The Environment of 2022

Written by: Caroline Kim

January 7, 2023

Happy new year- the first blog of 2023! But before leaving behind 2022, today we’ll recap all the environmental changes from last year- the good, the bad, and the plans in progress. According to Robinson, among the most significant environmental issues this year was due to “poor governance”, suggesting that “governments must not only massively increase funding for green innovation… also need to adopt a range of other policies that address each of the other market failures” (Robinson). An idea mentioned, in fact, aligns with that of Professor Lawrence (UVA) from an interview I conducted previously: taxing carbon. Globally, there are 27 countries that practice carbon taxing, and its success is promoted with the fact that Sweden has “reduced emissions by 25% since 1995, while its economy has expanded 75% in the same time period” (Robinson). Other issues noted include pollution, biodiversity loss, global warming, and sea level rise, which can be found in previous posts here!

In terms of moving forward, however, the U.S. agreed to reduce/omit plastic pollution with a draft predicted to be complete by 2024 (2022: A Year of Environmental Milestones). The UNEP reached 50 years of environmental commitment, and the United Nations declared environmental health a “human right” (2022: A Year of Environmental Milestones). Additionally, the United Nations worked with the “landmark agreement to guide global action on nature through to 2030” to reduce biodiversity loss and reduce the extinction that has been caused by humans (2022: A Year of Environmental Milestones). A unique purpose that a non profit in Belgium holds is the repurposing of human hair to absorb environmental pollutants (Ferrer). Additionally, a 28 billion euro German renewable energy scheme has been approved, and solar power has increased nearly 50% in Europe (Ferrer). In terms of technologies, scientists have experimented with succulents in efforts to produce clean energy that is sourced from photosynthesis; even batteries are finding a more sustainable path through sodium sulfur (Ferrer). To serve a more sustainable lifestyle, France banned short airline travels, promoting public transport through trains (Ferrer). In the United States, an NGO has worked to ensure reef repair in Hawaii, research used egg whites to filter microplastics from water, and the Brazilian president pledges to end deforestation in the Amazon (Ferrer). All of these are accomplishments from just the more recent months of 2022- proof of growing efforts to protect environmental health. In 2023, we can hope and work towards further progression in these projects!

Sources:

Robinson, Deena. “The Biggest Environmental Problems of 2021.” Earth.Org, 17 Nov. 2022, https://earth.org/the-biggest-environmental-problems-of-our-lifetime/.

“2022: A Year of Environmental Milestones.” UNEP, https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/2022-year-environmental-milestones.

Ferrer, Marthe de. “Read over 100 Positive Environmental Stories from 2022.” Euronews, 3 Jan. 2023, https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/01/03/here-are-all-the-positive-environmental-stories-from-2022-so-far.