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While many of our ecological efforts need escalating, and fast, we don’t want to end the year pushing the typical doom and gloom rhetoric. Here are five positive stories to take into 2024.
In what has been another tumultuous year for climate change news, here are some positive milestones to top up your sanity reserves.
With fossil fuel conglomerates plotting for incessant gas and oil expansion, and corporate entities driving infinite growth and profitability, it’s extremely easy to fall into a state of nihilistic despair.
While we’re in no way keen to back those labelling our cynical outlook as feeding ‘negativity bias,’ it is equally important to remind ourselves of the positive milestones to give us energy and motivation for the fight ahead.
That being said, let’s get into five encouraging ecological stories we took inspiration from in 2023:
Coal plants are being retired in the US
Though several countries are still reliant on coal, there has been a significant divestment from the sector this year – which is slated to continue through to 2026.
In the US state of South Carolina, some 377 coal plants have been retired marking a significant victory for collective climate action and community health.
Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign originally aimed to retire 30% of the nation’s coal fleet by 2020, but impressively overshot its targets by a further 30%. As we approach a new year, 2023 has shown even greater momentum.
In September, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg committed $500 million to help affiliated activists and organisations shut down ‘every last’ coal plant throughout the US.
153 reportedly remain, though domestically the US has not built a new coal plant in over a decade.
The Biden Administration has also committed to creating a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035, so let’s see if coal can be diminished entirely by this time in 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ieRQTV6H_9Y
Clean energy initiatives are on the rise
It’s no secret that phasing out fossil fuels is the most pivotal step to securing a sustainable future, given dirty fuel accounts for roughly 92% of all carbon emissions produced each year.
Ultimately, this goal is only attainable if renewable energy sources can prove to be effective and financially viable en masse. The signs throughout 2023, thankfully, have been fairly positive.
Overall, significant progress has been achieved in the acceleration of both wind and solar power. The two green sources provided 14.3% of global electricity this year, which is up from 12.8% on 2022’s data.
Solar in particular has witnessed rapid growth, with a 16% increase in operational units and 50 countries setting new monthly records for solar generation.
Landmark pledges, such as the 100% renewable energy commitments from Michigan and Minnesota have set a precedent for other states and nations to follow. This should see a continued climb for clean power adoption within the next year.
Virginia has also just had the largest offshore wind project in the world approved by Biden, which will soon appear off the coastline and produce enough energy to power 900,000 homes.
Better protection for wildlife and ecosystems
When it comes to protecting delicate ecosystems from being ravaged by climate shifts and immoral ransacking, the sector has made arguably the most progress of any on this list during 2023.
Back in June, the UN established a formal framework to achieve its 30×30 target – to conserve and protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 – known as the ‘High Seas Treaty’.
193 member states to date are on-board and will safeguard vulnerable ecosystems and species from excessive human activity, such as fishing, shipping, and deep-sea mining.
Chiefly, this is to become the first clear framework for international cooperation on protecting marine biodiversity and is slated to come into full effect in 2025.
While deforestation is still rife across the globe, the EU is taking a no nonsense approach to mitigation.
Its recent deforestation law makes it illegal for companies to place commodities on the European market if they are traceable to deforestation, even if the practice is taking place in a country where such rules do not apply.
This is a call for accountability and due diligence to take place, and the penalties are said to be ‘proportionate and dissuasive.’ Those who run amok, in theory, will be made an example of.
Elsewhere, the US has made historic investments in tree equity and local parks projects – funneling $1 billion and $22 million into both sectors respectively.
