1.5°C mark reached in 2024

Happy Sunday!

Hope everyone had the opportunity to relax and recharge over the end-of-year period. We took the opportunity to catch up with family and explore the wilderness of Tasmania. Check out the latest article in our blog to see our experience at Cradle Mountain.

Although the main headline in this issue is depressing, there are also lots of stories that bring cause for optimism as we begin the new year. We’ll bring you a healthy balance of sustainable news and inspiration to your mailbox every week in 2025.

Hit reply to this email and let us know - what are you looking forward to the most in 2025?

For anyone with us for the first time, welcome to Voyage Green News! We provide a weekly dose of news and inspiration for a sustainable life. 💚 

♻️ This week’s sustainability news

Global warming exceeds 1.5°C in 2024

What’s happening: For the first time in 2024, data is showing that human-caused global warming made Earth's average temperature more than 1.5 degrees Celsius higher than it was before the industrial era for an entire year. This is a level that countries worldwide had promised to try to avoid. When 2024 is averaged with 2023, the temperature for both years also goes beyond this level, which 196 countries in the 2015 Paris Agreement identified as a dangerous point for climate change.

Why it’s happening: The temperature data for 2024 was so important that it was released in a coordinated effort by several global institutions for the first time. This was done to highlight the "exceptional conditions experienced in 2024," according to a report by Copernicus, the EU's climate change service. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and the World Meteorological Organization also released similar reports. These reports focus on the record high global temperatures and the increased water vapour in the atmosphere, which led to severe flooding and intensified tropical cyclones and hurricanes last year.

Why it’s important: A 2018 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that if Earth's temperature rises more than 1.5 degrees Celsius for an entire year, it could permanently damage important natural systems like forests, coral reefs, rainforests, and oceans. These systems are crucial for supporting life on our planet. Based on Copernicus data, 2024 was not just slightly warmer than the previous record year, 2023. It was significantly warmer, reaching 1.6 degrees Celsius (2.8F) above pre-industrial levels. The World Meteorological Organization’s combination of six important datasets also shows an increase of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius globally. However, the Paris Agreement's limit hasn't been exceeded yet because it’s based on an average over 10 to 30 years. This still gives us time to act, although the new data comes at a time when some governments and companies are already rolling back previous climate action pledges.

📖 Read the full article: Global warming surges well past 1.5 degree mark in 2024

US Supreme Court rejects fossil fuel appeal against lawsuits

What’s happening: The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will not consider an appeal from oil and gas companies. These companies wanted to stop lawsuits that aim to make them pay for damage related to climate change. This decision means that Honolulu can continue with its lawsuit against the oil and gas companies.

Why it’s happening: The fossil fuel industry is dealing with several cases claiming it misled people about the role of fossil fuels in climate change. States like California, Colorado, and New Jersey are asking for billions of dollars to cover damages from wildfires, rising sea levels, and severe storms. These lawsuits are part of a larger trend in the US and around the world, using legal action to push for responses related to climate change. The oil and gas companies appealed to the Supreme Court after Hawaii's top court let the lawsuit continue. These companies are Sunoco, Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, and BP, with many of them based in Texas.

Why it’s important: The oil and gas companies claimed that emissions are a national issue and should be dealt with in federal court, where they have successfully had cases dismissed. The Democratic Biden administration advised the justices to dismiss the case and keep it in state court for now, even though the companies might win later. The upcoming Republican Trump administration is likely to have a very different opinion on environmental law and energy production. Honolulu claimed it has a strong case under state laws against misleading marketing and wants the case to continue in state court. The Supreme Court's decision is a bit unexpected considering environmental rules usually don't do well with the mostly conservative court. In 2022, the court reduced the Environmental Protection Agency's power to control carbon emissions from power plants. In June, the court stopped the agency's rule aimed at reducing air pollution.

📖 Read the full article: Supreme Court declines to hear from oil and gas companies trying to block climate change lawsuits

Biden’s final acts to protect the environment

What’s happening: President Biden has established two new national monuments in California to stop mining, drilling, and energy development on over 848,000 acres of desert and mountain land. The Chuckwalla National Monument will cover about 644,000 acres south of Joshua Tree National Park, extending from the Coachella Valley to the Colorado River. This area includes rock formations sacred to Native tribes and will protect habitats for migrating birds, chuckwalla lizards, and endangered desert tortoises. The second monument, called the Sáttítla National Monument, is located in the woodlands north of Mount Shasta near the Oregon border. It covers around 200,000 acres and is a spiritual centre for the Pit River Tribe and the Modoc Nation. This monument includes mountain woodlands, meadows, and springs that support rare flowers and wildlife.

Why it’s happening: In his last weeks in office, Biden has made several important environmental decisions to burnish his legacy and to implement some protection ahead of incoming president-elect Trump. This week, the Biden administration announced $22.4 billion in loans for eight US utilities in 12 states as part of the Inflation Reduction Act program that aims to reduce carbon emissions and energy costs by helping to build and upgrade power plants and strengthen the power grid. Last week, in addition to the announcement of the new national monuments, he stopped new oil and gas drilling in over 600 million acres of US federal waters. His administration also stopped oil, gas, and geothermal projects in the Ruby Mountains, Nevada, and blocked mining and geothermal leasing in 20,000 acres of the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota. Biden has now protected more public lands and federal waters than any other president in history, at 674 million acres.

Why it’s important: By establishing the Chuckwalla monument, the Biden administration created a 600-mile stretch of protected land for wildlife along the Colorado River and into California's deserts. The Chuckwalla and Sáttítla monuments were made because lawmakers and tribal groups asked for them. The Sáttítla Highlands National Monument is about 750 miles north and includes the Medicine Lake Highlands. This area is important to 11 groups of the Pit River Tribe and is central to their creation story. Several solar companies were interested in building projects near the Chuckwalla monument. The boundaries were set to keep areas open for clean energy projects and electric transmission lines. This decision gained support from some renewable energy groups. President-elect Trump has promised to quickly undo many of Biden's policies. During his first term, Trump attempted to reduce the size of national monuments established by the Obama administration. Senator Alex Padilla, the California Democrat who sponsored legislation to create both sites, stated that California is ready to protect Chuckwalla and Sáttítla in court.

📖 Read the full article: Biden designates two national monuments in California

🌐 Travel to Tasmania

Hike the stunning Cradle Mountain

Over 20 trails to choose from: We spent two days hiking the best trails on Cradle Mountain during summer. Read our article to see which ones we recommend and stunning images of the local scenery and wildlife.

😇 People doing great things

Celebrating the life of Jimmy Carter

Peanut farmer, president, humanitarian, and environmentalist: Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States and winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, passed away peacefully at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday, December 29 surrounded by his family. He was 100 years old, making him the longest-living president in US history. In California, President Carter approved the expansion of Redwood National Park, despite objections from loggers. He also doubled the protected land managed by the National Parks Service and helped conserve over 100 million acres in Alaska with a special law. During an energy crisis, President Carter supported renewable energy and even installed solar panels on the White House, which President Reagan later removed. He was one of the first heads of state to identify that climate change was an issue after emerging science on the topic raised the alarm.

⭐️ Weekly inspiration

European countries break renewable records in 2024

Good news: Wind provided more electricity than ever last year as the UK moved further away from planet-warming fossil fuels, while renewables made up 59 per cent of electricity generation in Germany to become ‘the backbone of the system’, and even Poland generated a record 28.8% of its electricity from renewables.

New York City to build a massive offshore wind farm

Spread over 80,000 acres (125 square miles): Located 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Long Island, the Empire Wind 1 project received $3 billion in funding to start in 2027 and will provide power to about 500,000 local residents once operational.

UK’s National Trust to restore nature across 617,500 acres

Area to be bigger than Greater London: The National Trust is marking its 130th anniversary by addressing the climate and nature crises with plans to create 250,000 hectares of nature-rich areas, about one-and-a-half times the size of Greater London, on their land and elsewhere in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Event venues in Belfast eliminating single-use plastic cups

A first in the UK and Ireland: Major and grassroots venues will introduce reusable cups in the coming months as part of a 12-month pilot, with reusable cups being delivered to the venues and used ones picked up, resulting in the removal of two million single-use plastic cups and 40 tons of plastic waste a year from Belfast nightlife.

Air quality in Barcelona improves second year in a row

Major milestone: Barcelona has recorded its lowest ever levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), a pollutant mostly caused by traffic, with the city council saying the improvement is due to efforts to encourage public transport use and the introduction of Low Emission Zones (ZBEs) which limit access for certain polluting vehicles in many areas of the city.

Thailand bans import of plastic waste

Due to concerns over toxic pollution: A law banning imports of plastic waste came into force this month in Thailand, with years of campaigning for the ban by activists and after the country became a leading destination for exports of plastic waste after China imposed their own ban in 2018.

Polka-dot window film prevents bird deaths

Thousands of bird deaths avoided: The film was applied to windows at McCormick Place in Chicago last summer ahead of the fall migration, with bird collisions into the mostly glass building down over 95% compared with previous seasons, according to the Field Museum.

Thanks for reading! 😄 

Don’t be shy! Hit reply to this email if there’s anything you want to share. We love to read what’s on our readers’ minds and respond to everyone.

We’ll be in your inbox again next Sunday. Until then, we hope to see you around on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. 💚