Sustainability Weekly
Fridays are for…
New Leadership, Off-Shore Wind Farms, Solar Energy, and more!
by Alli DiGiacomo
Happy Friday! This week in sustainability news we look at President Trump’s first week back in office, NYC’s first offshore wind farm, Google's purchase of carbon removal credits, and other news!
Stay informed and hopeful!
Keep reading for more sustainability news…
T H I S W E E K ’ S T O P S T O R I E S
TRUMP PULLS US FROM THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT AND THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
On his first day back in office, President Trump ordered a series of actions that abandon U.S. climate leadership at home and abroad. Whether he likes it or not, he is a climate president because he is leading after the hottest recorded year ever, and during a time when our planet is warming at record speeds and extreme weather events are increasingly causing destruction and death. Climate change is considered a "leadership problem" because the current approaches to decision-making and policy implementation at the global and national levels are not enough to effectively address the crisis. A few things he did so far are:
Declared a “national energy emergency” to benefit oil, gas, and coal companies.
Withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. Again.
Restarted permitting for liquefied natural gas exports.
Signed an executive order to direct all agencies to pause disbursement of funds through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which has already created over 300,000 jobs and helped Americans save billions of dollars on electric vehicles, heat pumps, solar panels, and other energy efficient appliances.
Removed safeguards on drilling, logging, and mining in Alaska.
Pushed to greatly expand fossil fuel production by revoking the sweeping protections from oil and gas development the Biden administration issued on 625 million acres of public waters.
President Donald Trump also signed an executive order to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO) and temporarily halted communication from federal health agencies, including the CDC and FDA, leaving the country isolated from global public health efforts. This move severs the U.S. from WHO’s early-warning systems for disease outbreaks and international collaboration on pandemics, climate-driven health crises, and biowarfare threats. Climate change has already intensified the spread of diseases like malaria and dengue, with warming temperatures enabling carriers like mosquitoes and ticks to expand their reach. Experts warn that withdrawing from WHO undermines U.S. efforts to combat zoonotic diseases, such as COVID-19, and disrupts decades of collaboration on global health security. Trump also instructed federal health agencies to pause public communication, delaying critical disease alerts and public health updates, which experts say could have life-threatening consequences. These measures are widely criticized for endangering U.S. public health at a time when global cooperation is more essential than ever.
NYC IS SET TO GET ITS FIRST OFFSHORE WIND FARM
NYC is getting its first offshore wind farm, the $3 billion Empire Wind 1 project, which recently secured financing and is slated to begin operation in 2027. Located 15 miles southeast of Long Island on an 80,000-acre lease, the wind farm will generate 810 MW of electricity annually, meeting about 6% of NYC's energy needs. This project will offset CO₂ emissions and reduce dependency on polluting natural gas plants like Ravenswood and Astoria. The farm will connect directly to NYC's grid (the first offshore wind project to do so) but its effect on reducing residents' electricity bills remains minimal. Alongside providing renewable energy, the project is expected to create over 1,000 union jobs as part of redeveloping the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal.
THE EUROPEAN UNION GOT MORE OF ITS ELECTRICITY IN 2024 FROM SOLAR PANELS THAN FROM COAL.
In 2024, solar energy overtook coal in the EU power sector, generating 11% of electricity compared to coal’s 10%, while fossil fuel generation fell to a historic low of 29% (down from 39% in 2019) according to Ember’s European Electricity Review. Renewables rose to 47%, with wind contributing 17%, surpassing gas for the second year in a row. The growth of solar and wind, combined with a recovery in hydropower, significantly reduced the EU’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, avoiding €59 billion in costs over five years. Coal fell from the EU’s third-largest power source in 2019 to sixth in 2024. These clean energy transitions and decreased dependence on fossil fuels can be credited to the European Green Deal.
MORE IN SUSTAINABILITY NEWS
How the world has responded to Trump’s Paris climate agreement withdrawal.
Google gave biochar a boost when it announced it will buy 200,000 tons of carbon removal credits by 2030.
Exploring the Viability of Recycled Plastic in Architecture with Polygood Panels.
Clothing Recycling Is Taking a Giant Leap Forward
Three former Environmental Protection Agency staffers who played key roles undoing chemical, climate, and water regulations during Trump’s first term (Nancy Beck, Lynn Ann Dekleva, and David Fotouhi) are heading back to the agency.
Brazil appointed a veteran climate diplomat with no direct ties to the fossil fuel industry to be the next COP president at COP30.
Wants to set up a pilot program to test the potential for self-driving helicopters to put out wildfires under conditions that are too dangerous for human pilots
Trump floated the idea of putting states in charge of disaster response in an interview on Fox News Wednesday night. Trump told Sean Hannity that he’d “rather see the states take care of their own problems” and that “the federal government can help them out with the money.”
California wants to set up a pilot program to test the potential for self-driving helicopters to put out wildfires under conditions that are too dangerous for human pilots.