How do you shift into high gear on climate action? Political leadership is crucial.

U.S. Senate Democrats this week finally passed a climate bill that would put hundreds of billions in spending toward everything from backing for electric cars and heat pumps to environmental justice and efforts to cut the risks from heatwaves and wildfires.

The measure, which now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives, unfortunately also opens the way for new fossil fuel drilling - a painful concession that's a sign of how hard it is in some countries to get effective climate change policies approved.

In Colombia, new green-learning President Gustavo Petro has taken office promising to stop new oil exploration and wean his country off its heavy economic fossil fuel dependency in favour of a greener and fairer society.

The change is what "science tells us" must happen, says the new president, who wants to step up use of wind and solar energy, get state oil firm Ecopetrol producing green hydrogen and crack down on illegal Amazon deforestation.

But in a country where oil and mining currently provide up to 8% of the economy's total value and more than half of its monthly exports, transformation will be a challenge, even if new political will provides the critical first step.

In Kenya, 22-year-old Anita Soina, a climate change and environmental activist, is seeking to become the country's youngest-ever member of parliament in elections Tuesday.

"I decided to go for it. It's the challenges that are pushing me not to wait any longer," she told our correspondent Dominic Kirui on the campaign trail.

Soina, a member of the Maasai ethnic community who has seen firsthand the Mara River drying in her home region of northern Kenya, said activism was important but perhaps not sufficient.

"I realised that fighting from outside may not really be the answer," she said.

In Britain, meanwhile, known for its pioneering net-zero promises and wind-power building push, political will to carry on the climate fight may be wavering, with the two Conservative party candidates vying to replace ousted Prime Minister Boris Johnson scarcely mentioning the issue in their campaigning.

Both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have signed a pledge committing themselves to the country's net-zero-by-2050 target, and climate policies are in place for nearly every sector of the UK economy, says Chris Stark, the head of Britain's independent Climate Change Committee.

The question now, he says, is "are they actually going to be delivered?"

See you next week!

Laurie

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