For the most part, the atmosphere in the climate world this year has been… not exactly great.
Global greenhouse gas emissions reached a new high of 37.4 billion tons in 2024. This year is also on track to be the hottest on record, with temperatures through September reaching 1.54°C (2.77°F ) are above pre-industrial levels. Global climate talks have collapsed and disasters from forest fires to hurricanes are being exacerbated by climate change.
But among all that (very real) negative news, there was also some good: We saw progress in reducing the most polluting fossil fuels, cheaper and better technologies to fight climate change, and an ongoing global effort to tackle the problem. As we approach the end of 2024, we want to take a look back at some bright spots.
We throw coal to the curb
One of my favorite climate moments this year took place in Great Britain. The country has traditionally relied heavily on coal as a source of electricity; as of 1990, coal supplied approximately 65% of electricity demand. But on September 30, 2024, the country’s last coal-fired power plant was closed.
Renewable energy sources are stepping in to fill the gap. Wind farms in Britain are on track to produce more electricity this year than coal and gas-fired power stations combined.
This moment was symbolic and also reflects the very real progress taking place around the world in phasing out this polluting fossil fuel. In the US, coal provided about 50% of the electricity supply 40 years ago. In 2023, that share was roughly 16%.
According to the International Energy Agency, we should see a plateau in coal use and possibly start to decline by the end of this decade. However, progress must be made more quickly, and this must happen in countries like China, where energy demand is increasing. There is also growing concern about what increasing energy demands from data centers, including those used to power AI, will mean for efforts to retire old coal-fired power plants.
Batteries are only getting cheaper
Lithium-ion battery packs will be cheaper than ever in 2024, with prices falling 20% this year to $115 per kilowatt hour, according to data from BloombergNEF. That is the biggest drop since 2017.
Batteries are a central technology for tackling climate change. They power the electric vehicles we depend on to help clean up the transportation sector and play an increasingly important role for the electric grid, as they can store energy from inconsistently available renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Because electric vehicles are still more expensive upfront than their gas counterparts in most of the world, cheaper batteries are great news for the effort to get more people making the switch to electric. And it’s hard to overstate how quickly battery prices have fallen. Batteries were twice as expensive in 2017 as they are now. Just ten years ago, prices were six times higher than in 2024.
To be fair, there’s been mixed news in the EV world this year: a slowdown in EV demand growth is actually one of the factors driving battery prices to record lows. Electric vehicle sales are still growing around the world, but at a slower pace than in 2023. China is by far the world’s largest EV market, accounting for three-quarters of global registrations in October 2024.
Climate technology is still busy and vibrant
Looking back on the energy and climate stories we published this year, I can’t help but be at least a little optimistic about what’s to come.
Some groups are looking to the natural world to address the climate crisis; This year I reported on a company working to grow microbes in massive bioreactors to supplement our food sources, and on researchers looking for plants to help extract the metals we need to fight climate change . Others hope to modify biology – my colleague James Temple spoke to Jennifer Doudna about the potential of CRISPR, the gene editing technology she pioneered.
Companies are deploying air conditioning systems that can work like batteries and store energy for when it is needed. The U.S. Department of Energy invests in projects that aim to concentrate the sun’s heat and use it to power the electrical grid or industrial processes. I spoke with a startup that wants to create hydropower technology that is safer for fish, and another that builds magnets using cheap, widely available materials.
And in October, we published our 2024 list of 15 climate tech companies to watch, which included everything from a startup using AI to detect wildfires to a company giving supplements to livestock to help their farmers’ emissions reduce.
Climate change represents a huge challenge for the world, and we are entering a particularly uncertain time. We’ll discuss it all, the good and the bad. Thanks for being here this year, and I look forward to bringing you all the climate tech news you need in 2025.
Related reading
If you need a touch of innovation and positivity in your life, I recommend taking a look at our list of 15 climate tech companies to watch?
What’s more inspiring than young people tackling the world’s most important issues? Our 2024 class of 35 Innovators Under 35 is sure to bring some cheer.
If you need even more innovation, why not take a look back at our 10 breakthrough technologies? Exascale computers certainly help me put things into perspective. And get excited, because our 2025 list is coming very, very soon.
One more thing
This year was filled with some exciting moments in technology, but there were also some failures. Here are some of the worst tech flops of 2024. See why voluntary carbon markets made the list and learn all about AI doldrums.
And one more
You’ve almost certainly heard that the demand for AI energy is enormous and is only expected to explode in the coming years. A new preprint study aimed to quantify just how bad things are, and the researchers found that data centers were responsible for more than 4% of US electricity consumption between September 2023 and August 2024. And the carbon intensity of the power used is almost 50%. % higher than the national average.
Read all the details in the latest story by my colleague James O’Donnell.
Keeping track of the climate
Geothermal energy currently supplies about 1% of global electricity production, but if all goes well, the technology could meet up to 15% of global energy demand growth by 2050. (Axios)
Rent an EV during the holidays? This is a great guide for novice EV drivers, including useful tips on how to handle charging. (Bloomberg)
Commonwealth Fusion Systems chose Virginia as the location for its first commercial fusion power plant. The company says the 400-megawatt plant will be commissioned in early 2030. (heat map)
→ I recently visited the Commonwealth’s first demonstration site in Massachusetts. Actually, it’s still a hole in the ground. (MIT Technology Review)
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office just committed $15 billion to a California utility. It is the firm’s largest commitment ever. (New York Times)
The US EPA will give California the right to ban gas-powered cars by 2035. The agency must relinquish the state from setting its own rules. (Washington Post)
→ However, we can expect a legal battle. The new Trump administration recommends major changes to eliminate support for electric vehicles and charging. (Reuters)
China dominates the lithium-ion battery world. Some startups in the US and Europe argue that instead of playing catch-up, the rest of the world should focus on alternative chemistries such as lithium-sulfur and sodium-ion batteries. (Canary media)
