It’s tough times for climate news. Newspapers and organizations of record have methodically gutted their climate reporting staff in 2026 alone, including the Washington Post in February, CBS in April, and NPR in May.
Independent journalists have always been critical to the climate movement, and now, with fewer and fewer national outlets covering the crisis, they’re more important than ever. Substack is happily crawling with climate writers, but who to read? While there’s no one complete, definitive list, the following must-reads—written by a mix of names both familiar and lesser known—cover a wide range of climate and environmental topics and angles from sustainability to politics to solutions to national parks. Don’t forget to check out who the following Substackers follow for even more must-reads—and take strength in the fact that so many big brains are thinking this crisis through.
Tell Congress: The Climate Clock Is Ticking. Act Now for Our Kids’ Future.
1. Climate-Colored Goggles by Sammy Roth
Sammy covered climate for the Los Angeles Times before launching this independent newsletter after breaking the news that Disneyland would be converting its 70-year-old Autopia ride from outdated gasoline engines to electric vehicles. He describes his writing as “finding climate solutions in pop culture, media, and sports,” but this synopsis does not quite do his work justice. You’ll see.
Follow Climate-Colored Goggles.
2. Possibilities by Yessenia Funes
Yessenia, formerly editor-at-large for Atmos, the independent nonprofit magazine focused on where climate meets culture, writes for various publications and is the environmental justice columnist for the Society of Environmental Journalists. She’s also a founding member of the Uproot Project, a network by and for environmental journalists of color. Recent Possibilities entries—diary-style thoughts related to the week’s climate news, as well as behind-the-scenes details about her work—include “Dreading Orange Skies,” “3 Scientists Talk About Queer Ecology,” and “Puerto Rico’s Water Crisis.”
3. Sustain What by Andy Revkin
The tagline of Andy’s Substack is: Sustainability is meaningless without asking Sustain what? For whom? How? He describes his work as a “regular dose of sanity and substance amid the spin around climate and sustainability challenges.” You might recognize his name from his years covering the environment for the New York Times, where he created the Dot Earth He has also served as the founding director of the Initiative on Communication and Sustainability at Columbia University. Check him out.
4. The Crucial Years by Bill McKibben
There are more than a few places to read the author, activist, and educator’s wise words on climate, but Bill’s Substack, focused how to win the climate fight, is well worth a subscribe. It’s a front row seat to Bill’s current thinking, with inside information and background on events he is attending, media interviews he is doing, and much more. If somehow you’re new to his work, Bill is the co-founder of the grassroots climate movement 350.org, the founder of Third Act, which is dedicated to getting people over the age of 60 to act on climate and social justice, and a professor at Middlebury College, among so many other roles.
5. Volts by David Roberts
Interested in decarbonization? This is the newsletter/podcast/community for you. It even has some dad jokes to round out solid stories about the transition away from fossil fuels truly and actually underway despite large efforts to thwart it. David has been reporting—passionately—on the topic for nearly two decades, digging through trade publications and research reports. He talks to politicians (and staffers), analysts, entrepreneurs, and activists about the latest progress in what he calls the world’s most important fight.
6. Patterns by Naomi Klein
The influential environmental author and University of British Columbia Professor of Climate Justice has recently joined Substack in advance of promoting her latest book, End Times Fascism, coming September 2026. Her other books, of course, are Doppelganger, This Changes Everything, On Fire, The Shock Doctrine, and No Logo. Her Substack bio says, “I tried to warn you…” and her posts are always thought provoking. Check out this one, a video with producer and comedian W. Kamau Bell about why they like sharing their messy thoughts (a.k.a. bad first drafts and thoughts on bad politicians) on Substack.
7. More Than Just Parks by Jim and Will Pattiz
Are you upset about what has been happening at our national parks lately? This Substack is devoted to tracking “the money, the lobbyists, and the political appointees deciding the fate of 640 million acres of national parks, forests, monuments, wilderness, and BLM rangelands.” Written by two brothers eager to get the word out about the 117 public land destinations under threat right now. They track what’s happening, who’s responsible, and what readers can do about it. They even have a Congressional Public Lands Scorecard where they grade all 535 members of Congress on their public land votes.
Tell Congress: The Climate Clock Is Ticking. Act Now for Our Kids’ Future.