Once again, I want to name my top 10 environmental events for the year. These are events or decisions that I believe will have significant impact on the environment for our future. Feel free to leave comments or offer you own list of what you believe these events were in 2024. At the end of the blog, I listed an additional 5 events or decisions receiving honorable mention.
1. Hottest Year on Record
2024 is virtually certain to be the hottest year on record, surpassing the previous hottest year from last year, which crushed the next closest year by more than 1 degree. The year included the three hottest days in recorded history. Most disturbingly, we experienced for the first time in recorded history, global temperature average of at least 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for 12 consecutive months, a critical temperature limit established in the Paris Agreement. This alarming trend is attributed to human-induced climate change, compounded by natural phenomena such as El Niño.
2. Donald Trump Elected President
Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris to become the President-elect of the U.S., with the outspoken, and sometimes outrageous promises to undo the Biden and Obama administration’s investments in the environment. As he did in 2016, President Trump will almost certainly withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord, an international commitment to confront climate change. Trump’s campaign motto of “Drill baby, drill” was a signal to the fossil fuel industry that subsidies and support will be abundant, while the support for clean energy and electric vehicles will wither on the vine (unless of course, Elon and Tesla need a hand). Trump is also likely to overturn EPA regulations, as he did in his first term, removing protections for wetlands and reducing many safeguards citizens need to protect them from profit-motivated industries.
3. Hurricane Helene and her cousins
Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast in late September, taking 232 lives to become the deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. since Katrina 19 years ago. The storm showed the growing threat of inland flooding far from the coastal areas that are more accustomed to dealing with this kind of severe weather. Who would have thought Asheville, NC would be decimated by a hurricane? One woman who moved to Asheville from California to escape its floods, earthquakes and wildfires said, “I guess there’s nowhere that’s safe anymore.”
And while Hurricane Helene was the most surprising and deadliest severe weather event, it was not the most expensive. The $55 billion price tag of Helene fell short of the $60 billion cost of Hurricane Milton, cutting through the middle of Florida, ripping it in half. Helene’s cousins, i.e., other extreme weather events, devasted other parts of the world: 141 dead from cyclones in Philippines, 192 dead from floods in Nepal, 136 dead from wildfires in Chile, 213 from an earthquake in Japan. The list goes on and on, showing the human cost of Helene’s cousins.
4. Climate Induced Inflation
One of the key issues in the 2024 presidential election was inflation. As is common, the current president, Joe Biden, was blamed for the increased prices of food, housing and everything else. Of course, there are global factors causing inflation that are less obvious and immune from national policies. For example, the Mississippi River was so affected by drought in 2024 that many places across its route were unnavigable, disrupting supply chains and raising prices on food and grains. Record breaking temperatures in countries along the Mediterranean Sea led to a drop in global olive oil production by 1/3. Prices increased as a result. Severe droughts, followed by massive rainfall reduced China’s grain production (the largest in the world) by 9% in recent years. And if you noticed that your favorite chocolates are more expensive, you’re right. Ghana and Ivory Coast, which produce nearly 60% of global cocoa, experienced severe rainfall in 2024, destroying yields, causing the price of cocoa to increase almost 3-fold. Similarly, orange production reduced 40% from 2020 to 2024 in Florida, Texas, and California due to droughts and floods, making prices soar almost double in this time period. These are just a few examples the global food supply has faced due, in part, to climate change.
5. Climate Impacts on Health
Climate also had a deep impact on the health of people around the world. In addition to causing 8 million premature deaths each year, particulate pollution from burning fossil fuels is also responsible for up to a third of premature births worldwide. Around the world in 2024, 3 out of 4 people experienced at least 31 days of extreme heat. This included the extreme heat that caused the deaths of some 1300 pilgrims during this year’s Hajj to the holy city of Mecca. We’ve noted the immediate deaths that resulted from Hurricane Helene, but there were further impacts on health due to undrinkable water supplies, lack of electricity for medical needs (think of oxygen tanks), and inaccessible food sources. Take this kind of event to third world countries, and you can imagine the death and disease that spreads throughout a region.
6. Climate Impact on Infrastructure
I remember when a heatwave hit Canada a couple of years ago, there were reports and photos of roads that were melting. In 2024, some places got so hot “bridges can literally fall apart like Tinkertoys,” said one civil engineer. Climate affects not only people, animals, and oceans. It also impacts buildings, roads and cities. The power of Hurricane Helene swept away homes, church buildings and some entire towns, like Chimney Rock, North Carolina. There were a record 28 weather and climate disasters costing at least $1 billion each in the U.S. in 2024, with a collective price tag of about $94 billion. The insurance industry is unwilling to underwrite such risks and are no longer renewing policies in much of Texas, Florida and Louisiana. People are on their own. The largest wildfire in Texas state history scorched more than 1 million acres in a few days in February, impacting dozens of structures. To put this into perspective, this would be like burning down the entire state of Delaware.
7. Clean Energy Soars
The news was not all bad in 2024. Clean energy continued to soar, making up 90 percent of new energy capacity. Meanwhile, China installed more solar last year alone than the U.S. has in its entire history. Nations across the world are recognizing a green economy is the future, so there are major projects taking place in the U.S. and the world to replace old fossil fuel run plants with energy efficient ones. The Sherco coal power plant in Minnesota, for example, is being repurposed for a clean energy grid. China and Norway are on their way to utilizing clean energy cargo ships which can transport their products around the world. Currently, clean energy accounts for 30% of the world’s total energy capacity. This is a positive trajectory, but it must accelerate faster. It needs to increase to 90% in a short-time period to help us reach goals set by the Paris Climate accords.
8. Environmental Injustice
Across the country, people fought for environmental justice--the dumping of environmental problems on communities with low income and high minority populations. One example was Clairton, Pennsylvania, where residents worked to get the owners of a coke plant to take responsibility for the long-term harm it has done to local air. The coal-powered plant, owned by U.S. Steel has been fined more than $11 million for air quality violations over the past four years. Many citizens, 40 percent of whom are African American and 23 percent living below the poverty line, believe this is a “pay for pollution play” the company easily absorbs.
Another example of environmental injustice stems from a bill signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans heat protections for outdoor workers, a measure that opponents said was cruel and inhumane. Consequently, Florida’s local governments cannot pass ordinances requiring that companies take steps to protect workers from dangerous heat while working outdoors. The injustice of this is seen in the 2020 law passed by the Florida legislature that requires hydration breaks for student athletes who practice in temperatures above 95 degrees, but nothing for farm workers who work in those same conditions all day long.
9. Environmental Cost of War
2024 was marked by unbearable levels of war and destruction degrading the environment. From the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to the Russian invasion in Ukraine as well as the civil wars in Sudan and parts of Africa, the impact on energy and the environment is enormous, not to mention the human toll. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) began a preliminary assessment of the Gaza Strip in June and found unprecedented levels of pollution, sewage, contaminating soil, air and water for those trapped and no place to go. A full assessment could not be done because of ongoing war conditions, but the great concern is that damage to these ecosystems could be irreversible.
Ukraine, considered the bread basket of the world, has lost large swaths of farmland to contamination from bombs and landmines. Forests have been burned, bombed and contaminated, exacerbating climate change. Experts believe about 5% of fossil fuel emissions are attributed to acts of war. Recovering costs to restore the environment in Ukraine were estimated to be around $35 billion at the end of 2023. Who knows when this war will end and what the ultimate damage will be?
10. Red State Resistance
Surprising many people was the resistance to environmental neglect and degradation coming from red states like Montana. Sixteen young Montanans, from ages 7-23 brought a lawsuit against the state for issuing fossil fuel permits without taking into account the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. They argued this violated their constitutional right to a clean environment. The Montana District Court ruled in favor of the young plaintiffs. While state officials tried to overturn this groundbreaking decision on appeal, the Montana Supreme Court ultimately upheld the decision 6-1. “This ruling is a victory not just for us, but for every young person whose future is threatened by climate change,” lead plaintiff Rikki Held said in a statement following the decision.
Honorable Mentions for events and decisions
1. Mexico elects climate scientist, Claudia Sheinbaum, as its President.
2. UN climate summit (COP29) agrees to provide $300 billion in climate relief
for developing countries by 2035.
3. Failure of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to agree on
curbing plastic pollution.
4.Warming oceans cause coral bleaching affecting 74 countries and 77% of the
world’s coral reefs.
5.Voracious global consumption of electricity and water expose growing needs of
Artificial Intelligence (AI).