Climate Currents Newsletter
1China’s annual fossil fuel power generation: A NEW KIND OF CLIMATE SUMMIT The first-ever international conference focused specifically on helping countries transition away from fossil fuels took place at the end of April in Santa Marta, Colombia. Cohosts Colombia and the Netherlands came up with the idea for the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels event after last year’s COP30 in Brazil made lackluster progress toward weaning nations off oil, gas, and coal. While the overarching goal of the COP events is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, recent summits have been bogged down by debates over how best to do this, with some petrostates—countries whose economies rely heavily on oil and gas—blocking consensus on the need for a transition away from fossil fuels. This new summit isn’t meant to replace the COP climate meetings, but is a “complementary space” that’s “intended to support practical action by those [nations] already prepared to move forward” with phasing out fossil fuels. Nearly 60 nations—representing about one third of global economic activity—participated, with a goal of developing actionable plans for switching to renewable energy. France led the way for developed countries, unveiling a roadmap for ditching fossil-fuel-based energy production by 2050. Colombia also published a draft roadmap, and other countries are encouraged to develop their own versions before the next transition summit in Tuvalu in 2027. Notably, some of the world’s top polluters and petrostates, including the United States, China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, were not invited to the new conference, due to their recent history of blocking progress at other major climate summits. Of course, the global energy transition can’t happen without these countries, so it will be interesting to see whether any of them participate in next year’s event.SUMMER 2026Solar’s share of global electricity demand growth in 2025: CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere: 431.12 parts per million, year-over-year:A breakout session on economic and labor transitions put govern-ment ministers in dialogue with coal workers. Earth Negotiations Bulletin, photo by IISD/ENB, Mike Muzurakis.75%0.34%↓↓0.9%
2New research is raising alarms over the potential looming collapse of a key system of oceanic currents. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) transports warm water north and cool water south through the Atlantic Ocean, influencing weather and sea levels all over the world. For example, this oceanic “conveyor belt” is the reason much of Europe is so mild even if it is at the same latitude as colder places like Canada. But climate change is making the ocean warmer and less salty, which in turn is slowing AMOC down. Eventually, if there isn’t significant intervention, it could collapse, triggering catastrophic and irreversible changes in global weather patterns. Northern and Western Europe would freeze, for example, and large portions of Africa would be plunged into drought. Additionally, it is projected that sea levels would rise significantly across the East Coast of the US. While many scientists suspect AMOC is getting weaker, there’s some debate around how quickly it could collapse. One new study, published in April, concluded that AMOC could slow by 42% to 58% by 2100, triggering a tipping point toward eventual collapse. Separate research, published in March, found that AMOC collapse would lead to a massive release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, making the planet even warmer than it already is.IS A VITAL OCEAN CURRENT SYSTEM DYING? Did you know: It takes about 1,000 years for any given cubic meter of water to travel the entire AMOC circuit?— NOAAA simplified schematic representation of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), by Oceanography Magazine, CC BY 4.0.Reports swirled in April that tech giant Microsoft is scaling back its carbon removal purchasing program. Would such a move matter for climate change? Carbon dioxide removal is the practice of pulling this planet-warming gas out of the atmosphere and storing it somewhere else. There are “natural” carbon-removal methods (like planting a tree), and industrial methods (which tend to involve massive machines sucking carbon from the air). The carbon-removal industry has raised more than $5 billion in recent years as major companies looked to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by paying carbon removal firms to remove carbon on their behalf. And Microsoft, with its pledge to become “carbon negative” by the end of the decade, has been one of the largest investors, accounting for 90% of all carbon removal purchases in 2025. But the market for this technology has slowed recently, for a few reasons: It still costs a lot to suck carbon from the atmosphere, so carbon credits are expensive; there isn’t yet enough infrastructure to WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT CARBON REMOVAL
3Ongoing conflict in Iran is “supercharging” the global energy transition, according to United Nations Climate Secretary Simon Stiell. The war, which began in February, has sent oil prices soaring, prompting many countries to explore more-reliable energy options, including renewables. Here are some examples of this shift in action: • Demand for home rooftop solarand heat pumps is climbing in Europe.• Electric vehicle sales are on the rise across Southeast Asia.• In the UK, EVs now hold their value for longer than internal combustion vehicles. • Investors are pouring money into clean energy funds “at the fastest pace in five years,” according to 350.org.“From this tragedy, an immense irony is unfolding,” Stiell said. “Those who’ve fought to keep the world hooked on fossil fuels are inadvertently supercharging the global renewables boom.”Brent Crude Oil price over the last year. Graph courtesy Financial Times.SURPRISING IMPACT OF WAR ON ENERGY TRANSITIONremove and store carbon at scale; and a lack of federal emissions regulations means companies have been watering down their emission targets. The carbon-removal industry’s impact has so far been pretty small, with just 1.3 million tons of atmospheric carbon removed—far short of the 7 to 9 billion tons we’ll have to remove by 2050 if we want to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. That said, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says industrial carbon removal will be key to limiting global warming because even if we were to stop all human-made greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow, our historic emissions would keep temperatures elevated for decades to come. So it’s not enough to just stop creating new emissions; we’ll have to get rid of some of the old ones too. And without big corporate buyers or government funding to reduce costs, startups might struggle to develop new, potentially groundbreaking technologies that could unlock carbon removal at the scale we really need. Direct air capture is one way to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Check out this infographicto learn more.
4KEEP AN EYE ON... New OrleansA new study concluded that New Orleans, Louisiana, has reached a “point of no return” and will be inundated by floodwaters in the coming decades. Will residents relocate, or will the city continue to try to adapt? Tropical forest loss was down by 36% last year compared to 2024, thanks largely to Brazil’s antideforestation policies. AND NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWSThe SunZia Wind project is officially up and running, sending clean energy to the California grid. It is the largest renewable energy project in the US.Heavy winter rainfall has brought water—and life—back to Iraq’s historic Huwaizah Marshes. The wetlands were once biodiversity hotspots, but they have been devastated by extreme drought in recent years. CC0)CC0)By Ali alyassiri, CC BY-SA 4.0)El NiñoMeteorologists say this year’s El Niño weather event could be an especially strong (and exceptionally rare) “Super El Niño” due to unusually warm sea surface temperatures. Such an event could bring record-breaking heat, flooding, and wildfires to many parts of the world. It is expected to begin sometime between now and July.America’s wind farmsThe Trump administration is delaying military reviews for more than 150 onshore wind projects in the US, citing national security concerns. What could this mean for the nation’s efforts to keep up with soaring energy demand?
5QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION1. Which story was most surprising to you? Why?2. Which story do you think is most important to be aware of and understand? Why?Going further1. Research: Choose one story to explore further. Look for key details like causes, impacts, and responses.2. Write your analysis: Create a detailed response based on your research. You can choose to write a factual news report, share your perspective in an opinion piece, or propose an action plan to address the issue.CHECK YOURSELF1. Why was the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels summit created?2. What is one possible consequence of a collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)?A) To replace future COP climate conferences entirelyB) To create a smaller meeting for oil-producing countries onlyC) To provide a space for countries ready to take practical steps toward phasing out fossil fuelsD) To negotiate new international trade agreements for renewable energyA) Lower sea levels along the US East CoastB) Warmer winters across Northern EuropeC) Major disruptions to global weather patterns and severe drought in parts of AfricaD) A decrease in global ocean temperatures everywhere3. According to the newsletter, how has the conflict in Iran affected the global energy transition?4. Why do scientists believe carbon removal technologies may still be necessary even if greenhouse gas emissions stop immediately?A) It has slowed investment in renewable energy worldwideB) It has increased interest in renewable energy as countries seek more reliable alternatives to oilC) It has caused countries to abandon electric vehicle programsD) It has reduced demand for rooftop solar systems in EuropeA) Historic emissions would continue warming the planet for decades B) Carbon removal technologies are cheaper than renewable energyC) Trees alone can no longer absorb carbon dioxideD) Carbon removal technologies can replace all climate policiesCorrect answers: 1. C 2. C 3. B 4. A