Claim OwnershipTalking Climate with Katharine Hayhoe
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© 2026 Talking Climate with Katharine Hayhoe
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Subscribe to Talking Climate for a clear-eyed and hopeful look at climate science and solutions. Receive weekly climate updates on good news, not-so-good news, ideas on things to do, and ways to join the conversation.
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This has been an extraordinarily hard year for science both globally, and especially in the United States. In this week’s Talking Climate, I unpack why recent cuts to scientific programs and data don’t only affect climate research in the U.S. They weaken the knowledge infrastructure we rely on to protect public health, manage risk, and make good decisions around the world. I also share good news from Sweden, where smart policy has turned waste into heat and power, reminding us that the mos...
This week, I’m setting aside Talking Climate’s usual format to share joyful stories of people taking action for climate and nature—because sometimes what we need most is a reminder that solutions are already underway. 🇿🇦 In South Africa, SeaH4 is producing sustainable biofuel from algae that can be used in conventional combustion engines to help decarbonise shipping and aviation. 🇮🇳 In India, faculty and students at Azim Premji University are turning climate data into an embodied experience...
This week’s Talking Climate newsletter is guest edited by my friend Bill McKibben — one of the most influential climate activists of our time and a lifelong voice for hope, honesty, and collective action. In this issue, Bill shares: 🌞 Good news: Australia is rolling out free midday electricity thanks to a solar boom—an extraordinary glimpse of what a clean energy future can look like. ⚠️ Not-so-good news: Why the U.S. risks turning its back on that future, just as the rest of the world r...
Climate action is happening all around us — in communities, classrooms, churches, and unexpected corners of the world. Here are a few stories of hope, concern, and practical choices we can make together. 🌱 Good News: Innovations in clean energy are accelerating every day, from a solar-powered heated blanket invented by a 12-year-old Scottish student to keep unhoused people warm, to more churches going carbon-free every week. ⚠️ Not-So-Good News: Experts in climate science, health, and risk ...
Holidays are often a time for decoration and giving — which means a massive surge in waste and emissions. But they also give us opportunities to choose differently. In this week’s Talking Climate I explore B Corps doing good and the surprising toll of seasonal waste. I've also collected a host of ideas on how our choices can reduce waste, support communities, and restore nature-- from thrifted treasures to shared experiences, and giving that supports families and ecosystems around the world....
For me, 2025 has felt like a particularly heavy year ... and you might feel the same. So as we head into the holiday season, I wanted to share a few recommendations — books, podcasts, and newsletters — that encourage me, make me think, introduce me to new ideas and solutions, and remind me how hope begins with action. The “what to do” this week is simple: share one of these resources! If you read one of the books, pass it along, give it to someone for Christmas, or recommend it to a book clu...
Fires, floods, and fossil fuels - COP30 had it all. ✅ Good news: Many countries brought a meaningful contribution to this "annual global climate potluck." For example, Brazil will tag 20 million cattle to stop deforestation, the $5.5 B Tropical Forest Forever Fund launched, and South Korea joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance. ⚠️ Not-so-good: A decade after Paris, we’ve made progress, but not enough. At COP30, a bloc of oil-producing nations led by Saudi Arabia and Russia prev...
Extreme weather is getting stronger — but so are the solutions. This week’s Talking Climate looks at resilience, risk, and what each of us can do. ⬇️ ☀️ Good news: Hurricanes are intensifying and extreme weather disasters are getting worse--but from Jamaica to Puerto Rico, clean energy is helping communities recover faster. ⚠️ Not-so-good news: A new UN report shows climate disasters have displaced 250 million people in the past decade. That's 70,000 every day! 🛠️ What you can do: Whether ...
This week marks COP30 in Belém, Brazil — the 30th global climate summit since 1992, and 10 years since the Paris Agreement. Here’s a quick look at where we stand a decade after: 🌞 Good news: A decade ago, we were on track for 4–5°C of warming; now it’s closer to 2.8°C ... 2.4°C, if all national pledges are met! And every tenth of a degree we avoid means fewer devastating impacts ahead. ⚡ More good news: Clean energy is accelerating fast. Fossil fuel use is expected to peak before 2030, rene...
From greener cities to stronger storms to climate education resources, this week’s Talking Climate highlights how science can help us build a safer, more resilient future. 🌿 Good news: A review of 1,500+ studies finds that greener, more biodiverse cities aren’t just better for nature—they’re better for people too. Parks, gardens, and trees improve mental health, lower pollution, reduce heat, build climate resilience, and even cut mortality rates! 🌀 Not-so-good news: This year has been a pos...
Optimism is not a mood. It’s a courageous choice — and some weeks, it’s harder than ever to make. Right now, as the devastation in Jamaica reminds us yet again of how climate change magnifies injustice and loss, it can feel almost impossible to hold on to hope. Yet that’s when it matters most. If we don't have hope, there is no reason to act: yet we know the science is clear that our actions matter. In this week’s Talking Climate newsletter, I’m honored to feature kindred spirit Anne Theres...
The Middle East is warming twice as fast as the globe thanks in no small part to its own oil + gas emissions—but from youth activists to engineers, people here are proving that even in the hottest places, change is happening. Last week I was in Abu Dhabi for the IUCN World Conservation Congress, where thousands gathered to build a livable future for people, nature, and climate. This week's newsletter shares what I learned there! 🌞 Good News: The UAE has set a 2050 net zero target, plans to ...
Adam Met, this week's guest editor, combines social science expertise with musical success to catalyze climate action. Through his Amplify project at Planet Reimagined, Adam shows how artists can mobilize millions for climate action. On AJR’s 2024 tour, over 35,000 fans took real steps — from signing petitions to calling elected officials. Now they're expanding this initiative to include artists from Billie Eilish to Tyler Childers. As Adam writes, solving climate change isn’t about individ...
This month, we lost one of the world’s greatest advocates for people and nature. When I was a child, she was the first scientist I ever saw on screen — a young woman in Africa, working with chimpanzees. Decades later, I met her backstage at the Paris climate talks: still tireless, still hopeful, still reminding us that “only when our clever brain and our human heart work together in harmony can we achieve our true potential.” Even in her final days, Dr. Jane Goodall was urging us not ...
At Climate Week NYC, the message was clear: progress is underway. What stood out most to me was the shared spirit of determination and collaboration. While none of us can do this alone, the number of people who are committed to tackling climate together is growing every day. 🌍 Good News: At the UN Climate Summit I had the honour of opening with Johan Rockström and António Guterres, over 100 nations -- including China -- announced new and more ambitious emissions cuts. ⚠️ Not so good news: W...
This week’s Talking Climate is guest-edited by physicist David Baker from Austin College. David is a NASA exoplanet researcher and professor whose work inspires students and communities to connect the cosmos back to our own remarkable planet. 🪐 Good news: We've now discovered over 6,000 exoplanets, from “eyeball planets” with oceans ringed by ice to worlds with two suns like Star Wars’ Tatooine. These discoveries deepen our understanding of what makes Earth uniquely habitable! 🌍 Not so good...
Real stories of climate action remind us that change is possible, and that we each have a role to play. This week’s newsletter highlights how individuals and communities are reshaping the future of clean energy and climate solutions. Good news: In New York’s Hudson Valley, professor Jeff Seidman turned research into action. By hosting a forum on battery storage for local officials, he helped shift the debate. Just months later, a local town lifted its moratorium on energy storage systems! ...
What can music, forests, and faith communities teach us about climate action? 🎶 Good news - Musician Jon Batiste, whose own life was shaped by Hurricane Katrina, is using his music to inspire climate action. His new album Big Money and climate song Petrichor remind us that solutions exist, and that change can be joyful. 🌳 Not so good news - A new study finds that tropical deforestation causes nearly 3,000 deaths each year by amplifying local warming across tropical regions. Once again, vu...
It’s back-to-school for many right now, and students are showing us what climate leadership looks like. 📚 Good news: In both Colorado and Oregon, students successfully lobbied for new laws and education standards requiring climate change and sustainability to be taught across K–12 classrooms: more evidence of how powerful youth voices can be! 🔥 Not so good news: Around the world, extreme heat and flooding are keeping children out of school and impacting learning. Classrooms are closing or...
From sheep growing better wool under solar panels to matcha prices soaring with the heat: here’s this week’s surprising mix of climate news, and something you can do about it today! 🐏 Good news: New research shows that sheep grazing under solar panels grow stronger, faster wool! Farmers benefit too, as the land supports both green energy and healthy flocks. 🍵 Not-so-good news: Extreme heat in Japan has slashed matcha yields, sending prices soaring. Climate-fueled extremes are also affecti...
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