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You’ve most likely heard that final yr was the most well liked yr ever recorded. Now, scientists have warned that not solely might 2024 be hotter nonetheless, however international heating might attain 1.5 levels Celsius for the primary time ever.
In this ThinkLandscape digest, we dig by way of the primary environmental headlines of the yr, from photo voltaic geoengineering to the local weather cost of struggle in Gaza.
Heads up: There might be no digest subsequent month. We’ll be again with extra local weather headlines in March!
This month on ThinkLandscape
Let’s be trustworthy: final month’s COP28 local weather summit was a disappointment. Here’s what we discovered from the controversial convention in Dubai, together with a response from Club of Rome co-president Sandrine Dixson-Declève.
Looking forward, right here’s our record of local weather occasions in 2024, together with a trilogy of UN local weather, biodiversity and drylands summits on the finish of the yr.
It’s additionally Veganuary this month – so right here’s a five-step information on tips on how to eat much less meat.
The local weather disaster is taking a toll on our cities. Some are combating again: from Brazil to Sierra Leone, right here’s how city forestry is remodeling cities world wide.
What are seed banks, and what can they do for us? In a three-part multimedia sequence, learn how seed banks work, uncover the world’s most vital seed vault, and study the fascinating historical past of the mighty millet.
We’re hiring! Apply now to affix ThinkLandscape and the GLF as a multimedia reporter, moderator or editorial assistant.
What we’re studying
Climate
Get able to enter a 1.5-degree world: international warming reached 1.48 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial ranges in 2023 – and this yr could be even hotter.
That’s partly because of El Niño, which is wreaking havoc in South America and inflicting the Amazon to endure its worst drought ever.
Speaking of the Amazon, the Earth is getting ready to crossing five climate tipping points – with three extra prone to being crossed within the subsequent decade. (Learn extra about tipping factors right here.)
Even then, carbon emissions from fossil fuels hit a record high final yr. Is it time for extra radical options, like dimming the sun?
People
In its first two months, Israel’s ongoing struggle in Gaza generated 281,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions – greater than the annual emissions of 20 climate-vulnerable nations.
Meanwhile, struggle is pushing Sudan towards famine, with 18 million individuals now in want of pressing meals support, the World Food Programme has warned.
A file 32.6 million people were internally displaced by local weather disasters in 2022 – nearly all of them in Asia, the place food insecurity is also on the rise.
Brazil’s Indigenous Juma individuals are down to only three ladies. Here’s how they’re battling back from the brink of extinction.
Planet
Is your cat unhealthy for biodiversity? Domestic cats have been identified to prey on more than 2,000 species, tons of of that are prone to extinction.
Humans, in fact, are way more harmful: we’ve worn out nearly 12 percent of all bird species over the course of contemporary human historical past.
Only 189 sq. kilometers of Atlantic woodlands stay in England. Now, for the primary time, a U.K. government plan aims to restore these historical temperate rainforests.
Poaching is rife in South America’s Atlantic Forest, however conservationists have a brand new weapon at their disposal: sound recorders.
Business
The local weather disaster is coming for Europe’s ski resorts. As rain and sleet prevail, the business is popping to synthetic snow – however is it sowing its own demise?
For a long time, Mauritius tore down its mangroves to make room for mass tourism. Now, the island nation is restoring its shoreline and banking on ecotourism.
Virgin Atlantic has flown the world’s first long-haul flight powered fully by sustainable aviation fuels.
And from detecting methane leaks to stopping wildfires, listed here are four ways AI can help us combat the climate crisis.
Policy
Déjà vu? Azerbaijan has appointed a former oil executive to host the COP29 local weather convention in November. It can even expand gas production by a third over the subsequent decade.
Brazil’s Congress has overturned a presidential veto on a regulation that limits Indigenous land rights, which has now entered into force.
Norway’s parliament has agreed to open up the country’s waters to exploration for deep-sea mining. It might now grow to be the world’s first nation to embark on the controversial observe.
Mexico has formally opened the Tren Maya – a vacationer prepare line constructed across 1,500 kilometers of highly biodiverse jungle and Indigenous territories on the Yucatán Peninsula.
