Happy New Year!

We are ringing in 2024 with more good news on how we, together, are managing global warming! From reading a few blogs, and listening to a few podcasts/interviews we now are hearing an encouraging narrative: we humans have averted the worst case (apocalyptic) scenarios for our planet that were being discussed only just a few years ago (around the time we first started this Friends4Trees4Life Blog). We still do not know what the planet will be like in 30 years, but the progress that has already been made is paving us a future. This optimism is mostly due this decade’s widespread technological development and production of renewable energy, most notably solar energy and wind energy. 

David Wallace-Wells, American journalist and author of the 2017 essay and book 2019 “The Uninhabitable Earth” has written a more recent article in the New York Times called “Beyond Catastrophe-A New Climate Reality is Coming Into View”. This was also the subject of interview by Dave Davies for the Podcast FRESH AIR . Wallace-Wells was initially very sceptical about our ability to tackle global warming, but feels that we now can see a path forward. It’s not an easy path, but there is a way forward. Let’s look at what he has to say.

Price of Renewables

On interview a year ago Wallace-Wells stated that since 2010, the cost of solar power has fallen by about 85-90% and over that same period of time fossil fuels have not fallen in price at all, so many renewables are much cheaper than their alternatives, and have become more reliable too. He says most of the world now lives in places where building new renewable capacity would be cheaper than building new dirty capacity. As well, in a lot of places it is already cheaper to build new renewables than even to continue running old fossil fuel plants.

And it is not just solar power. As of a year ago, wind energy, both offshore and onshore, had fallen by 60-80%. Battery technology for storing this renewable energy has fallen by about 80-90%. So we are living through an incredibly dramatic collapse in the price of renewables, which means that solar power has now been called, by the International Energy Agency (IEA), “the cheapest electricity in history”. 

Wallace-Wells says, “We’re not moving fast enough, but the energy mix is changing quite dramatically, so a decade from now, I think, it’s going to look very very different than it does today.”

Investment in Renewables

According to Wallace-Wells, “The entire landscape of energy investment has really been transformed, both in the private sector and in the public sector, because anyone in the world who’s looking at these data points and making 10 year, 20 year and 30 year plans, everyone is going to think we should be going all-in on renewables. We should not be building new coal or new oil or new gas capacity. And as a result, that’s what’s happening! Already two years ago the IEA marked that we invested more in renewable capacity than in non-renewables. So we’ve turned a corner here!”

A Faster Transition Means A Richer & Healthier World

Wallace-Wells states, “One big recent report suggested that the global economic benefit could be in the order of $12 trillion, if we transition more quickly. In addition there are climate benefits and public health benefits. Right now it is estimated that 8.7 million people are dying every year from the air pollution produced primarily from the burning of fossil fuels. We can avert some of the suffering that will be caused by increased floods, fires and extreme heat affecting food production, if we move faster.”

“Also good news is that poor countries of the world do not have to develop more slowly, as decarbonization with renewable energy is cheap and this means they can grow more prosperous more quickly. It is encouraging, as well, that each year at the COP Conference the issue of assisting poor countries financially for loss and damage from floods, fires and heat (from global warming caused mostly by the rich countries) gets to be more on the center stage.

Here is the link to this full interview:

Good News of 2023 from Journalist Angus Hervey

On January 2, CBC- The Current, Matt Galloway interviewed Angus Hervey editor of the “Future Crunch” a newsletter focusing on good news. Hervey says despite 2023 being dominated by cruelty, conflict and climate disasters, it has been the “best year ever” for global health, conservation and clean energy, we just don’t hear about it.

Clean Energy Accomplishments in 2023

In terms of clean energy, in 2023 the planet has installed staggering amounts of solar energy; 58% more than in 2022 and, as well, in 2022 we installed 41% more than we did in 2021. So the world’s solar capacity doubled in the last 18 months! Leading that charge was China, which likely means China reached peak emissions in 2023, 6-7 years ahead of expectations.

Progress in Conservation in 2023

• There is a staggering list of endangered species that are now recovering including the Asiatic Lion, Atlantic Puffin, Golden Lion Tamarin to name a few.
• The Amazon Forest has seen 55% reduction in deforestation, much as a result of the election of leader Luz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil. This is the largest decline since recorded time!
• The Historic UN Global Ocean Treaty was signed in 2023, thanks to efforts by Greenpeace visiting every ocean and documenting challenges to marine life and ecosystems from destructive fishing to deep sea mining. Hailed as the biggest conservation victory ever, the new treaty paves the way for the creation of ocean sanctuaries in which ecosystems can recover and thrive, potentially saving our oceans from the brink of disaster. 
• Canada’s First Nations People are leading a revolution in conservation globally. The Canadian government has been turning to Indigenous communities more and more to help manage boreal forests by ceding more of the forest land to them. Last year, the federal government set aside $340 million to support areas protected by Indigenous groups and networks of Indigenous experts. As well, Indigenous people have recently reintroduced Bison to the land!
• Canada has made great progress towards protecting 25% of it’s oceans by 2025

Hervey says this is not kumbaya, but it is important to recognize the progress being made, to balance the other devastating news that is usually broadcast. And this is just a sampling of the great accomplishments in 2023. Hervey believes optimism is a choice we make in navigating the world, and can help us individually make choices to help be part of the change.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2296243267927

Solar Panels and New Windows on Your Home

Lucia has had solar panels on her roof for about a year now. There is a $5000 grant and 0% interest loan from the Federal Government to assist you to make your home more energy efficient. This grant was supposed to last until 2028, but is so popular that it may not be around through 2024. Solar is not for everyone but Lucia is thrilled that she just got her first electric bill since March, so has been enjoying free energy for about 9 months. It is also great to have the sun charge her electric vehicle most of the year. Catherine has replaced her windows for more energy efficient ones. She uses public transit often and supports small local businesses. We need to keep asking ourselves, “what can we do better?” This Christmas Lucia gifted laundry eco-strips that require little packaging (no plastic jug), and part of the proceeds support other charities. Many people we know are buying electric or hybrid vehicles. We need to keep working together. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. Is there anything you have been thinking to try?

Reflections

This Friends4Trees4Life Blog was started just before 2020 at a time that we felt not enough people were discussing climate change, so we wanted to get the conversation started. After about 18 months of blogging, we were encouraged that the climate discussion was becoming mainstream, and climate change was becoming something few people denied. Countries started making a plan for change. By 2022 we could see progress being made, but it still felt like there was not enough action to match the policies, and most deadlines were not being met. Now this year, reading about these changes that have taken place in 2023, hearing some big accomplishments are ahead of schedule, we feel more encouraged than ever! Again, it is not kumbaya, but we can see a new climate reality taking shape. With this encouragement, we hope you will feel enthusiastic like we are to find a place in the wheel of change. Using Brazil as an example, it is important to think about who we choose as leaders, because they can dramatically affect the future of our planet like reversing deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest. Lucia knows that she will vote with the planet’s health as a main consideration.

Note: The landscape photos of our planet in this blog were taken by Lucia MacQuarrie