That was rough.
The past year had a combination of policy fiascos, natural disasters and a steady march toward a future that is too hot.
Many of the major events of 2025 flowed from the decision by U.S. voters to return Donald Trump to the White House with Republican majorities in Congress. The Trump administration’s dismantling of environmental protection rules was more far-reaching than even some of the most pessimistic expectations.
On the world stage, the United States largely ceded its leadership role in climate policy, and, by its absence, helped solidify China’s status as the ascendant power.
It wasn’t all bad. The world took significant steps forward with growing market share for solar power and electric vehicles. China led the way on both fronts.
Here is what happened through the lens of Inside Climate News reporting:
January
The year began with wildfires in the Los Angeles area, displacing thousands of people. California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency.
The warm and dry conditions that increased the fire risk were linked to ongoing increases in global temperatures. Early in the month, international agencies reported that the world’s average surface temperature in the previous year was the highest on record and that the temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average, as Bob Berwyn reported. These were grim findings, given that global organizations had worked for years to avoid this threshold of warming because of fears of irreversible damage.
An aerial view shows homes burned in the Eaton Fire on Feb. 5 in Altadena, Calif. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images
On Jan. 20, Donald Trump took office and immediately issued executive orders to kickstart his agenda of expanding the use of fossil fuels, discouraging renewable energy and weakening environmental regulations. The scope of the orders turned out to be an accurate indication of what lay ahead.
For environmental advocates, one of the tragedies was that the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden had taken many steps to embrace a clean energy economy and combat climate change, but its efforts had barely begun by the time Trump returned to office, as Marianne Lavelle reported.
“Two things are true,” said Stevie O’Hanlon, spokesman for the climate advocacy group Sunrise Movement. “One is that President Biden did more than any other president to tackle the climate crisis and really kick-start development of a renewable energy economy. That is historic and really game-changing. And at the same time, oil and gas production is at record highs, and the policies that Donald Trump is foreshadowing spell out the worst reality for our generation’s future.”
President Donald Trump holds his signed executive order announcing the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
February
After the initial executive orders, the Trump administration barely paused before moving on to make deeper cuts and reshape the government.