The years leading up to 2025 were marked by a rare optimism that the United States would finally do something about climate change. Former president Joe Biden called the crisis an “enormous opportunity,” and during his term, Congress passed the biggest climate law in the country’s history. It felt like the U.S. was on the cusp of a greener future — until that momentum came to a sudden halt.
Alert fatigue: The phrase that defined our climate in 2024 How to describe 2023 in two words? Global boiling: Forget “rizz” — these words characterized the hottest year ever ★ Words of the Year: Grist’s picks for the words and phrases that captured each year’s spirit
As soon as President Donald Trump took office in January, he brought a swift end to that era with an all-out assault on his predecessor’s policies, unraveling environmental protections and canceling climate research. Trump abandoned global climate commitments while aggressively promoting fossil fuels at home, even as the rest of the world installed more solar panels and wind turbines than ever before.
Read more
