Welcome to another edition of Climatebase Weekly (Tuesday, September 30th, 2025).

In today’s edition…

🌟 Featured climate jobs at 10+ new employers — Scroll down to view them all!

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🌎 This Week In Climate: China Announces New Emissions Target, Judge Reinstates $6.2B Wind Farm, First Climate Hybrid Discovered & Other Top Stories From This Week.

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By Julian Moore

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced China's new climate goals at Wednesday’s UN Climate Summit: reducing greenhouse gas emissions 7-10% below peak levels by 2035, increasing wind and solar capacity to six times 2020 levels within a decade, and boosting non-fossil fuel energy to over 30%. Xi criticized "some countries" for abandoning climate commitments, most likely referring to the country whose leader referred to climate change as a "con job" in front of world leaders on Wednesday. 

Other nations announced emission reduction targets: the EU pledged 66-72% cuts by 2035, Australia committed to 62-70% reductions, and Brazil promised 59-67% cuts while warning against climate denialism. Small island states, represented by Palau, called for more aggressive action from major economies as climate impacts take hold 

Environmental groups criticized the announcements as insufficient given worsening climate impacts. UN Secretary-General Guterres noted that while compliance with the Paris Accords is under strain, the process had contributed to lowering projected warming from 4°C to 2.6°C, while emphasizing the need for much faster action. 

A federal judge ruled Monday that Ørsted's Revolution Wind offshore wind project can resume construction after the Trump administration halted the $6.2 billion Rhode Island project without factual justification. Judge Royce Lamberth granted a preliminary injunction, calling the administration's action "arbitrary and capricious."

This marks a legal victory amid Trump's broader campaign against offshore wind, with twelve other lawsuits challenging Biden-era wind farm approvals. The administration is inconsistently defending some projects while attempting to revoke approvals for others like SouthCoast Wind and Maryland Offshore Wind Project, using a new legal interpretation requiring "absolutist" evaluation of ocean conflicts.

The stop-work order cost Revolution Wind developers over $2 million daily and threatened New England grid reliability. The 80%-complete, 704-megawatt project would provide carbon-free electricity to New England customers facing high power bills.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have discovered what may be the first vertebrate hybrid resulting from climate change-driven range expansions. The bird, offspring of a green jay and blue jay, represents species separated by 7 million years of evolution whose ranges historically didn't overlap.

In the 1950s, green jays (tropical birds from Central America) barely extended into south Texas, while blue jays (temperate Eastern US birds) only reached Houston. Climate shifts have since caused both species to expand their ranges, converging around San Antonio where they now encounter each other for mating.

Unlike previous vertebrate hybrids caused by human activity or single-species range expansion, this case involves both parent species simultaneously expanding due to changing weather patterns. Graduate student Brian Stokes discovered the male hybrid through social media birding posts, confirming its parentage through genetic analysis.

The finding suggests hybridization may be more common than known, particularly as climate change continues altering species distributions and creating new opportunities for cross-species encounters.

The High Seas Treaty has reached a crucial milestone, securing its 60th ratification from Morocco and becoming international law in January 2025. This landmark agreement, two decades in development, aims to protect international waters by establishing marine protected areas covering over two-thirds of the ocean.

The treaty addresses urgent threats to marine life, including overfishing, shipping pollution, and climate change impacts. Nearly 10% of marine species face extinction risk, while currently only 1% of high seas are protected. The agreement commits nations to protect 30% of international waters by 2030.

Environmentalists celebrate this as a "monumental achievement" proving international cooperation is possible. UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the treaty's binding conservation rules. Once active, countries will propose protected areas for collective voting. Critics note nations will conduct their own environmental assessments, though monitoring bodies can register concerns.

Economic activity on the high seas represents $2.5 trillion in GDP globally and provides up to 80% of global oxygen supply.

Greenpeace International's Executive Director Mads Christensen argues in Climate Home News that UN climate negotiations are paralyzed by a broken consensus model requiring all 198 countries to agree on every decision. This allows individual nations, such as oil exporters, authoritarian regimes, or even democratic leaders ideologically opposed to climate action, to block global climate action and perpetuate a "race to the bottom" that rewards inaction.

Christensen calls for majority voting at climate summits, noting that the existing system has failed to deliver: emissions continue rising, fossil fuel production is expanding, and the world is heading toward at least 3.1°C warming, if upper limit models are to be believed. The most vulnerable communities, least responsible for climate change, are routinely overruled under current rules.

He cites growing momentum for reform, including the International Court of Justice ruling that fossil fuel subsidies may violate international law, and China's calls for more equitable global governance. The UNFCCC's draft rules have included majority voting provisions since 1995 but have been blocked by status-quo beneficiaries, namely the United States and developed, energy-hungry countries.

Christensen urges Brazil, as COP30 host, to lead this reform, emphasizing that functional multilateralism will require a much more effective system than the current format, which has led to consensus paralysis.

Check out some of the latest featured jobs below. If you don't see anything that speaks to you, you can always go to Climatebase to explore over 50,000 new climate jobs.

Smart Surfaces Coalition

“We help cities make “smart” surface decisions by demonstrating the value of surfaces that manage the sun and rain. ”

SolarApp Foundation

“Revolutionizing clean energy through automated permitting for faster, scalable residential solar installations.”

Reflective

“Reflective is a philanthropically-funded initiative focused on sunlight reflection research and technology development.”

CNaught

“"Streamlining corporate carbon credit purchases to maximize impact and reduce complexity."”

Interstate Renewable Energy Council

“Advancing a reliable, equitable, and resilient 100% clean energy future.”

YourStake

“Empowers financial advisors to align investments with clients' climate values using AI.”

Eli Technologies

“Affordable electrification software to simplify climate-friendly home upgrades and decarbonization initiatives.”

West Africa Blue

“Sustainably managing West Africa's coastal ecosystems through community-centric blue carbon projects.”

Center Goods

“Center Goods is a sustainable goods and refill store. Eco-friendly, ethically sourced, good for the world.”

Aquaria

“Transforming air into water for reliable, climate-resilient supply.”