6 Climate Change Victories in 2020

The burning of coal has been the single largest source of global temperature increase. It pollutes the air and is responsible for a huge percentage of the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. But the good news is that many countries in Europe are pulling the plug on coal. Spain shut down half of their coal plants this year. Austria closed its last coal plant in April, and so did Sweden. The UK set a record for coal-free power generation (about two months) earlier this spring, marking the longest stretch the UK has gone without using coal since the Industrial Revolution. 

If the state of California were an independent country, it would have the world’s fifth-largest economy. It also ranks among the top 10 largest passenger car markets. All of which is to say that California governor Gavin Newsom’s order banning new gasoline car sales by 2035 is a huge deal. But it makes sense that California would take the lead on efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. It’s been under increasing threat from extreme wildfires and other climate-crisis-fueled disasters for years—this fire season has been, yet again, the worst in history. 

COVID-19 has devastated families and communities all over the world. It can be hard to focus on hopeful signs amid the pandemic, but the resulting quarantines/shutdowns did lead to a significant global dip in carbon emissions. And that convinced some political leaders to see this moment for what it is: a once-in a lifetime opportunity to rethink how our economies work. As countries open back up, many are choosing to build back better with a green economic recovery plan, ensuring that people and the planet, not corporations, benefit the most. If successful, this movement could achieve not only economic justice, but climate justice as well.

We’ve been following the fate of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) for years, so we cheered in July when a district court ordered the pipeline shut down. That marked the first time that a major US pipeline was ordered by a court to stop operating because of environmental reasons. But a month later, an appeals court halted that shutdown order, throwing the project once again into limbo. This ruling was clearly a setback, but DAPL opponents remain optimistic. We stand with the Standing Rock Sioux as they continue to fight for the health of the planet and the sovereignty and well-being of their people.

As much as we desperately need faster and more direct action right now to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, the overall trend is clear: Renewable energy is on the rise, at the expense of coal and gas. The share of global electricity generated from renewables was up to 28% in the first quarter of 2020, 2% higher than last year. Coal and gas still represent 60% of global electricity production, but they are nonetheless on the decline. That is definitely good news, but if we hope to preserve anything resembling our current way of life, we need to accelerate the changes already underway.

One of the most inspiring developments over the past couple of years was the rise of the youth-led global climate movement. Young leaders all around the world have demanded that political leaders respond to the climate crisis like it’s a crisis. “Our house is on fire,” Greta Thunberg has said—the time for delay and debate is over. While the pandemic reduced the size of some planned events and marches, the movement itself continues to grow. Youth activists have been on the frontlines of just about every push for progress over the past 60 years, and so it’s no surprise today that young people are doing the same in the global fight for climate justice and a clean energy future.