5 Climate Wins You Might Have Missed

If you follow the news, you probably feel that the world is unravelling at the seams. Floods, fires, droughts. The news feels like a relentless and terrible emergency broadcast. That’s not because nothing good is happening; it’s because of how news works. Like lightning strikes, dramatic and destructive events grab attention. They’re rare, sudden, and worthy of reporting. But change? Real, lasting, hopeful change? It's quiet.

It’s the grass that grows after the storm. Slow. Steady. Easy to overlook. You don’t see a headline that says “Things Got a Little Bit Better Today.” And yet, beneath the noise, day by day, year by year, many things are improving in ways that truly matter. From cleaner energy and reforestation to unexpected policy wins and shifts in public behaviour, stories of progress are unfolding all around us.

That’s not to say reporting on disasters is wrong. Media coverage can be a powerful force for accountability. Think of how international outrage over oil spills, deforestation, or sewage dumping in rivers has forced companies and governments to act, clean up, and change course. We need to shine a light on what’s broken to motivate change from businesses and governments. But these headlines of doom and destruction are only one small part of the picture. If we focus on them too much, we get an inaccurate picture of what's really happening in the world. For the good of our mental health, and also in the name of accuracy, we need to pay attention to what's being repaired and regenerated, too.

Let's explore 5 climate wins that you might have missed.

1. Solar Power Has Become Incredibly Affordable

Solar panels were once considered space-age tech. They were so expensive that the only place they really made sense was on satellites. Today, they’re powering homes, schools, and entire neighbourhoods.

Since 2010, the cost of solar electricity has dropped by around 90%. In 1976, it cost $106 per watt. In 2023? Just $0.04 per watt in the right conditions. Efficiency has also steadily improved. Early panels converted less than 10% of sunlight into electricity, while today’s top commercial models reach 22% efficiency or more.

This dramatic drop has made solar energy the cheapest source of electricity in history, according to the International Energy Agency. That’s not just a technical win, it’s a major climate win.

Of course, there are real concerns about the mining required to build solar panels and batteries. Extracting lithium, cobalt, and other minerals comes with serious environmental and human costs. But it's important to keep things in perspective. We’re already mining enormous amounts of the Earth every single day for oil and gas. Drilling, fracking, transporting, and burning fossil fuels disturb more land and emit more pollution than renewable technologies ever will. A fully electric, renewable energy system would require less total land disturbance than continuing with fossil fuels. Once solar panels are installed, they don’t need to be constantly fed with fuel from deep underground. And the minerals inside them can be recycled once they've reached the end of their life. It’s not a perfect system, but it has a lighter footprint than fossil fuels.

2. Europe Has Decoupled Wealth from Deforestation

For years, econonomic development went hand in hand with the destruction of natural spaces. More wealth for a country meant more forests lost. But there’s good news: in Europe, this link has been broken.

Between 1990 and 2020, the EU’s economy grew by 62%, while its forest area increased by 10%. That’s thanks to better forest management, land-use planning, and shifts away from wood as a primary fuel source. This doesn’t mean Europe’s consumption footprint is perfect (deforestation linked to imported products is still a problem), but it shows that with the right policies, prosperity and reforestation can go hand in hand.

I live in a small cottage surrounded by forest in every direction. It’s humming with rare insects, badgers, wild boar, foxes. Black woodpeckers hammer at dead trunks and kingfishers flash along the stream. It feels ancient and wild, but this entire landscape is younger than you’d think. Just 70 years ago, all of this was farmland. As food production became more efficient and people moved away from small-scale agriculture, much of the land was abandoned, and the forest grew back on its own. No one planted a tree. Nature simply returned, quietly and steadily, as it so often does when given the chance.

Of course, the abandonment of farmland in Europe is a complicated issue. It's not all good or all bad. But when I hike through the trees with my baby in a backpack and my running through the wildflowers, I know that nature has a resilience we can't even imagine.

3. We’re Eating Less Meat (But Not No Meat!)

In the UK, meat consumption is steadily declining. People are eating less of it than they did a decade ago, and that’s good news for the climate. Raising animals for meat uses a lot of land and water, and it’s responsible for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions. By simply reducing the amount of meat we eat, we can ease pressure on natural ecosystems, reduce pollution, and help slow climate change.

What’s striking is that this shift isn’t being driven by a mass movement toward veganism or strict vegetarianism. Most of the change is coming from people who still eat meat, just less of it. Smaller portions, meat-free days, or choosing it less often overall. And that’s powerful. It shows that you don’t have to overhaul your diet to make a meaningful impact. Sometimes, finding a balance that feels right for you can be enough to tip the scales in the right direction.

Meat is a nutrient-dense food that has long been part of many people’s diets, and for some, it will always have a place on the plate. That’s okay. Instead of fighting over "the right" way to eat, we can celebrate the fact that we can all contribute in our own way. Whether you're cutting back a little, a lot, or not at all, being thoughtful about where your food comes from (and how it fits into the bigger picture) is a step toward a more sustainable future. And for those who have chosen to cut it out completely, that choice is equally valid and valued. There’s room for everyone at the table.

4. More of the Earth Is Being Protected

Protected areas like national parks, nature reserves, and marine sanctuaries are one of the most direct ways we can defend biodiversity and carbon-rich ecosystems. And in recent years, there’s been a huge surge.

As of 2024, over 17% of the world’s land and 9% of the oceans are officially protected. That’s up from just 9% of land and 1% of ocean coverage in 2000. Ambitious international agreements like the 30x30 pledge, which aims to protect 30% of Earth’s land and oceans by 2030, are helping to accelerate progress. Countries like Chile, Palau, and Canada have created vast new marine protected areas, safeguarding delicate ecosystems and giving nature the space to recover.

Of course, these mustn’t be just “paper parks”, which means they are protected in name only, with little real enforcement on the ground or in the water. Monitoring, funding, and community involvement are critical to ensuring these areas truly deliver for wildlife, climate, and local people. But even so, the rapid growth of protected areas signals a significant shift in global mindset. It shows a deepening recognition that nature isn’t just something to extract from; it’s something we must protect, restore, and live alongside.

5. Global Renewable Energy Growth Is Breaking Records

In 2023 alone, the world added more than 500 gigawatts of new renewable capacity, mostly from solar and wind. That’s the fastest growth rate in history, and it’s expected to continue.

According to the International Energy Agency, renewables are set to overtake coal globally as the largest source of electricity by 2025. In countries like Denmark, Portugal, and Uruguay, renewables already provide over 90% of electricity during some months.

This shift means lower emissions, more energy security, and fewer health problems from air pollution. It’s a clean-energy revolution, and it’s well underway.

What’s especially encouraging is that much of this growth is now driven by economics, not just policy. Solar and wind are among the cheapest sources of electricity in many parts of the world, making them an obvious choice for new power generation. As battery storage improves and grids become more flexible, renewables are becoming not just greener, but smarter and more reliable too. The future of energy is no longer a distant dream. It’s happening now, faster than almost anyone predicted.

A Final Thought

These wins don’t mean the work is over. But they show that progress is possible and that many of the tools we need already exist. From solar panels to smarter farming, from legal protections to global cooperation, the seeds of a better future are sprouting all around us.

We just need to nurture them, scale them up, and keep going.

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