Don’t get me wrong — urgency matters. The climate crisis is real, and the stakes are enormous. But I’ve noticed something: fear doesn’t inspire action nearly as well as we think it does. It paralyzes people. It burns out the very professionals who are doing the work. And it completely misses what might be the most important story of our generation:

We’re actually making incredible progress.

The story nobody’s telling

Here are a few things that happened while the headlines were busy scaring you:

• Solar energy costs have dropped roughly 90% since 2010. That’s not a typo. What used to require government subsidies to be remotely competitive is now the cheapest source of new electricity in most of the world.

• Renewable sources now generate around 30% of global electricity. A decade ago, that number felt like a fantasy.

• The clean energy sector employs over 14 million people worldwide — and that number is climbing fast.

• Electric vehicle sales have gone from a rounding error to over 18% of global car sales.

• Countries and companies that were once climate laggards are now racing to decarbonize — not because they suddenly became altruistic, but because the economics finally make sense.

These aren’t hypothetical breakthroughs in a lab somewhere. These are real, deployed, scaled solutions that are reshaping how the world works.

Why this matters to me personally

In my day-to-day work, I’m constantly coming across projects, technologies, and initiatives that make me think, “Why doesn’t everyone know about this?” A community that figured out how to cut building energy use in half. A startup that cracked a storage problem everyone said was impossible. A policy that actually worked.

Every time I learn about one of these, it changes how I think about my own work. I see cross-pollination opportunities. I borrow ideas from one sector and apply them in another. That’s the power of optimism grounded in real progress — it doesn’t just make you feel better, it makes you more effective.

I started Climate Optimism because I want to create that experience for others. If you work in energy, sustainability, the built environment, or climate tech — or if you just want to feel informed without feeling hopeless — this is for you.

What to expect

This newsletter will focus on four areas:

Clean energy — Solar, wind, storage, grid innovation, and the projects proving it all works at scale.

Built environment — Buildings, retrofits, and infrastructure that are getting smarter, more efficient, and cleaner.

Innovation — The technologies, policies, and business models opening up new possibilities.

People — The leaders, teams, and communities who are doing the work and getting results.

Each issue will feature real stories, real data, and real lessons you can take back to your own work. No doom. No gloom. Just what’s working — and what we can learn from it.

A small ask

If this resonates with you, I’d appreciate two things:

1. Reply to this email and tell me what you’d like to see covered. What progress stories have caught your eye? What questions do you have? This is a conversation, not a broadcast.

2. Share this with one person who could use a little climate optimism in their inbox.

We’ll be back soon with our first real story. In the meantime — the future is being built right now. Let’s pay attention.