The year ahead for sustainability...

Hi there,

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first edition of 2025! For those of you new to Sustaneo, every Thursday I share a summary of positive news about sustainable tech to keep you informed and inspired.

This week has been a quiet one for news with the festive period, so today I wanted to share the areas I’m feeling most optimistic about heading into 2025.

Why I’m Positive about Climate Change in 2025

2024 felt like a rough year for climate change, from record emissions to backwards political movements, it’s understandable to feel uneasy about where we’re heading.

That said, 2025 is set to see great progress made and as always, a ton of incredible technological innovations!

Here are the biggest things I’m feeling optimistic about heading into next year:

1. Commercially available hydrogen power

2024 saw some incredible advancements in the technology to create hydrogen power, and I’m expecting we’ll see more commercially available hydrogen this year. Whilst this will likely be at a small scale, successful roll-outs that prove the potential of hydrogen power could give the industry the attention (and funding) that it needs to scale.

2. CO2 Emissions could start to peak in 2025

Net zero is great, but for emissions to come down, they first have to stop going up. Global C02 emissions increased by about 2.5% in 2024 compared to 2023, but for lots of countries, the curve is starting to flatten out.

Whilst it’s likely overall C02 emissions will slightly increase this year, a large number of countries (including some major emitters) are set to hit their respective peaks in 2025 and start the journey back down towards net zero.

3. Increased EV adoptions

Electric vehicles are quickly becoming the norm in the transportation industry, with EV sales seeing massive growth all around the world last year, a strong comparison to combustion engine cars that saw a steep decline in global sales.

More established charging networks, improved access to home chargers and an ever-growing second-hand EV market will all help to keep EV sales growing in 2025.

4. Ethical AI being used for good

For all its flaws, I’m confident 2025 will see AI used for good throughout the sustainable technology space, with solutions like AI-driven energy management systems helping to optimise global energy usage at scale.

Another major area I think we’ll see AI excel in will be the analysis of climate events and predictions of future trends. With a dangerously high level of warming already locked in, this technology could help save countless lives by accurately predicting future extreme weather events.

5. Smarter energy grids

A large-scale transition to renewable energy sources like solar and wind depends heavily on reliable energy storage and smart grid technologies. In short, we need to get better and storing and distributing energy to deal with the natural peaks and troughs that come with renewable sources like solar and wind.

2025 will almost certainly see a continuation of the work done in 2024 to improve batteries, leading to more flexible and smarter grids that are better suited to fully renewable power sources.

Time will tell how these areas develop throughout the year, but it’s reassuring to realise some of the most talented people in the world are pouring everything they can into making these solutions a reality.

That’s it for this week! If you have any thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future topics, just hit reply. And if you enjoyed this edition, please share Sustaneo with someone who might love it too.

See you next week!

– James

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