Planes. Trains. Cars.

Welcome to Climate Positive! If you are here to doom scroll, you're in the wrong place. This newsletter pulls together top headlines supporting a narrative that climate action is actually happening and making a real difference.

For readers in the U.S., many of us are packing up and heading out to enjoy a long Memorial Day weekend. Driving to beaches, visiting family and friends for summer cookouts, and maybe taking in a baseball game. So for this week's issue, with the Environmental Protection Agency reporting that transportation is still the largest contributor to planet-warming pollution (30%), I thought I'd lighten the mood by talking about gains being made in this sector that could change Memorial Day travel sooner than we think -- from cleaner airline fuel, to efficient solar-powered driving, and more robust (less Co2 producing) train options.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Cleaner burning aviation fuels poised for?takeoff

With aviation responsible for about 2% of U.S. CO2 emissions, this article in Cipher News , found that lower-emitting sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which usually 60 to 70% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared with traditional jet fuel, are expected to surge in the United States in the next 10 years. The new projections from Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy noted production could increase anywhere between roughly 110,000 and 288,000 barrels a day by 2030, and represent between roughly 7% and nearly 20% of the 1.5 million barrels of jet fuel the U.S. consumed a day in 2022. In the below chart, 2016 is the first year any SAF production was recorded in the U.S., but 2022, the year IRA was enacted, marked the first time production started to grow such that the line departs sufficiently from zero.

Solar Charging EVs Could Mean Easier Trips for City-Dwellers

Interesting Engineering reported in a recent piece that a recent study found that solar energy can provide between 6 and 18 driving miles for EVs daily — a number equal to half of an EVs daily required charging, making it particularly relevant to city drivers who generally have shorter commutes.?The study took into account the capabilities of solar-powered vehicles in urban settings in 100 locations across the world, modeling the behavior of the cars in busy cities. Solar vehicles, like other EVs, produce no pollution, making them a promising clean mode of transportation. San Diego–based solar EV startup Aptera Motors (car pictured below) even claims that its prototype will be the "most efficient vehicle on the planet."

Passenger Train Ridership in the U.S. is Surging

Americans that have traveled in Europe frequently return back to the States with train envy. The efficiency and ease of traveling by train in Europe almost defines any trip when you are there, and it begs the question for most of us -- why don't we have this? Well, I think most of us know at least partly why (cough cough big oil), but this actually may be changing! Check out the numbers by Amtrak last year (below). And the press release by the company notes they are investing in many initiatives that could have our country relying less on planes and cars in the future. Worth noting, a 2022 Department of Transportation study found that traveling by train from Los Angeles to San Diego produces less than half the emissions per passenger of flying or driving. For Boston to New York, an electrified route produces less than a fifth the emissions of flying or driving.

Please do share any positive news/stories you see that would be a fit. The more positivity and awareness we can build around progress, the more action we can inspire through hope. Like and follow if you'd like to see more. And if you'd like my team to help tell your positive climate story, ping me at [email protected]

And a special thanks to all who serve our country bravely. Happy Memorial Day.