The solar park located outside the village of Feldheim, Germany on February 21, 2023. Feldheim is the first village in Germany to be completely self-sufficient in energy. With the help of wind energy, photovoltaics, biogas, biomass, a regulating power plant and a local heating network, the village covers its own needs. The large amounts of surplus energy generated in the process are fed into the public grid. A total of 284 movers, equipped with 9,844 photovoltaic modules, generate an overall output of 2.25 MWp, yielding 2,748 MWh per year. This amount of energy is sufficient to meet the yearly electricity demands of approximately 600 households consisting of four individuals each. Ingmar Björn Nolting / Climate Visuals

Today, April 22 2025, is the 55th annual Earth Day, a day highlighting the urgent importance of protecting our planet and this year promoting the theme of “Our Power, Our Planet”, calling for supporters to educate, advocate and mobilise around renewable energy.

Photography can play an important role in helping audiences understand and engage with stories around renewable energy. It can show the work being done by communities now, the potential benefits it can offer, and help build a more accurate picture in peoples’ minds about what renewable energy in their community could look like.

Yet all too often the images of power and energy lack humanity. They lack the engaging, relatable human connection that we know from our evidence base that audiences want to see. This is true for images that show the potential of renewable energy as well as those of the impacts of burning fossil fuels. These images miss a vital opportunity to engage audiences on issues that affect us all, and, as we look to decarbonise our energy systems, the opportunities and benefits that these changes can bring.

The Climate Visuals library is packed full of images that bring home the human, real connection to our power and our planet, all around the world. These images span scales and geographies, looking forward to a cleaner energy future, whilst highlighting the impacts of fossil fuel burning on communities now. Many of them are free for non-profit, educational and editorial use - ready and accessible for communicators across the world to tell powerful, engaging, stories visually.

Here are 10 highlights:

Elke, 52, displays a banner of the social movement "Ich bin armutsbetroffen" (I am affected by poverty) with the slogan "Poverty is not sexy. Common good for all!" in her apartment in Berlin-Oberschöneweide, Germany on March 6, 2023. Elke, a single mother, completed an apprenticeship but fell ill with depression and has been unemployed ever since. To preserve her financial resources, she saves as much as possible, for example, by turning off the lights and collecting the water from showering in the bathtub to use for cleaning or flushing the toilet. For clothing, she and her daughter rely on the generosity of friends who have similar sizes. Elke's financial situation has always been tight, but the energy crisis has made her situation worse. Every now and then, her ex-husband helps out by shopping for her and their daughter. For almost a year, Elke has been politically active on the issue of poverty, organizing rallies under the slogan "I am affected by poverty" to raise society's awareness of the problem and fight against the stigmatization of those affected by poverty.

In the Fulani village of Hore Mondji, located in southern Mauritania on the banks of the Senegal River, a women's cooperative uses solar energy to operate a borehole that supplies water to a market garden. A project piloted by UNICEF in partnership with local authorities. In a country heavily impacted by drought, solar energy represents an inexhaustible source of energy for the production of fruits, vegetables and aromatic plants (such as okra, carrots, mint, peppers, eggplants or tomatoes) for local consumption as well as for sale in the markets of neighboring towns. The women of the cooperative thus have a regular income as well as a rich variety of fruits and vegetables that promote dietary diversification and the well-being of their children.

A worker walks around a solar panel system on the rooftop of Istiqlal Mosque area in Jakarta, Indonesia, November, 2023. The Istiqlal Mosque is an example of a house of worship that carries the green building concept and utilizes solar panels as one source of electricity to meet its electricity needs. The mosque, which is located in Central Jakarta, has 504 units of solar modules with a capacity of 325 watts peak each. Millions of residents of Jakarta had for the past several months suffered from some of the worst air pollution in the world.

A driver of an online taxi based on an electric motorcycle exchanges his lithium-ion battery at the swapping station in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 7, 2023. The Indonesian government is seeking to accelerate the battery-based electric motor vehicle ecosystem to reduce the use of fossil fuels, reduce carbon emissions, encourage industrial transformation and promote national energy security. Millions of residents of Jakarta have for the past several months suffered from some of the worst air pollution in the world.

Climate Outreach

Visualising ‘Our Power, Our Planet’ for Earth Day 2025

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Here are 10 highlights:

Home owner Maggie shows people the new heat pump underneath the stairs as visitors attend an open day at an Edwardian terraced house which has been retrofitted and insulated with Birmingham Green Doors, in Erdington, Birmingham, on May 4th 2023.

A member of staff sprays water onto plants with the help of an irrigation pack with an integrated solar panel, in the remote islands of Gaibandha, Bangladesh, where agriculture has been assisted with the help of solar panels for "Solar Irrigation".

A woman sitting completing paperwork by the light of solar powered lamps in a village shop for solar products in rural India.