Good news

The year 2024 is becoming historic in many ways. Although it is too early to tell, it is quite possible that this will be the first year in which the temperature on the planet exceeds the pre-industrial average by 1.5 degrees Celsius. Still, some scientists say there are reasons to remain “cautiously optimistic” about climate change.

While there are many negative tipping points that could dramatically worsen the current environmental crisis, there are also many “positive” tipping points that could help us avoid the worst. Even small initial changes in human behavior can lead to large environmental gains in the long run. Example, More electric cars were sold in the first three months of this year alone than in the whole of 2020.

An important role is played by the social component. A global survey conducted in March showed that more than half of the population in each of the countries surveyed worldwide were concerned about the climate. People in these countries are concerned about global warming and support policies to combat it. Especially, In Ukraine, this rate is 88%. This is more than, for example, France (86%), Germany (83%) and the USA (77%).

Although people voicing their concerns does not necessarily mean they are already doing anything, interviewees agreed that “unless we change our habits quickly, we are headed for an ecological disaster.” One of the habits we need to get rid of as soon as possible is our addiction to fossil fuels. Just as the world is approaching the border that the Paris Agreement tries to keep us away from, fossil fuels are slowly being phased out.

By the end of 2023, some scientists predicted that fossil fuels will gradually run out, claiming that the world has reached a significant “tipping point” in solar energy. They claim that Renewable energy now looks set to become the world’s main energy source.

Santee Cooper solar power plant in the USA / Photo: Unsplash

An analysis by research firm BloombergNEF in 2024 predicts that global carbon dioxide levels may have peaked last year and are now falling. Analysts at the organization say reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 is a “difficult but achievable” task and requires a rapid transition away from fossil fuels.

The fact that China, one of the world’s biggest polluters (along with the USA and Russia), cannot but please finally beginning to address its dire environmental situation. Years of industrial development have led the country to the reality that some cities live in a haze of smog. Now the Communist Party has set out to modernize energy by investing in hydroelectric, wind and solar power generation and launch a major project that will create 455 gigawatts of green power plants.

Another habit we must give up if we want to stop the destruction of the world’s environment is the irrational use of soil and water. But even then there are reasons to believe that we can turn this ship around.

For example, groundwater is the world’s largest source of freshwater, and its scarcity is becoming a serious problem in many parts of the world due to human misuse and climate change. But data published this year show that when human societies take a break from groundwater supplies, They may improve over time.

Another encouraging study published a few months ago found that historically most conservation projects have been effective in reducing global biodiversity loss. Earlier this year, Australia’s endangered parrot population reached a 15-year high, thanks to a decades-long focused conservation programme. In the midst of a sixth species extinction and climate catastrophe, these are very welcome results.

Some more good news

• G7 countries have agreed to phase out coal by the early 2030s to combat climate change. Coal is one of the biggest polluters.
• Scientists are constantly looking for ways to absorb greenhouse gases currently released into the atmosphere and propose various strategies to do so. For example, they previously proposed modifying plants to absorb more carbon dioxide, but now they have invented a highly efficient carbon capture material that works even better than trees.
• Finally, we started to actively operate carbon capture facilities directly from the air. Not every plant will give a tangible result, but over time their number will increase noticeably. The United States, for example, plans to build enough plants to fully offset all its emissions and eventually collect more carbon dioxide than the country produces.