Summer Positive Climate Stories

With autumn starting to set in, we take a trip back through the best climate positive stories this (more or less) sunny summer had to offer.

Politics

Labour government off to a green start

July kicked off with Labour’s election to government, followed by a quick succession of positively green moves. The Conservative government’s de facto ban on onshore wind facilities was immediately lifted, a promising sign given our burning need for more renewable energy.

Hot on this decision’s heals, the government opted not to defend itself against two legal challenges concerning a Cumbria coalmine that it admitted had been unlawfully approved. Just last week, the government announced it wouldn’t oppose the challenge to permit the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields. Renewables 1 : fossil fuels 0.

This government is clearly prepped to invest more than its predecessor in the green transition. The National Wealth Fund is also angled towards the green economy and the much-anticipated Great British Energy will accelerate investment in renewables. An auction this week released £1.5bn in funds for renewables development.

But it’s not all pretty. The government permitted the expansion of London City Airport despite the Climate Change Committee’s report saying any net airport expansion would jeopardise the UK’s climate targets. With Gatwick and Heathrow also hoping to expand, this is a sign that Labour might acquiesce to airport demands at the expense of the country’s green trajectory.

Methane in the crosshairs

On the European side, the EU launched its first crackdown on methane. The new legislation limits direct methane emissions from oil, gas, coal, and biomethane once injected into the gas network, including local producers and exporters to Europe. As ever, the results depend on implementation, and with the law coming into effect in 2025 it remains to be seen whether member states will adequately enforce compliance.

Legal

EU Taxonomy

This summer marked a milestone for Opportunity Green as we launched our first court filing! In a coalition along with five other NGOs, we’re suing the European Commission for its decision to include highly polluting ships and planes in the EU Taxonomy.

The Taxonomy should be the gold standard for informing sustainable and ethical investment. Instead, including unsustainable activities risks directing funds earmarked for green projects towards fossil fuels. Since the complaint we levelled against the Commission in January was dismissed, we’re now suing. Our own filing came just after the announcement of another challenge from Climate Action Network and the Global Legal Action Network saying that the bloc’s 2030 emissions targets are unlawfully unambitious. The EU has a lot to answer for!

Legal win for indigenous community

An indigenous community in Colombia has won a case to annul a controversial carbon credit agreement at the Colombian Constitutional Court. Carbon credits are sold to offset carbon emissions by financing environmental projects that would reduce carbon emissions in other areas. US airline Delta purchased $3.8m worth of such credits to preserve a section of rainforest from deforestation. Lacking the consent of local communities, the agreement has been found to violate indigenous rights to territorial autonomy and self-government.

Nature

Welsh rainforests

There’s nothing surprising about a rainforest in Colombia – but in Wales? There could be soon, as a new rewilding initiative led by the Wildlife Trust of South West Wales promises to bring back to life an old Celtic rainforest in Pembrokeshire. The project’s expected to restore the Gwaun Valley nature to how it looked even in the Neolithic period, with huge benefits for wildlife and biodiversity.

This is just the latest in a number of UK nature restoration projects. Indeed, another rainforest in Devon is on the mend, and the Climate Change Committee 2024 report to Parliament emphasised the importance of tree planting and peatland restoration for the achievement of the country’s climate goals. Given the UK is lagging behind other rich countries in nature restoration endeavours, let’s hope the new government heeds this advice.

Sponge cities

Somewhere at the intersection of urban planning, climate change adaptation and ecology lies the innovative idea of sponge cities. The scheme aims to let nature run wild and organically play its role in flood prevention. Injecting cities with natural areas of porous earth absorbs excessive rainwater, while the foliage that blooms also limits the rapid spread of floodwaters.

Photos of sponge cities might seem like sci-fi but it already exist in over 70 cities in China, where the concentration of urban spaces on the coast makes flooding a major concern. Architect Kongjian Yu and his firm Turenscape have been trailblazers on this novel form of green infrastructure, and have completed 1,000 of the 10,000 global plans for sponge implementation they have.

Technology

Hydrogen powered ships

A Norwegian company has put in an order for the world’s largest hydrogen-powered ships to run along the country’s longest ferry route. With capacity of up to 120 cars and 599 passengers, the vessels measure 117m each. On the other side of the globe, San Francisco saw its own ferry launched that also runs entirely on hydrogen fuel cells. Given a series of signs of uncertainty around the green hydrogen market in recent months, steps forward like these are crucial for sending the demand signals investors need to have confidence in funding green hydrogen development.

ZeroAvia flies ahead

Looking now from the seas to the skies, SASHA Coalition member ZeroAvia announced the fantastic news that Japanese trading house Itochu would invest in its development of hydrogen-electric planes. On the other side of the business, ZeroAvia and another SASHA member Ecojet signed an agreement that the latter would purchase 22 hydrogen-electric engines. Edinburgh-based Ecojet owned by green industrialist Dale Vince is on the path to become the first electric commercial airline operator.

Renewables on the up

Recent Bloomberg analysis showed that renewable energy contributed to 40% of global electricity in 2023, an amazing result of increased investment in the green economy. Nevertheless, we’re still not on track to reach our targets, with Bloomberg suggesting investments would have to increase 1.6 times 2023 levels by 2030 to set us on the right course. 2023 shows us that our efforts yield results – but we still need to up the ante.

What positive climate stories have lifted your spirits this summer? Share it with us on X or LinkedIn and we’ll help to spread the word.