It’s not game over, the game is on: Why 2024 is a watershed moment for the climate crisis
Global climatic developments in 2024 are causing both deep concern and cautious optimism. Last year was the hottest on record by a large margin, and this year is set to be much hotter. For the first time, the annual global average temperature may rise above 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold for climatic stability.
Without rapid action, we face a serious risk of reaching irreversible tipping points in the Earth’s climate system. However, there are grounds to be hopeful.
Global greenhouse gas emissions may peak this year and then plummet. This would be a watershed moment, signaling the end of the fossil fuel era as coal, oil, and gas are increasingly replaced by clean and green energy technology.
But we must do more than just remove our foot from the hot accelerator; we must stomp on the brakes. To avert the worst of the climate disaster, global emissions must be nearly halved by 2030. The work is enormous but possible, and it could not be more urgent. It’s not game over; it’s game on.
Our planet’s in danger
Last year, Earth reached its highest temperature since records began. El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean contributed to record-high worldwide temperatures. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service discovered that 2023 was 1.48°C warmer than the pre-industrial average.
Last year was also the warmest ever recorded for the world’s oceans. The world’s seas hold more than 90% of the heat caused by global warming. Ocean temperatures are a strong indicator of our planet’s warming, with annual increases and an acceleration in the rate of warming.
This year may be even hotter. There is a good likelihood that by 2024, the average global temperature will be more than 1.5°C higher than it was before the industrial revolution. The Paris Agreement commits governments to working together to limit global warming to 1.5°C, as warming above this level presents tremendous risks to civilization.
The agreement focuses on long-term temperature trends rather than a single year. So exceeding 1.5°C in 2024 would not imply that the world has failed to meet the Paris target. However, on long-term trends, we are on track to exceed the 1.5°C limit by the early 2030s.
As the earth heats, humans are more at risk of reaching irreversible “tipping points” in the Earth’s climate system, such as the loss of polar ice sheets and the resulting sea-level rise, as well as the collapse of major ocean currents. These tipping points are thresholds that, when crossed, will cause dramatic and self-sustaining changes to the world’s climate and oceans. They are unprecedented risks to humanity, one-way doors that we do not wish to pass through.
The age of fossil fuels will end
There are numerous reasons to be hopeful about 2024. At the COP28 United Nations climate meetings in December 2023, governments from nearly 200 countries resolved to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels in this critical decade. The use of fossil fuels is the root cause of the climate issue.
We have the technology to replace fossil fuels across our economy, including energy generation, transportation, heating, cooking, and industrial activities. Indeed, on a worldwide scale, rising market demand for clean energy technologies such as wind, solar, batteries, and electric cars is displacing polluting technologies like coal-fired electricity and combustion engine vehicles.
In 2023, the globe installed 510 billion watts of renewable energy capacity, 50 percent more than in 2022 and equivalent to the combined power capacity of Germany, France, and Spain. Renewable energy is predicted to increase at an even quicker rate over the following five years.
Electric car sales are also increasing, with a 31% increase in 2023 and accounting for almost 18% of all new vehicle sales globally. In Australia, electric car sales doubled last year and are anticipated to continue to expand rapid.
Net-Zero is the way to go
In order to limit this global warming, a significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO2, will be required within a set period.
That’s where net zero comes in; by ensuring that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions being released into the atmosphere are equal to the amount being removed from it, we’ll be helping to significantly reduce the amount of harmful emissions that contribute to global warming.
The first step would always be to use energy efficiently. Investing in and using renewable energy sources will go long way to significantly reducing the over 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions that come from heating and electricity generation.
