Talking Climate with Katharine Hayhoe

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...

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 thrifte...

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...

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 progres...

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 displace...

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 go...

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, buil...

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...

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 ne...

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...

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 w...

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 nati...

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’ Tatoo...

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...

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 ne...

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 an...

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 Ja...

This week, Global Citizen co-founder Michael Sheldrick, takes us to Western Australia—a region facing both inspiring progress and serious setbacks on climate. 💚 Good News: In the former coal town of Collie, a just transition is taking shape. As coal phases out, nearly $700M is being invested in clean energy projects like large-scale batteries and green steel, with job retraining and community rev...

From carbon-trapping trees to threats to U.S. climate science, here’s this week’s Talking Climate snapshot. 🌱 Good news: New research finds East African fig trees can lock carbon away as stone-like calcium carbonate, keeping it in the soil long term while growing food at the same time! ⚠️ Not-so-good news: The U.S. is rolling back vital climate protections, re-writing science assessments and canc...

Every week, I share stories that reflect where we are, what’s at stake, and how we're already able to shape a better future. Here's this week’s! ✅ Good News: China’s often painted as a climate villain by those trying to prevent climate action elsewhere: but a new Carbon Brief analysis finds its clean energy technology exports are already reducing global emissions—1% this year alone, and...

This past week brought a landmark legal opinion for climate and set another series of staggering heat records: a powerful reminder of why we all have a role in accelerating climate solutions. ✅ Good news: The International Court of Justice issued a historic advisory opinion affirming that governments have a legal duty to address the "urgent and existential threat" of climate change. Ini...

Alberta may be known for its oil and gas, but it’s also home to some inspiring climate leadership. From award-winning innovation to climate equity efforts and the very real impacts of a warming world, here’s some of what I saw and learned while I was there on one of my bundled trips last month. 🌱 Good news: Calgary-based Carbon Upcycling recently won the prestigious Global Warming Mitigation Proj...

As the world faces intensifying climate extremes, voices of compassion are speaking out. This week’s newsletterexplores hope, heartbreak, and how each of us can help connect the dots. 🌿 Good news: Pope Leo XIV is carrying forward Pope Francis' legacy by elevating climate action as a moral imperative. From calling for a "conversion of hearts" at aspecial Mass to approving a new litu...

Cleaning up the minerals we need for clean energy, record-breaking carbon pollution, and how each of us can scale clean energy adoption--this week's newsletter connects the dots between science, policy, and action. 🌱 Nickel, but make it low-carbon! Scientists in Germany have developed a new way to extract nickel, cutting emissions by 84%—a major step forward for the clean energy supply chain...

This week, I’m delighted to welcome guest editor Dr. Kate Marvel. She's a theoretical physicist turned climate scientist whose brilliance, honesty, and humour shine through everything she writes. In this edition of Talking Climate, Kate reflects on the role of emotion in science, the very real threats to climate research in the U.S., and why embracing our full humanity is essential to buildin...