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- 🌱💡 The return of the sailboat
🌱💡 The return of the sailboat
Today's good climate and environment news
Hello – here’s today’s good climate and environment news.
⛵️ Ships ahoy!
Sailboats are coming back into fashion as a sustainable alternative to the polluting shipping industry, which is responsible for around 3% of global emissions. Goods from cosmetics to coffee to wine are being delivered across the Atlantic practically emission-free, with the ships endeavouring to only use their engines when absolutely necessary. There’s also a push from the International Windship Association to retrofit existing cargo ships with rotor sails and kites so they can run on wind, cutting their fuel usage by up to 30%.
🔆 The communities taking power into their own hands
Off-grid solar power systems across Latin America are providing rural communities with access to reliable electricity for the first time, meaning they can move away from polluting diesel generators and have around-the-clock access to the internet and charging points. Rather than swapping out one unjust energy system for another, these kinds of projects actually put people first.
The beauty of these community-based projects is that they truly offer social and economic transformation with a much smaller environmental impact than a fossil fuel or large-scale renewable energy project.
📈 More companies are striving for sustainability
Companies’ support for green policies is on the rise, doubling from 24% in 2019 to 52% in 2025. This analysis of 200 of the biggest European firms also found that the share of companies advocating for policies that would increase emissions fell from 34% to 13%. It’s an outspoken minority that are against climate action – while the real work continues in the background.