is shut down or damaged. At the same time, many countries have turned back toward coal as imported natural gas costs soar. But there is hope that in the longer term, this conflict will speed adoption of clean energy, as more countries begin to view energy sovereignty – the ability to create energy in one’s own country – as the key to energy security.
- Insurance premiums continue to ratchet up at a pace faster than inflation or incomes – and it’s hitting Americans no matter where we live, even if it’s not in a place prone to hurricanes, wildfires, or other extreme weather events. Our insurance system wasn’t designed to handle the extreme costs of climate change, so expect a lot of disruption (and continued price jumps) ahead.
- Higher levels of carbon dioxide in the air from climate change are impacting our blood chemistry. Humans evolved when atmospheric CO2 levels were around 300 parts per million (ppm). Now levels are over 420 ppm. Breathing in those higher levels is making our bodies more acidic, and experts aren’t sure how future generations will fare.
- After the courts overturned the Trump administration’s efforts to shut down offshore wind projects, the administration launched a new strategy – paying developers to abandon offshore wind leases and invest in oil and gas instead. The recent $1B payout to French energy giant TotalEnergies led it to abandon wind farm leases that could have powered more than a million homes in New York and North Carolina.
News of Hope
We talk a lot about how China’s energy transition has left the U.S. in the dirt. But we have a major win to report – the U.S. now has the capacity to produce enough batteries to meet 100% of the surging energy storage demand on our grid. It’s been called “one of the fastest industrial scale-ups in recent American history,” and illustrates the power of our domestic manufacturing when it has strong policy support. Batteries are critically important for a wide range of grid services, from meeting AI electricity demand peaks to expanding renewable energy use.
Derek Otway/Unsplash
We have an unexpected ally in fighting climate change – a new study shows that beavers are creating mighty carbon sinks when they dam up springs. Thanks to conservation efforts, beavers are flourishing across Europe, and their activity is creating healthy wetlands that absorb and lock away emissions.
More optimistic news this month:
- With weather growing wilder and weirder, we’re thankful that FEMA is back in action to help our communities become more resilient and prepare for nature’s new “normal.”
- About a million New York City households will benefit from clean power when a massive hydropower line spanning from Quebec to Queens comes online. This will be the longest buried transmission line in North America and is considered an engineering feat.
- As the globe reels from the conflict in the Middle East, countries that are already transitioning to clean energy are coping better with the blow. From Germany to Nigeria to Pakistan, booms in solar and other renewables are buffering economies from some of the sting of price increases and volatility in supply chains.
- Excitement around new forms of geothermal energy, which can provide 24/7 clean electricity and heat, continues to build, with the U.S. Department of Energy saying geothermal could potentially provide close to 9% of all our power by 2050 – up from only .2% today. This is one of the few clean technologies that garners bipartisan support – and it offers an almost seamless transition for oil and gas workers as their skills mesh with the needs of this growing field.
C-Change has been breaking the silence around climate change for more than 10 years – and this year, Hollywood is, too. Almost a third of the 2026 Oscar-nominated films mentioned climate change. Turning a spotlight on the issue by including it in modern culture can help more people recognize the problem, understand the risks, and (we hope) start talking louder about the need for climate action.
Notable Graph
As March rushed in with its wacky weather, spring sprung up earlier than ever. According to Climate Central, spring leaves are emerging six days earlier in 88% of U.S. cities. And while these signs of spring do bring joy, they also bring longer pollen periods, disrupted animal migratory patterns, and concerns for our crops.
Notable Video
In this PBS report, Climate Central’s Bernadette Woods Placky explains why the March heat dome was so remarkable. She breaks down the ramifications of those high temperatures, from the effect on our summer water supply to our increased wildfire risk and more.
Caring About Our Planet is an Act of Stewardship and Faith
Caring About Our Planet is an Act of
Stewardship and Faith
By Don Gordon
I started C3 six years ago after the birth of my first grandson because I was concerned about what scientists were saying regarding the trajectory of a warming planet and its threat to all creation. Scientists warned that unchecked fossil fuel emissions could destabilize human civilization by the end of this century. A strong scientific consensus emerged that if global temperatures rise 2°C above pre-industrial levels, cascading effects could follow — rising seas, extreme weather, desertification, species extinction, and mass migration.
Today, with six grandkids now running around Raleigh, NC, I must update my concerns. I am no longer thinking about threats at the end of the century, but in the middle of it. Global temperatures temporarily exceeded 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in 2024 — earlier than many scientists predicted. I once worried about the world my grandchildren would face in their 70s and 80s. Now I worry about the world they will inherit in their 30s.
As a grandfather, I care deeply about my grandchildren’s futures. As a Christian, I also care deeply about how climate change impacts all of humanity – and about humanity’s role as steward of the earth.
Scientists and journalists are describing current federal policies as contributing to “climate acceleration.” While 2024 was the hottest year on record, 2025 may be remembered as one of the most consequential environmental policy years in modern history. President Trump recently signed executive orders promoting coal production and directing federal spending to extend the life of coal-fired power plants.
After years of gradual emissions decline since 2007, early 2025 data show U.S. emissions rising approximately 1.9%, with increased coal generation playing a significant role. Perhaps the most consequential action came when the Environmental Protection Agency revoked the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which had established that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. That finding formed the legal foundation for regulating emissions from vehicles and power plants. The administration argues deregulation could save $1.3 trillion. However, those projections do not include the mounting costs of extreme weather, public health burdens, infrastructure damage, or climate-driven migration.
There is some good news that offers some hope. Economic trends are also telling an important story about the future of energy. Over the past decade, the cost of solar and wind has dropped dramatically – perhaps as much as 90% – making these renewables some of the most affordable sources of electricity in many regions. At the same time, many households are experiencing rising electricity bills as aging infrastructure, extreme weather events, and increased demand strain energy systems. These trends are accelerating the transition toward cleaner energy not only for environmental reasons but also for economic ones. As markets, utilities, and governments respond to these pressures, the global energy landscape is beginning to shift in ways that were difficult to imagine just a generation ago.
Here is the bottom line: current federal policies are increasing fossil fuel production while weakening environmental safeguards and disaster preparedness. As climate pressures intensify, safety nets for vulnerable communities are being reduced.
For Christians, creation care is not a partisan issue – it is a matter of stewardship and faithfulness. From the opening chapters of Genesis, humanity is entrusted with the care of God’s creation. We are called to “till and keep” the garden, acting as stewards of a world that ultimately belongs to God. Creation care is therefore not optional for followers of Christ; it is part of our discipleship. When the earth that God declared “very good” is degraded, polluted, or destabilized, faithful stewardship calls us to respond.
Climate change also raises profound questions about how we love our neighbors. The people who contribute the least to global greenhouse gas emissions are often those who suffer the most from droughts, floods, extreme heat, and food insecurity. Around the
world – and even within our own communities – the poor, the elderly, children, and those living in vulnerable regions bear the greatest burdens from a warming climate. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus taught the way to love God is to love our neighbor, especially our vulnerable, wounded neighbors. By caring for creation and addressing climate change in a thoughtful way, we are helping our neighbors around the world, and those yet to be born, have a greater chance to flourish in God’s world. We are fulfilling the law of God.
Don Gordon is the founder and CEO of C3 – Christians Caring for Creation, a nonprofit founded in 2020 to mobilize Christians to respond faithfully to the climate crisis. Don earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia Theological Seminary, has authored three books, and currently serves as Interim Senior Pastor at St. John’s Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC. Inspired by watching a Primer presentation, Don joined C-Change’s outreach efforts and now shares our materials with C3 subscribers.
Kathleen Biggins on HerStory Circle Podcast: When a Storm Shatters Certainty
How One Woman Changed 23,000 Minds About Climate Change
Let’s Stop Calling Climate a Green Risk
January 2026
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the great era of “green hushing.” It’s a mind-bending moment in the U.S. when climate change increasingly imperils our economy and well-being, but policymakers, scientists, businesses, teachers, reporters, federal agencies, and even park rangers are not supposed to talk about it.
The Trump administration’s animus toward “all things green” – including the scientific inquiry that enables us to measure climate change and understand its scale and scope – is working to silence climate discussion and stop critical innovation that could mitigate the threat. Banks have retreated from climate-forward lending, companies no longer speak much about their decarbonization goals, clean-energy projects that promised high-paying jobs and lower energy costs are being canceled, and the U.S. is dropping out of more than 60 international organizations involved with biodiversity, conservation, and climate change. Even the Democratic party has muted its climate messaging, recognizing its longer-term focus isn’t resonating in today’s “hair on fire” political environment.
But, unfortunately, simply “canceling” climate change won’t make it go away.
Two reports issued in January underscore how climate change’s impacts on temperatures and ecosystems are threatening our economic and geopolitical security.
In the first, the United Nations declared that the world is now in “water bankruptcy,” and water systems have been so compromised we cannot reverse the damage. Water systems are being stressed both by climate change – which alters rain patterns, concentrates water pollution, and leads to more frequent and severe droughts – and excessive uptake from aquifers, lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. Concerningly, already three-quarters of humanity live in water-stressed environments, and the challenge will only get greater as temperatures continue to rise. Water stress has been linked to the current unrest in Iran and to the Syrian civil war, and military leaders around the world warn that water scarcity and stress can be weaponized and can lead to increased global instability.
The second report, issued by UK’s Joint Intelligence Committee and based on information from MI5 and MI6, recognizes impending ecosystem collapse as a direct threat to national security. Climate change is turning rainforests into savannahs, coral reefs into lifeless skeletons, boreal forests into wildfire tinder, and is permanently melting critical mountain glaciers. Britain’s security forces predict these ecosystem losses across the world will drive up food insecurity, increase migration, change global weather patterns, and increase the risks of pandemics. These same threats, of course, are true for us on this side of the Atlantic (and climate threats have been named as such in our own intelligence assessments from 2009 until last year).
These security warnings are crystal clear: large-scale disruption of our natural world directly destabilizes our human world.
So, let’s stop calling climate a green risk. Let’s recognize it for what it really is – an economic risk, a health risk, and a security risk.
And let’s start talking loudly about it.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Biggins
Founder and President
Notable Quote
“Enough critical systems around the world have crossed these [water bankruptcy] thresholds. These systems are interconnected through trade, migration, climate feedbacks, and geopolitical dependencies, so the global risk landscape is now fundamentally altered.”
– Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment, and Health
News of Concern
After years of declining emissions, U.S. carbon pollution increased 2.4% last year, in part due to increased coal usage. Experts believe federal policies set into place in 2025 to boost fossil fuels and curtail clean energy will add to emission pressure in the future.
This push to suppress clean energy is a bigger deal than many realize. It’s not just emissions that are rising – electricity demand and prices are skyrocketing, too. Clean energy can come online in a year or two, while fossil fuel plants and nuclear plants usually take five to 10 (or more) years, respectively. So it is concerning that at a time when we need more supply immediately, almost 2,000 new power projects were canceled last year, with the vast majority (93%) of them in clean-energy generation.
The Trump administration also announced it is shutting down one of the crown jewels of climate research – the National Center for Atmospheric Research. This lab is critically important for predicting, preparing for, and responding to severe weather. The administration’s dismantling of climate institutions and initiatives is so widespread across weather tracking and preparedness, investments in clean technologies, and federal agencies that many say it will take generations to repair.
As warming air and oceans cause Greenland’s ice to melt, access to shipping lanes is expanding and long-buried, important minerals are becoming accessible. But as nations battle over who will control that power and those dollars, we are concerned that the world will lose sight of just how important this island is to our climate and the health of our planet.
One reason researching climate is so critical? To keep our homes safer from more frequent climate-enhanced natural disasters. Whether it’s bigger hailstones, faster-moving fires, or more intense hurricanes, our primary investments – our homes – are increasingly at peril. We can prepare ourselves better for the future if we understand the risks. Real estate buyers can now access climate risk information on every listing. However, this new input is roiling real estate markets because it can harm a seller’s ability to sell a home if climate metrics are poor. It’s another example of the pain ahead as we reckon with the reality of climate change, and begin to price it into our systems.
Another reckoning ahead is with our growing plastic addiction. A new report projects plastic pollution is on track to grow by an astounding 58% by 2040: if global plastic pollution were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter. Plastic is a double whammy of climate woes – made from petroleum and produced with petroleum. It’s already clogging our waters and harming our bodies, and similarly to climate change, policymakers are struggling to deal with the problem.
And if you’re reading this while drinking a cup of coffee, we’ve learned that our beloved joe may taste very different in the near future. As climate change damages coffee forests, Brazilian farmers are moving away from smooth arabica beans to more bitter robusta beans, which are more heat and disease resistant.
Finally, it’s when the impacts of climate change hit home that we really begin to understand the threat. This poignant story of a Christmas village in Washington State shows just how fragile we are. Besieged by fire, storms, and power outages, this small mountain town that relies on tourism is scrambling to pick up the pieces from a holiday season that wasn’t. It’s a heartbreaker.
News of Hope
While clean-energy development is hitting headwinds in the U.S., it’s soaring globally. Some important milestones achieved in 2025:
The world produced more electricity from renewable sources than from coal.
The EU produced more electricity from wind and solar than all fossil fuels combined.
In both China and India, the world’s largest and third-largest greenhouse gas emitters respectively, coal-powered electricity generation dropped due to the rapid growth of renewables.More than 25% of all new cars purchased were electric, and sales are rising rapidly because they are now cheaper than combustion engine cars in emerging markets.
The global renewables boom is pushing investment in the cleantech sector to new heights. And it’s happening in places you might not expect. Saudi Arabia is deploying solar energy at the fastest rate in the world, on pace to generate 50% of its electricity with clean power within five years.
In the U.S., batteries are growing at astounding rates. This is a game-changer. During sunny and windy periods, we often produce an excess of cheap, clean energy and have to throw it away. With batteries, we can save that extra energy and use it at peak times after the sun has set, displacing more expensive and emission-intensive fossil fuels.
The renewables and batteries we’ve added are also making our grids more reliable – including helping us meet climate-enhanced winter storm challenges. Experts especially noted that Texas’s grid – with its expanded use of batteries and weatherization of fossil resources – bore the strain of the monster January storm that swept the country, in contrast to a 2021 storm when that grid was more heavily dependent on fossil fuels resources.
The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast corridors received good news this month on resiliency as well. Judges allowed offshore wind development to get back on track at several projects that had been stopped mid-stream last year. Offshore wind peaks in winter, which should help strengthen the grid in future winter storms, and it also can lower our costs during cold weather when our higher-priced natural gas supply is stretched due to heating and electricity demands.
In North Carolina, small mountain towns that were battered by hurricanes in 2024 are not just adapting their infrastructure, they’re re-envisioning their resilience, building microgrids, adding batteries, and thinking of new ways to stay safe from the next storm.
And in the southernmost part of the world, glaciologists are re-envisioning our future by protecting our ability to look to the past. Glaciologists fear ice cores – one of our most important lenses into the Earth’s history – will melt away. So they are building an ice storage vault in Antarctica to enable future scientists to study the ice. It’s an important reminder of how quickly nature is changing around us, and of our need to protect critical resources.
Notable Graph
Science magazine named the renewable energy surge as its “2025 Breakthrough of the Year.” This chart shows the astounding growth of installed capacity that has been driven by falling prices of solar and other renewable sources.
Notable Video
Ice, snow, polar vortex – they’re all connected to climate change, and they merged Jan. 23-25 to sweep the country in a major winter storm. This Climate Central video provides a terrific explanation of how warming global temperatures impact cold weather events.
C-Change Conversations helps people understand the science and risks of climate change and why it matters in daily life.
We frame climate change as a human and community issue – not a political one – and discuss its impacts on our jobs and economy, our health and safety, and our geopolitical stability, as well as the solutions that offer us a safer future.
C-Change seeks to bring everyone to the table for shared understanding about climate change. You can be a part of the conversation by sharing this newsletter with family, friends, and colleagues and by inviting us to talk to your community.