It’s 2025! So, what are the eco developments to look out for this year?
Firstly, we need to watch how the shaky geopolitical landscape and the rise of right-wing governments will continue or shut down ecological initiatives.
💸Climate finance in 2025
After the ‘finance’ COP29, let’s see how some of the pledged $300 billion will be allocated this year to real projects in developing countries – hit hardest by climate change.
2025 will most likely see a rise in sustainable and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) finance.
📋Sustainability reporting
As Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDRs) will become more common, companies will have to integrate strategic sustainability practices.
In Europe for example, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) implemented in 2023, will need companies to publish such reports from 2025.
💦Water management
Different parts of the world will be ramping up means to reduce water usage, improve water and irrigation systems but also implement techniques to have access to more fresh water.
♾️circular economy
We have all heard of the reduce, reuse & recycling mantra. This is key in a circular economy, along with resources efficiency (e.g. energy), material choice (i.e. eliminating plastic) and product lifespan extension.
🌱Nature-based solutions in 2025
Restoration and conservation projects will continue in 2025
-Progress on the Great Green Wall in Africa
-Indonesia’s Mangrove Restoration Program aims to restore 600,000 hectares of mangroves
-Global coral-reef restoration from Australia to Hawaii will be key this year
-A big focus will be on agroforestry e.g. Ethiopia’s Sustainable Land Management Project
-Restoring freshwater ecosystems, including the DANUBE4all project in central Europe
According to UNEP private finance should be doubled for nature-based solutions in 2025.
⚡Renewable energy push
-Solar power advancements, including bifacial panels that capture sunlight from several sides
-Offshore wind capacity is projected to grow by a third in 2025 globally, especially in Europe and China (while decreasing in the US with Trump’s re-election)
-Scale-up of green hydrogen to decarbonise heavy industry and transport
-New energy storage – slowly stepping away from lithium-ion batteries and increasing solid-state batteries. Let’s see how production will go in 2025
-Increasing commercially available geothermal energy
🤖Positives & negatives of AI in 2025
This year will see AI advancements for climate solutions, from optimising supply chains and nature conservation to modeling climate systems, weather prediction, and smart-energy grids.
But the amount of resources needed to run AI systems are huge. Let’s hope that the positives outweigh the negatives…
Happy New Year!
(Sources: Oxford Economics, IUCN, WINSS, EC, EY, Sustainability Magazine, ESG News, UNDP, ICPDR, Ashurst)