As our planet and policymakers grapple with the escalating consequences of climate change, any positive steps that we can take to reducing our carbon emissions makes a big difference.

And that’s why recent news coming out of the UK is being especially celebrated as a sign of positive change and hope toward a greener future.

According to a recent Carbon Brief report, energy used in the UK was the cleanest on record in 2024, with the nation taking huge steps to cut their reliance on fossil fuels. The innovative clean energy solutions used across the UK include wind and solar power, as well as nuclear energy sources too.

In fact, according to the report, the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions per unit of electricity have fallen by two-thirds in the last ten years.

That makes sense, since the UK has put a lot of investment into clean energy over the past decade. Not only have the government subsidised significant investment for home- and land-owners to generate their own electricity by installing solar panels on their property, the UK are also leaders in both on- and off-shore wind farms.

And with the nation’s variable climate, with frequent windy weather due to its location in the Polar Jet Stream, there are natural energy sources in abundance.

While British society was once fuelled by huge coal mines – with many towns in the early to mid 1900s fully habited by miners and their families – this has been phased out over years, with it stopping completely in September.

The UK burns under half as much of the quantity of fossil fuels it did back in 2014 as a result, with this non-renewable energy source only making up 29% of the UK’s electricity. On the other hand, renewable energy sources made up 45% of the energy stock, while nuclear energy – not entirely green, but still known as a clean energy source – accounting for 13%.

In total, this meant that while 91 terawatt hours of the UK’s electricity usage was generated from burning fossil fuels, this was a 55% decrease from the 203 terawatt hours used in 2014. Meanwhile, in 2014 the nation used only 65 terawatt hours of renewable energy, but by 2024 this was up 122% to 143 terawatt hours.

This is all great news, but comes with a warning. The UK Government have pledged to use at least 95% clean power by 2030, a vital target if we are to safeguard our planet and keep record rising temperatures from soaring further and triggering one of the climatic tipping points that would send our Earth and its atmosphere hurtling toward climate disaster.

However, the UK’s new Labour government have pledged a number of significant climate investments and plans that will aim to eradicate the UK’s fossil fuel usage into the future, and with figures like these it seems like the nation is on the right course as they head toward that 5-year target.

The future of our planet depends on it.

If you think that’s impressive, check out this story about a “goldmine” of lithium that was found in the U.S. that could completely change the EV battery game.