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| Dandelions were used in the World Environment Day Opening ceremony. When I was little, it was said that dandelion seeds blowing in the wind were wishes |
This post is a bit rough and ready. I only just found out that it was World Environment Day two days ago and I am going away early in the morning.
There was nothing on the news. Microsoft no longer posts alerts for UN days at the bottom of my taskbar, so I almost missed it. Even the video of the opening ceremony in host country Azerbaijan was so quiet that I could barely hear it, no matter how much I fiddled with the volume, though I did get glimpses of an amazing culture and scenery and catch some exciting snippets about what Azerbaijan is doing to become more Earth-friendly.
It is creating more conservation areas, generating more renewable energy, taking action on plastics, pollution and waste, especially food waste which
contributes to methane — one of the most powerful greenhouse gases, but a bit more on that later. [One
of the interesting inclusions in the dance sequences were performers in
wheelchairs and the child performers from a special school]
A Quietening of Environmental Voices
In a way, the muted sound reflects what seems to be happening in the real world. We do seem to hear a lot about the retreat from Net Zero and the rollback of environmental protections, but is it true?
Who has walked back their Climate Commitments?
• US dramatically withdrew from the Paris Agreement on January 27, 2026. It has also cut funding to environmental agencies, opened national parks to exploitation and repealed the EPA's its 2009 finding that greenhouse gases endanger human health — the legal foundation for nearly all US climate regulation >
• Argentina abandoned net zero entirely and slashed its renewable
energy budget by 80%, abandoning subsidies and approving permits for oil
and gas exploration instead.
• Turkey pushed out its target from 2053 to 2070, giving #2.3 billion in climate funds to 5 new coal power plants.
• Under its previous government, Poland extended its Net Zero time frame from 2050 to 2060 and cut subsidies to renewables by 35%.
• New Zealand repealed its Natural and Built Environment Act within months of the previous government passing it.
• Indonesia reversed its decision on deforestation opening up 127 new
palm oil concessions raising its emissions from land use change by 45%
and cutting back its renewable energy targets from 23% to 18% and
reducing subsidies for EVs and solar panels. It also cleared 180,000 ha
of undisturbed rainforest.
• Brazil has gone backwards on deforestation too and is now allowing mining permits on previously protected lands, as well cutting renewable energy — mostly hydro — additions by 40% due to concerns about drought and low river flows.
• India, Mexico, Canada and Australia’s emissions have gone up
slightly, partly in response to greater energy demand and security
concerns, but also in Australia’s case because network connectivity and
battery rollout have not been able to keep pace with demand, especially
from data centres.
Note that it is predominantly countries with right-wing governments — the US, Argentina, Turkey — along with New Zealand, and right-wing opposition parties in Australia and the UK pushing for rollbacks. But the picture is not uniform — Poland’s situation is more complex, and some centrist governments are holding commitments more on paper than practice.
What we don’t see in the Headlines
Not generally receiving much media attention is that 77% of countries are still honouring their commitments to Net Zero, and US company net
zero targets actually rose 9%. Progress has been made and is still
continuing, even if, as in Australia’s case, the reality on the ground
is still a bit shaky.
The UK under Labour is one of the most credible counter examples to
the “net zero is unaffordable and impossible” argument. Renewable energy
companies have invested over £50 billion in the UK since Labour came to
power. Household energy bills are falling. The economy isn’t
collapsing. In 2025 the UK committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by
81% from 1990 levels by 2035 — announced at COP29 and formally submitted
in January 2025. It was one of the first countries to submit an ambitious new climate plan ahead of the UN deadline.
Great British Energy -a publicly owned clean power company with £8.3 billion committed over five years, was established in May 2025.
The push for reversal in the UK is coming from the Opposition —
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch announced in March 2025 her party no
longer supported the net zero target, calling it unaffordable.
Other Wins
I usually cover specific environmental advances in my regular good news section, so I’ll just highlight a few recent developments
here, along with a closer look at what this year’s host country, Azerbaijan is actually doing, which deserves more attention than the
subdued ceremony suggested.
Azerbaijan has placed over 10% of its territory under protection, including the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Hyrcanian Forests — among the world’s oldest ecosystems, hosting over 3,000 plant species.
Its solar generation has been growing at 12.6 times over the past five
years. Renewables are expected to reach 38% of national energy by 2030.
Caspian offshore wind resources rank second globally after the North
Sea. A Black Sea Energy Cable will transmit 1,000–1,300 MW of renewable
electricity to Europe.
Though the Caspian Sea is experiencing its lowest water level in 400 years — declining 9–35 cm annually — with projections of a 20–21 metre drop by the end of the century. To counter this, five Caspian countries are developing a 2025–2030 joint action plan agreed to at an Earth Day conference in Astana earlier this year.
Forests
Tropical rainforest loss dropped 36% in 2025 from the record high of
2024 — driven largely by Colombia. thanks to strong policies and
enforcement, though its still 46% higher than a decade
ago, and the monster El Niño expected this year threatens to reverse gains.In contrast to Brazil, Colombia has also banned all new mining and oil exploration in its part of the Amazon — an area the size of
Sweden.
Food Waste
The Food Waste Breakthrough launched at COP30 in Brazil aims to help cities halve food waste by 2030 and thereby cut methane emissions by up to 7%.
Renewable Energy
Australia’s third-largest taxpayer — Fortescue Mining — is using renewable energy for its fleet of 600 large diesel 240-tonne haul trucks and
still plans to become carbon-neutral by 2030.
An Australian steel mill, InfraBuild, is now using 50% renewable energy in its operations, proving that it can be done.
There’s more, but these are just a few snippets I have been saving here and there.
So why aren’t we hearing more about those?
The situation reminds me of when I returned to university in the late ‘90s compared to the ‘80s, when the entire campus was agog with environmental concern. By the late ‘90s, the mood was much more subdued. The emphasis academically had shifted from general knowledge and research to what industry wanted and just getting employed - preferably at the highest wage possible. In the environmental classes I attended, we were told that the world had lost interest in environmental issues. We didn’t know then how the media worked, that being dependent on advertising, it responded to the demands of large advertisers and could not afford to offend them, but we know better now.
Since then, the mainstream media in this country, at least, has become even more concentrated, and there are vast amounts of misinformation on social media, eagerly and widely disseminated and rarely questioned at all. Comments are often blocked as well. We are being encouraged to believe the “lost cause” narrative, which serves specific interests well — fossil fuel companies, those whose wealth depends on the status quo, and political movements that benefit from despair and disengagement. It makes it seem that there’s no point in doing anything.
Any environmental news that does come through does so in dribs and
drabs, often against great odds and amid great risks — see, for example,
the Federal Court case recently brought against small independent media
outlet Michael West media, by BHP, the global mining giant and Australia’s
largest company, seeking to suppress information that was on the public
record. [While the case against Michael West himself has now been
dropped, the injured coal miner whose cause he was highlighting is still
facing civil proceedings for costs and damages and has no legal
representation.]
Protest laws in many countries have been tightened too, making it very difficult to rally around a particular cause. That, ladies, gentlemen, and anyone else, is what the human race and other species are up against. Be aware and remember at election time.
Now is not Time to Despair
In the face of such deep-pocketed opposition, it’s a wonder that we are making any progress at all — but we are, despite this. The pressure to do so may not be coming from national governments, but it is coming from cities, businesses, communities, local governments and councils and especially Non -Government Organisations (NGOs) and grassroots organisations, acting regardless of what Washington might do.
The theme for this year’s Environment Day is "Our Power Our Planet." Let’s make it so, by whatever means at our disposal. As the commentator at the opening ceremony remarked, “Every fraction of a degree matters.” Thinking of criticism of the energy transition, I am reminded of a phrase my ex used to use - "Never show a woman a job half done," and I think much the same applies to critics of renewables.
For things which Cities can do, click here
For Businesses, click here
National and Regional Governments, click here
I am sure Academia, Civil Society Groups and Individuals, need no further instruction, but by all means check the suggestions here
Thank you to Claude and Ecosia AI for supplying links and references as well as correcting typos. I choose Claude for its more ethical stance and Ecosia for its renewable energy and broader perspective. Where possible, I am also trying to use real photography and artwork made by humans. Although I can't pay for it, their work deserves to be seen, acknowledged and appreciated.
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