The First Young Planet Leaders Changemaker Academy
In December the first Young Planet Leaders Changemaker Academy class graduated. 38 students, aged 14 – 22, representing 19 countries and six continents, came together for a series of online workshops that gave them the tools needed to create meaningful environmental change.
After hearing from a variety of thinkers, activists, inventors, and policy experts, who have shaped national or global conversations, each student designed a local climate solution. Some projects focused on conservation, others on circular economies and some aimed to educate, mobilize, or engineer new forms of renewable energy. At the end of the programme, students submitted their proposals to the young planet leaders board for review.
Three students received funding to help realise their projects:
- Marcella Azuekwu – Lagos Menstrual Dignity Project
- Shahed Anan Sajeeeb; Seed to Success Project
- Tumiso Mathenge; Girl to Girl Uwezo project
Applications for 2026 cohorts will open soon, so keep an eye on the Young Planet Leaders website: https://youngplanetleaders.org/academy/
Solar Panels in Space
Could solar panels in space provide energy security? New research from King’s College London reveals that solar panels in space could provide continuous clean energy for Europe, replacing most land-based renewables and reducing battery storage needs by over two-thirds.
Dr. Wei He, who led the research team at King’s College London, explains that space-based solar power offers something that wind turbines and rooftop panels cannot: constant, reliable energy generation. Unlike solar farms on Earth, that stop producing energy at night or during cloudy weather, solar panels in space would generate power around the clock.
However, the study acknowledges the challenges faced before space solar panels become a reality. Building the panels, launching them into orbit, and maintaining them in space remains prohibitively expensive with current technology. Only significant advances in space launch systems and manufacturing could bring costs down.
To see solar panels in space we will need sustained investment in research, cooperation and knowledge sharing between countries and continued innovation in space technology. But if the projections prove accurate, orbital solar farms could transform how we generate electricity within a generation.
Extreme Weather in South and South-East Asia – Cyclones and Monsoon Rains
Tropical cyclones have combined with heavy monsoon rains, fuelling intense wind and rain in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. More than 1,600 people were killed, and flooding and mudslides have devastated areas across the region displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
A world weather attribution study found that climate change made the extreme rainfall behind the disasters more intense and much more likely to occur. Whilst monsoon rains often occur, scientists said that this level of intensity was not normal.