Year Ender 2023 – Climate Change

The year 2023 will be known for conflicts and climate issues.

We will not get into the geopolitical conflicts; we will discuss the conflicts with climate as this year is almost set to become the warmest in recorded history. 

Weather Events

Climate change has continued to change life on Earth and is having devastating consequences for people around the world. The concentration of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels is causing unprecedented weather events worldwide.

The weather news for 2023 has been dominated by the El Niño effect in the Pacific Ocean. This oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon sees a warming of the ocean surface and rising sea temperatures. 

Global warming and El Nino caused extreme heat and dry weather in almost every part of the world, including Europe, Asia, the USA, China, and South America. Canada and Greece suffered one of the worst wildfires, with more than 18 million hectares of land burned. If that was not enough, heavy rain brought deadly flooding in parts of Africa and Asia. 

The impact of these weather events not only caused great misery to people but also influenced food production and inflation. 

COP 28

This year, COP28 in Dubai witnessed a record-breaking attendance of 70,000 people, signaling a recognition that resolving the climate crisis requires proactive business participation. The Conference of Parties (COP) event is an annual meeting where global leaders discuss the most imperative threats to climate change.

Despite criticism of the significant presence of businesses and lobbyists, the conference represented a crucial step towards collaboration between environmental concerns and business interests.

The Dubai COP28 conference marked a historic departure from the traditional avoidance of directly addressing fossil fuels in climate agreements. Despite resistance from major oil and gas producers, the COP 28 agreement aimed for a ‘just and equitable transition’ away from fossil fuels, signaling a significant acknowledgment of the root cause of climate change. While not explicitly calling for a phase-down or phase-out, the agreement conveyed a clear message to the fossil fuel industry that unchecked consumption is coming to an end.

COP28 also saw the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund on its first day, providing support to vulnerable developing countries dealing with climate disasters. Although initial pledges fell short of the required amount, the fund’s activation marked a crucial milestone for the climate justice movement.

The Global Stocktaking (GST) process, designed to evaluate global progress in addressing climate change, revealed glaring shortcomings. It highlighted insufficient efforts globally, leading to a potential 2.7°C rise in global temperatures.

The GST failed to assign clear responsibility and provide actionable guidance, notably neglecting the unfulfilled commitments of developed nations and showing leniency towards China. However, it emphasized the consistent failure of developed countries to meet emission reduction and financial support commitments, with the US, the largest oil and gas producer, exemplifying this trend.

The COP28 conference also reflected the G20’s India summit agreement, which aimed to enhance mitigation by tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency improvements globally by 2050. 

In summary, the “UAE Consensus” at COP28 represents a bold move forward, reflecting a growing urgency for climate action. The theme of a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels is expected to dominate discourse as countries increasingly internalize the imperative of diversifying their economies and shutting down fossil fuel establishments. More of these issues are expected to continue to be discussed at next year’s COP29 in Azerbaijan.

Good Climate News

However, it was not all dull and gloomy; 2023 also brought some good news.

A report indicated that the Ozone layer, which protects the Earth from ultraviolet radiation, is on track to recover within the next four decades, largely because of the Montreal Protocol, a landmark agreement adopted in 1987 to phase out many ozone-depleting chemicals. 

In other good climate news, Brazil has reported that the deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is at a six-year low and plans to make considerable investments to restore the land. This is particularly impressive as the Amazon rainforest is crucial to absorbing vast amounts of greenhouse gases and protecting biodiversity.

Then, throughout the year, we witnessed the development of new technologies by businesses, the implementation of climate-friendly policies by the government, and individuals adopting sustainable lifestyles, all of them doing it with a common objective to address climate change. 

Wrapping Up

While it is unfortunate that there is no respite to the extreme weather events caused by climate change, the year 2023 also showed that there is hope.