Each year, the Guardian reaffirms its commitment to the environment – both in our reporting and how we operate as a business. From critical tipping points to war in Iran, this is how the last 12 months have looked
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Today marks the end of the Guardian’s annual climate support campaign. Each year, during the campaign, we remind our audience about the Guardian’s role in covering the threats to our planet and the importance of independent journalism in telling that story. Our climate pledge is a reminder of the environmental values we place at the heart of our reporting and our organisation.
Since our 2025 climate pledge, the world has experienced extreme levels of heat as well as extreme forms of denial and abdication in the face of the climate crisis. But, across the world, there have also been inspiring efforts to tackle it.
This update reflects how the Guardian has remained steadfast in exposing those who have tried to block or reverse the transition to a clean energy world, as well as highlighting the efforts of those who have been bravely confronting the greatest challenge of our time.
In the past three weeks, more than 30,000 Guardian readers have supported our backed our annual climate support campaign. If you believe in the power of independent journalism, please consider joining them today.
The Guardian’s commitment to agenda-setting climate journalism has become even more crucial this year as other news outlets have scaled back their own climate coverage. While the news cycle continues to be dominated by conflict, division and the abuses of autocrats, we have worked tirelessly to keep the health of the planet firmly on the public agenda.
We have highlighted how the climate emergency has pitted the interests of billionaires against the wellbeing of billions of ordinary people. For example, our journalists have been reporting extensively on the environmental impact of the AI revolution, revealing how the race to build giant datacentres has been driving up big tech’s carbon emissions – as well as how US tech giants lobbied the EU to hide the environmental toll of their datacentres.
The Guardian has also examined how the oil crisis triggered by the war on Iran has helped a coalition of business interests, rightwing populists and media outlets to ramp up their attacks on net zero goals. We revealed that major oil companies made £93bn in profits in three months following the start of the conflict.
As the climate emergency has increasingly become part of the culture wars, we have countered dangerous and widespread disinformation – from myths about the cost of clean energy to its impact on jobs and the economy. We have also highlighted how the transition to green energy can make countries more resilient.
The Guardian’s independence from corporate interests means we have been able to speak truthfully and plainly while the statements from climate sceptics have become ever more contorted. While the northern hemisphere has been scorched this summer by the most severe and widespread heatwave on record, some of those who have long denied the crisis have suggested we now embrace the devastation. Guardian journalists have reported on how the world’s most powerful climate denier, Donald Trump, has continued reneging on the US’s international climate commitments and undermining federal climate regulations. We have examined how the US president has been pouring taxpayer money into his crusade against clean energy and also into boosting coal.
If it feels as if tackling the climate crisis has been eclipsed by climate culture wars, disinformation and toxic discourse, our journalists have continued to shine a light on the remarkable progress being made in some places and the possibility for positive change. For instance, we have looked at countries, such as Spain, that have embraced renewables and are benefiting from lower utility prices. We have reported on how Australia has pioneered a revolution in home renewables and battery use, providing inspiration for the rest of the world. And we captured people’s imaginations about what is possible by covering how Paris is building a gigantic cooling machine using river water from the Seine. As some countries forge ahead with the transition to a clean energy world while those in hock to fossil fuels try to turn back the clock, we have also examined the implications for the shifting geopolitical balance of power.
Our daily reporting on climate impacts and extreme weather events has drawn on the Guardian’s network of correspondents around the world and our genuinely global outlook.
We have reported on the toll the warming climate is having on gig workers in India, as well as how the closure of schools across the country means working mothers have been bearing the brunt of the climate crisis, either forced to stay at home or switch jobs.
With Europe heating up twice as fast as other continents, Guardian reporters spoke to locals and tourists about their experiences of this year’s heatwaves. We also reported on the experiences of those on the frontline tackling the effects of extreme heat, speaking to firefighters about how the scale of this year’s wildfires has forced them to make incredibly difficult choices. Our reporters also highlighted the impact on other people providing essential services in dangerous levels of heat, such as nurses, teachers and bus drivers.
