Rick Smith

California is beating its own climate goals ahead of schedule: ✅ Two-thirds of the state grid powered by clean energy ✅ More than 2.5M electric vehicles ✅ 201K public chargers (more than gas nozzles) ✅ 17,000 MW of battery storage (2nd only to China) The cynics said it couldn't be done.

Good morning with good news: Coal's monthly share of global electricity fell to a record low 31.1% in May 2025! Coal lost monthly share in 2025 at a rate of ~1 to 2 points! Coal may plunge to 10%-20% of world power by 2035 from 40% in 2014. More in next post.

Think heat pumps can’t handle Canadian winters? ❄️🍁 In Europe’s coldest countries, they’re already the norm — and they’re 2-3x more efficient than gas boilers, even well below zero. Retrofits make homes warmer, cheaper to heat, and ready for the future. Graph: @CarbonBrief

What will industrial carbon pricing cost the oil sands sector if the Canada-Alberta MOU moves forward? Our latest research shows costs would be minimal—just a Timbit per barrel if the price reaches $130/t in 2030. 440megatonnes.ca/insight/why-in…

Quel sera le coût de la tarification du carbone industriel pour le secteur des sables bitumineux si le protocole d’entente entre le CA et l'AB est mis en œuvre? Les coûts seraient d'un Timbit par baril si le prix atteignait 130 $/t en 2030. 440megatonnes.ca/fr/insight/pou…

China's car exports surge... presumably mostly EV's. Today's data shows Jan/Feb up y-o-y by 57.9% in value and 67.1% in volume. customs.gov.cn/customs/2026-0…

Good morning with good news: UK TOTAL carbon emissions fell 2.4% in 2025 to their lowest level since 1872! Wow! Total emissions are 54% below 1990 levels! In 2025, gas fell 1.5% and oil dropped 0.9%. UK adopts EV/RE. UK GDP up 2X since 1990. carbonbrief.org/analysis-uk-em…

😬I'm sure this will be fine😬 "Pace of global warming has nearly doubled since 2015, reveals study" carbonbrief.org/pace-of-global…

It’s almost like climate science was a … science, with testable and nullifiable hypotheses, not vibes. And that anthropogenic climate change, and its rate and drivers, are actually supported by observed data …

Global solar generation surpassed 2,000 TWh in 2024, enough to power ALL of India and avoiding emissions equivalent to the US power sector ☀️ Find out how solar is changing the world’s energy landscape in 2025 at the launch webinar of our #GER2026🔜 ember-energy.org/latest-updates…

What’s the cost of strengthening industrial carbon pricing for oil sands companies? Just a Timbit per barrel—or 50 cents on average by 2030. Get the facts and explore our new cost calculator ⬇️ climateinstitute.ca/industrial-car…

Quel est le coût du renforcement de la tarification du carbone industriel pour les entreprises des sables bitumineux? L'équivalent d’un Timbit par baril — soit environ 50 ¢ en moyenne d’ici 2030. Découvrez les faits et essayez notre nouveau calculateur ⬇️ institutclimatique.ca/tarification-c…

Graphic from @ieefa_institute I remember when people told us that renewable generation would always be a marginal factor in grids. In fact, you can still hear versions of this today. If it wasn't obvious already, those arguments were never right to begin with.

Since 2021, China has added more power capacity than the US has built in its ENTIRE HISTORY. Read that again while we waste time debating "gas as a bridge" or waiting 20 years for a single nuclear plant >China just dropped 543GW in just ONE year >China is building 6x more capacity than the US over the next 6 years China figured out the AI race is actually an energy race. If you want the data centers, you need the terawatts. If you don't have the renewables, you don't have the future. Simple The fossil fuel dinosaurs and their lobbyists are still busy protecting their 19th-century business models while China eats the 21st century for breakfast Absolutely staggering data in this article: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Good morning with good news: Europe will install 135 GW of wind from 2026-2030, increasing wind capacity 44%. European wind rises to ~439 GW in 2030 from 304 GW in 2025! 9.2 GW was built in 2025. Chart below is EU only, which installs 112 GW. windeurope.org/data/products/…

Europe added 19.1 GW of wind in 2025. Wind's 2025 share of electricity was over 30% in 6 nations: Denmark 50% Lithuania 33% Ireland 33% UK 31% Sweden 30% Netherlands 29% Germany 28% Finland 25% Portugal 25% Spain 23% Greece 21% windeurope.org/data/

India Solar Deployment Jumps Again! Its 2026 solar deployment will be five times the 2023 deployment and ~70% more than the 2024 total! 2026: 42.5 GW 2025: 37.8 GW 2024: 25.2 GW 2023: 8.3 GW India is a global solar leader! pv-magazine.com/2026/02/27/ind…

@MLiebreich A great few days! Thanks for making the trek.

I've just got back to London from a whirlwind few days in Ottawa, as guest of the Canadian Climate Institute. I penned a few thoughts on what I learned. mliebreich.substack.com/p/thoughts-fro…

@juliedabrusin @ClimateInstit Thanks for your leadership!

Speaking at the Canadian Climate Institute, my message was clear — this is a pivotal moment for Canada. We know that fighting climate change and seizing the opportunity of the global energy transition is essential to growing our economy, protecting our communities, and building a stronger Canada. To do this, we are meeting the moment with an approach that is ambitious and pragmatic, unifying and durable. We are working with provinces and territories to harness our natural strengths, invest in innovation, and build clean infrastructure to position Canada for the future — a Canada that is supported by good careers, fuelled by clean energy, and connected by low emission transportation. Thank you to the @ClimateInstit for bringing people together for this important conversation of how to build Canada’s clean economy.

Good morning with good news: Google, XCEL & Form will deploy a 300 MW & 30 GWh 100-hour battery with 1.4 GW of wind & 200 MW of solar in Pine Island, Minnesota. Wow! 100-hour battery! 30 GWh is massive! US deployed 56 GWh nationally in 2025! pv-magazine-usa.com/2026/02/24/goo…