Yearender 2022: 10 biggest environmental moments of the year

A legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution is the need of the hour, and our planet. (Photo Credit: Captain Darwin via Wikimedia Commons)

In 2022, the world continued to face two existential crises—a rapidly warming planet and declining biodiversity—while simultaneously dealing with the effects of a global pandemic. While some strides were made towards protecting wildlife, ecosystems and the planet at large, there were also some setbacks and heartbreaks.

Here’s a look at this year's defining moments, environment-wise:

1. COP15 ends with ‘Paris Moment’ for nature: In a landmark deal, nations from around the world agreed to protect a third of the planet for nature by 2030. The goal is to safeguard biodiversity, with 23 targets being set up to protect vital ecosystems such as rainforests and wetlands, and the rights of indigenous peoples.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres hailed the deal, saying, “We are finally starting to forge a peace pact with nature.” Canada’s minister for the environment and climate change Steven Guilbeault added, “It is truly a moment that will mark history as Paris did for climate.”

Also read: Yearender 2022: Some of the biggest natural disasters that happened around the world

2. Russia-Ukraine war sparks global energy crisis: Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It prompted global condemnation. European countries announced sanctions on imports of oil and coal from Russia, the world’s largest exporter of fossil fuels.

Global supply chains, already strained due to the pandemic, were deeply impacted. All fuels were affected. As per the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook 2022, prices for spot purchases of natural gas reached levels never seen before, regularly exceeding the equivalent of USD 250 for a barrel of oil. Coal prices also hit record levels, while oil rose well above USD 100 per barrel in mid-2022 before falling back down. There are also concerns on how this may affect countries’ net-zero targets.

(Photo credit Singlespeedfahrer via Wikimedia Commons)

3. Cheetahs return to India: India’s ambitious plan to reintroduce cheetahs to the subcontinent kicked off in September this year. Eight individuals were released in Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after they became extinct in the country some seven decades ago.

The animals had been translocated from Namibia. Though conservationists remain sceptical about their ability to thrive in an ecosystem that has undergone change in the interim period, the cheetahs are so far acclimatising to their new surroundings.

(Photo: ANI)

4. Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuels hit a record high: To prevent an irreversible climate crisis, global temperature rise needs to be below 1.5°C by the end of the century and countries need to meet their net-zero goals. Global carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and cement, however, increased by 1.0% in 2022 - a new record high of 36.6 billion tonnes of CO2 - as per new estimates.

As per the 2022 Global Carbon Budget report, the increase in fossil fuel emissions in 2022 has been primarily driven by an uptick in oil emissions as global travel continues to recover from pandemic levels. Coal and gas emissions grew more slowly, though both had record emissions too.

5. Ecuador became the first country to grant legal rights to wild animals: Estrellita, a monkey, was taken away from the forest illegally, kept as a pet and then taken to a zoo, where she died later. A case was filed to recognise her rights, claiming that her removal from her natural habitat violated her dignity.

In a landmark judgment, Ecuador’s court recognised her rights as an individual wild animal. “Wild species and their individuals have the right not to be hunted, fished, captured, collected, extracted, kept, retained, trafficked, traded or exchanged,” the court also noted.

6. India witnesses a year of extremes: India had 241 days of extreme weather events in 2022, according to a report by the Centre for Science and Environment. Painting a grim picture, it stated that the country has seen a disaster nearly every day in the first nine months — from heat and cold waves, cyclones, lightning to heavy rain, floods and landslides. These disasters claimed 2,755 lives, affected 1.8 million hectares of crop area, destroyed over 416,667 houses and killed close to 70,000 livestock.

Also read: In 2023, let's prepare for the worst of climate, environmental shocks

7. USA’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022: Being one of the world’s biggest polluters, the US’s commitment to the Paris Agreement has always been vital. This year saw the country set off on a solid path towards reaching its climate goals with a landmark law. The Inflation Reduction Act offers more than $350 billion in historic investments, including funding home energy rebates, climate-smart agriculture, onshore clean energy manufacturing, and bolstering coastal areas and habitats impacted by the climate crisis. It will ensure that the US meets more than 40% of its commitments under the Paris Agreement.

8. Electoral defeat of Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro: As per Brazil’s national space research agency INPE, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached 1,454 sq km in September, a 48% increase over last year. It added that deforestation through the first nine months of 2022 amounted to 8,590 sq km, the highest tally on record since the deforestation alert system was established in 2007.

For environmentalists, the electoral defeat of Jair Bolsonaro this year was arguably the world’s best environmental news of 2022. His government is linked to the most destruction in the Amazon in the last 34 years - a 59.5% increase in deforestation over a presidential term.

Forty percent of Tuvalu's capital goes under water at high tide. (Photo by Inaba Tomoaki via Wikimedia Commons)

9. Tuvalu will be the first country to replicate itself in the metaverse: Tuvalu is actively threatened by rising sea levels brought on by climate change. Up to 40% of its capital, Funafuti, is underwater at high tide currently and the entire Pacific nation is estimated to be underwater by the end of the century.

This year, its foreign minister Simon Kofe announced the country’s plan to become the first digitised nation in the metaverse. In a video message, he said, “Our land, our ocean, our culture, are the most precious assets of our people. And to keep them safe from harm, no matter what happens in the physical world, we'll move them to the cloud. Islands like this one won't survive rapid temperature increases, rising sea levels, and droughts. So we'll recreate them virtually. Piece by piece we’ll preserve our country, provide solace to our people and remind our children and our grandchildren what our home once was."

10. The UN takes a big step towards ending plastic pollution: At the 2022 United Nations Environment Assembly, it was unanimously agreed that a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution was the need of the hour, and our planet. It has called for the development of a robust treaty that will hold nations, businesses and society at large accountable for eliminating plastic pollution from the environment.

The year also saw India ban single-use plastic to tackle plastic pollution and reduce its impact on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Critics, however, claim lack of awareness and low on-ground implementation have taken the sting out of the ban.