Nick Hedley

3 weeks ago | theprogressplaybook.com | Nick Hedley

Beijing’s air pollution levels have fallen dramatically since peaking 12 years ago thanks to a series of regulatory interventions, data shows. The context: Fuelled by a growing population and rising wealth, the number of cars and factories in and around the city swelled in the 1990s and 2000s. By 2013, concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) reached an average of 89.5 μg/m³, which is 18 times the World Health Organization’s recommended safe limit.

1 month ago | theprogressplaybook.com | Nick Hedley

Despite being run by a pro-fossil fuels governor who has clamped down on decarbonisation efforts, the US state of Florida is fast transforming itself into a solar energy superpower. The background: Even as governor Ron DeSantis erased most references to climate change from state laws last year, the shift to solar energy was gathering momentum.

1 month ago | theprogressplaybook.com | Nick Hedley

Two Finnish energy companies are planning to deploy another, more advanced ‘sand battery’ that can store electricity, rather than just heat. Polar Night Energy and Valkeakosken Energia say they’ll start work on the plant in the second half of 2025. The pilot facility will convert electricity into heat, using sand as a medium. That heat can then be used by nearby households or manufacturers, or converted back into electricity when needed.

1 month ago | theprogressplaybook.com | Nick Hedley

The number of Londoners who cycle regularly has surged over the past few years thanks to a deliberate strategy to promote the healthy, emissions-free mode of transport. The city’s latest traffic survey, which is conducted every second year during the autumn months, shows that the number of people cycling was 57% higher in 2024 than just two years before, and 70% up from 2017 levels.

1 month ago | theprogressplaybook.com | Nick Hedley

A growing number of US states have set stronger standards than federal regulations to curb methane emissions from landfills, and they’re creating something of a “domino effect” that’s spurring action across the country, according to a new analysis by non-profit think tank RMI. The context: Because they contain huge volumes of decaying food scraps and other organic waste, landfills are major sources of methane, a greenhouse gas that traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over the near term.