Is 2024 the year the world finally addresses the climate crisis?

For decades scientists warned us about the consequences of climate change and entering 2024, we look back on our inability to solve the climate crisis. In the year ahead, and the decades beyond that, the prevalence of global warming and climate change will become more familiar and have catastrophic consequences for the next generations. 

World leaders have been slow to tackle the climate crisis, as they struggle to balance economic stability and international relations, so climate change has often fallen to the wayside when it comes to world leader’s priorities. 

The COP28 United Nations summit hosted in Dubai in 2023, offered a glimpse of what needs to be done - world leaders communicating and trying to find solutions to prevent the world heating to dangerous levels including transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems. 

However, some industries have benefitted from the rising temperatures. Winemakers in England have been able to cultivate a wider range of wines that rival famous French champagnes that would not have been able to be made in a cooler climate. The growth in this industry has subsequently generated more money for the economy and led to further investments in this sector. 

Although forest fires and flooding have rampaged vulnerable regions, all is not lost in healing the natural world. Despite dwindling levels of biodiversity and humanity, “raging a suicidal war on nature”, according to the Secretary-General for the UN, António Guterres, there is hope for the natural world to heal if we just give it time and space. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, dolphins were spotted in Venice’s canals thanks to a decrease of sediment in the waterways since the decrease in tourism created less water traffic – proof that as soon as humans stop disturbing other species, biodiversity increases.

As we race into 2024, the growing blanket of greenhouse gas emissions continues to smother the Earth. Therefore, it is vital that we take a minute to consider small changes to our everyday lifestyles that will reduce our carbon footprints and save the natural world. With the Earth warming faster than at any other point in recorded history, now is the time that we act on local, national and global levels to slow the warming of the planet and save the world’s species – including ourselves. 

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