When the first National Climate Assessment was published by the US government in 2000, it predicted a dire future: an estimated 7.2 to 9 degree F increase in global temperatures by the end of the century. Today those estimates indicate a 4.8 degree F increase.
And that number continues to go down, maybe not as quickly as we would like or in time to prevent dramatic shifts in climate, but it is progress. And as new technologies become cheaper, more efficient, and more widely adopted, our chances of making significant headway toward combating climate change only grow.
The reasons behind our progress on climate action are numerous. Below are a few exciting examples.
1. Carbon farming
Carbon farming is an agricultural practice that takes carbon from the atmosphere and retains it in soil and plant material. By using soil additives like compost and other practices like growing cover crops, farmers can be a part of the solution for mitigating climate change.
California is adopting these practices to help achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045. The state estimates that over 25 million metric tons of carbon can be sequestered annually on its farmlands by 2045, the equivalent greenhouse impact of taking 5,375,000 cars off the roads each year.
That is a lot of carbon storage, and it’s only one US state–farms around the world are adopting similar practices.
These types of agricultural changes could help reduce the amount of CO2 already trapped in our atmosphere. There are many other advancements meant to limit how much we release moving forward.
2. Green energy is cheaper
The world is making a significant shift toward greener forms of energy production, partly due to their decreasing costs. Once prohibitively expensive, today solar and wind power are the cheapest forms of electricity on earth, significantly less expensive than that from gas, coal, and oil.
Nations around the world are racing to build a cleaner, cheaper, and more sustainable energy infrastructure. For example China, known for its heavy use of coal, built 59% of the world’s new renewable power in 2023.
And the more ubiquitous green technologies are, the more their costs will continue to plummet, making greener energy options the more economically sound choice.
3. More electric vehicles
Electric vehicles are flooding the market and becoming increasingly popular. The World Energy Outlook for 2023 estimates that there will be 10 times more electric vehicles on roads by 2030.
That many more electric vehicles combined with the shift to greener energy sources, has the International Energy Agency predicting that oil and gas demand will peak by 2030 and then begin to taper off.
4. Wave power
Waves contain tremendous energy: the US Energy Information Administration estimates that the coastal waves of the US could produce as much as 2.64 trillion kilowatt hours of electricity. That’s 64% of the electricity consumed by the US in 2021.
Recent advancements in wave energy technology are making it more feasible. The Port of Los Angeles has begun a pilot program to generate wave energy with eight paddles about the size of a small car that sit on top of the water and move with the waves. These paddles are expected to create enough energy to power 80 homes.
About 60% of the world’s people live within 200 km (125 miles) of a coastline, meaning that this kind of technology has the potential to create energy where it’s needed for billions of people.
5. Greenhouse gas emissions are peaking
Not only is the global demand for oil and coal expected to soon peak, but our greenhouse gas emissions are expected to soon reach their highest level, in fact they may begin to taper off as early as 2025.
This year may be the last one where global greenhouse gas emissions are on the rise.
The World Energy Outlook has announced that–though stronger policies are needed to limit warming to the target of 1.5 degrees C (2.7 F)–today’s policies alone are making a significant impact on global CO2 emissions.
The combined efforts of individuals, organizations, and governments around the world are moving us, slowly but surely, toward a better climate future.
For another essay in this climate change series, check out “How To Talk To Climate Change Deniers About Climate Change.”