All we had to do was create the right conditions
Huge funding boost for wetland conservation in America
Over $157 million in funding, made available via the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, was approved last week for the conservation and restoration of 91,425 acres of wetlands and associated upland habitats in 17 states for waterfowl, shorebirds, and other birds (including 11 endangered species). FWS
The restoration of the Mar Menor lagoon is working
Spanning 135 km2, Europe’s largest coastal saltwater lagoon has been under pressure from agriculture for decades. The fightback from conservationists has now ramped up—the lagoon recently acquired a 1,500-metre-wide green buffer zone, as well as legal rights, and regulators have begun cracking down on the region’s estimated 12,000 hectares of illegally irrigated land. Geographical
Ashaninka Tribe offers new hope for the Brazilian Amazon
This is a really incredible story. A powerful model of Indigenous conservation in the Amazon is the work by the Ashaninka Tribe, who have protected and restored their territory. They are now looking to expand their model to help 12 Indigenous territories in the western Amazon covering an area of 14,500 km2, about the size of the US state of Delaware. Associated Press
Southern bluefin tuna delisted as a threatened species
The southern bluefin tuna was first listed as threatened under Australia's national environment law in 2010 due to global and recreational fishing driving down population numbers. Effective management over the last decade has resulted in a strong recovery of the population, and last week the species was delisted by Australia's environment ministry. DCCEEW
Two big environmental wins in Ecuador
Los Cedros Protected Forest, a 480-km2 reserve of cloud forest in the Ecuadorian Andes, recently notched a major victory against the oil and gas industry via the rights-of-nature movement. The Ecuadorian government has also initiated the closure of a significant block of oil wells in the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, after citizens voted to prioritise conservation over oil production last year.
Hope for North America’s most endangered bird
The Florida grasshopper sparrow was near extinction only a few years ago, but conservationists are now celebrating the success of a captive-breeding recovery programme that has doubled the bird’s wild population, from a mere 80 birds five years ago to some 200 today. The next step is getting enough captive-raised birds into the wild to allow the population to become self-sustaining. Inside Climate News
US national forests are being replanted thanks to bipartisan legislation
In 2021, Republican and Democratic lawmakers passed a bill eliminating a 40-year-old cap on spending for the US Forest Service. Known as the REPLANT Act, it's been a smashing success—in 2022 and 2023, they reforested around 1,450 km2, and by the end of 2024, it's estimated that the agency's reforestation backlog of 14,500 km2 will be reduced by 15%. Time
A landmark ruling on Indigenous conservation by the African Union
The continent’s foremost intergovernmental body has ruled, after nine years of deliberation, that the government of the DRC should hand back parts of the giant Kahuzi-Biéga National Park to its ancestral owners, the Batwa people. This is a massive deal—not only for the park itself, but because it sets a legal precedent among all member states of the African Union recognizing Indigenous people's crucial role in safeguarding the environment and biodiversity. Yale360
First Nations begin restoration of oil and gas wells in British Columbia
The traditional homelands of the Saulteau and West Moberly Lake First Nations, about 750 kilometres northeast of Vancouver, are littered with tens of thousands of old, disused oil and gas wells. Now a new project run by First Nations, known as Aski Reclamation and funded by the provincial government, is aiming to reclaim and restore all the orphaned sites by 2030. The Narwhal
California passes the Poison-Free Wildlife Act
California's senate has taken a significant step forward in wildlife conservation by passing groundbreaking legislation that imposes stricter controls on the use and sale of harmful rat poisons, which have long posed a grave risk to owls, foxes, pumas, and many other species of wildlife. The new regulations will prevent the poisoning of thousands of animals each year. World Animal News
Australia recognises 750 new species
There are already some 150,000 species on the Australian National Species List, the country’s authoritative list of plants, animals, and other organisms. Hundreds more have just been added—including the 248th species of frog, a new orb-weaving spider, and a worm named after David Attenborough. Scientists hope the taxonomic bonanza will aid in conservation efforts. NPR
It’s a little bit like having a library of really valuable books in a house. If you don’t know what books are there, and then maybe there’s a threat to that house — maybe it’s a fire or something — you don’t even know what you’re going to lose. And you’re really in a bad position to conserve those books.
Euan Ritchie, Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Deakin University
More music for those who will listen
- How community members turned a vacant, trash-filled lot into a thriving wetland and birding hotspot in New Orleans.
- The Linnunsuo Wetland in Finland was a brown and barren 'moonscape' 13 years ago. Today, it's a biodiverse haven thanks to the efforts of local fishers.
- The Mekong Earth Regeneration Fund is providing $200 million for regenerative agriculture and sustainable forestry in the lower Mekong region of Southeast Asia.
- Two good bird stories. The Cornish chough just had its best breeding season yet, and some welcome news for sage grouse in southeastern Idaho.
- Did you know that around 80% of aluminium produced in the United States comes from recycled aluminium products?
- In Bhutan, local communities are using ecotourism as a way to revive their economies and help protect the surrounding environment.
- Blackbuck and sambar deer—two native species of antelope in India—are breeding again after reintroduction to national reserves.
- The water vole, one of the cutest animals you'll ever see, is making a comeback in the UK, with recent releases in Northamptonshire and sightings in York.
- In South Carolina, 10,000 acres have been acquired to protect critical plant and animal habitats.
- California set up a competition for ships to go slowly off the coast in order to protect whales, and it's working better than they ever expected.
- They have dynamited 42 clandestine airstrips, set fire to 18 aircraft, seized 92,000 liters of diesel, sunk 45 dredging barges, destroyed 700 pumps, and dismantled 90 Starlink dishes.
Hope Songs in the Amazon
Meet Fernando Trujillo, a marine scientist fighting to save the pink river dolphins of the Amazon River. What started as a small research project in Colombia has expanded into a national and global mission to protect river dolphins and the waterways that are their home. After travelling 80,000 km up and down the Amazon River and training more than 500 local people to join in his effort, he's someone who sees both the challenges and the solutions for this region, more clearly than perhaps anyone else in the world.
'The main point is, it’s not just about the dolphins. It’s about the rivers, and the tens of millions of people living on their banks. The dolphins, for me, are connecting the general public to all the problems in the region. And the general public is listening.'
There are three beautiful, interweaving strands to his story—scientific curiosity, conservation, and a real commitment to working with local communities—plus an anecdote about a magical tree, which might be one of the best things we've ever heard on the podcast.
Saving the world is cheaper than ruining it
China still on track for a decline in carbon emissions this year
In the first seven months of 2024, solar and wind generation increased by 37% compared to the first seven months of last year. During the same time period, coal and fossil gas generation has decreased by 4.1%. If this trend continues, February 2024 could mark the peak month for China's carbon emissions, and total carbon emissions for 2024 will be lower than in 2023. CREA
Wind power drives late-summer records in Britain
First coal, now gas. The amount of power generated by fossil fuels in Great Britain in August 2024 fell to 3.6 TWh, its lowest level in over a century. Compared with 2023, electricity generation from fossil gas more than halved, thanks to renewables and imports. Before this, monthly generation from fossil fuels had never dipped below 4 TWh, even during the lockdowns of 2020. The Conversation
The world is on track for another year of record solar growth
Exponential solar surpasses expectations (again) and makes the IEA look like amateurs (again). A new analysis from Ember shows that 593 GW of solar installations will be added globally by the end of 2024. That's almost 200 GW higher than the IEA’s main case from January 2024. China is on track to install 334 GW alone - which would put it at 56% of the global total.
The Inflation Reduction Act is working
The environmental policies of the Biden Administration have spurred a surge in clean energy jobs and will save approximately 200,000 Americans’ lives in the coming decades due to reduced exposure to dangerous pollution. Nearly 3.5 million people now work in clean energy jobs in the United States, more than the total number of nurses nationwide, with over a million of these jobs located in the South. Guardian
Europe's green transition is happening
The European Commission just released its State of the Energy Union Report, showing that renewables now generate more than half of electricity, overall gas demand is down by 138 billion cubic meters since August 2022, and imports of Russian gas have dropped from a 45% share of overall EU gas imports in 2021 to only 18% in August 2024.
London is electrifying its 9,000-bus fleet
Over the next decade, Transport for London plans to convert its fleet of around 9,000 buses to zero-emissions models, and it's making rapid progress. Today's fleet has 1,600 electric buses, up from 485 in March 2021, and TfL says it’s on track to have 2,500 by next year. Cheap electricity, lower maintenance costs, and plunging battery prices may all add momentum. Bloomberg
Climate lawsuits against fossil fuel companies have nearly tripled
Eighty-six climate lawsuits have been filed against the world’s largest oil, gas, and coal corporations—including BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies. The number of cases filed against fossil fuel companies each year has nearly tripled since the Paris Agreement, with serious potential impacts to their bottom lines, corporate value, and social licence to operate. Oil Change
Pakistan's solar story keeps getting crazier
Pakistan is now the third-largest importer of solar panels in the world, and essentially all of that is being used for off-grid systems. This is the death spiral in action—grid is too expensive, which causes people to turn to solar, which makes the grid even more expensive, and so on. 'Allah has given us this gift to get out of this mess.' Financial Times 🗄️
Still waiting for that electric vehicle slowdown
August 2024 saw a slew of new records for EV sales in the United States: the most plug-in vehicles ever sold, the most battery electric vehicles, and the highest-ever market share for battery electric and plug-in vehicles. Zoom out, don't sweat the short-term, and buckle up and ride the rollercoaster... Jesse Jenkins
Whatever the opposite of doomscrolling is
- The real slowdown? Oil. The IEA just cut its 2024 oil demand growth forecast by 7.2% due to slowing demand from China. The reason? Electric vehicles.
- More than 250,000 Texans now work in clean energy — more than in oil and gas. In 2014, Texas had 300,000 oil and gas jobs. Today it's around 190,000.
- ING says it will immediately halt financing for any clients that continue to develop new oil and gas fields.
- US coal consumption has plummeted by 62% from its peak in 2005 to 425 million tons in 2023. Next up is oil, then gas.
- Tesla's new semi truck can travel 1,700 km in a one day with the same capacity as a diesel truck—meaning it can replace a diesel Class 8 truck one-for-one.
- Hot on the heels of still-dominant diesel cars, electric vehicles now outnumber petrol models for the first time in oil-rich Norway.
- The world's largest battery maker just released a new battery for buses that can be charged to 60% in 12 minutes and has a warranty of 1 million km.
- The US Postal Service's new, funny-looking electric delivery trucks are getting rave reviews from letter carriers accustomed to the noisy, dirty old vehicles.
- The United States just surpassed 15 GW of approved offshore wind projects—all under the Biden-Harris Administration.
- How a polluting, coal-fired power plant found the key to solving America’s biggest clean energy challenge: just swap coal for solar, and plug it in.
- Will BYD eventually take Toyota's crown as the world's biggest vehicle maker? What would have once sounded preposterous is now a serious consideration.
- The median size of a residential solar setup in the US grew from 2.4 kW in 2000 to 7.4 kW in 2023. During the same time, the price per watt has fallen from $14.30 to $4.20.
- And finally... some hydrogen memes, because we can't help ourselves.
That's all for this edition—thanks for reading! We'll see you next week with an update from the Clinton Global Initiative in New York.
With love,
Gus and Amy