More Top Ten Climate Action Moments Of 2022, plus Our #1 Top Climate Action Moment of 2022!

ROUNDING OUT THE TOP TEN POSITIVE ACTION  CLIMATE MOMENTS OF 2022!

We’re running down the top ten climate action moments of 2022 this week. Coming in at #6 on The Climate Daily’s top ten climate action moments of 2022 comes the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act by the US Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. This new US law, backed by some $374 billion in climate spending, is the country’s most aggressive piece of climate legislation ever. Its provisions ensure that for decades to come, billions of dollars will roll toward the energy transition, making it easier to deploy renewable energy, build out green technologies and subsidize consumer adoption of everything from electric cars to heat pumps. Experts on energy modeling predict the law will eliminate 4 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions.  

Close at hand, #5, The European Union started to make good on its pledge to cut emissions by 55% in 2030 (from 1990 levels). The bloc’s 27 members reached a historic deal to set up the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, an emissions levy on some imports that’s meant to protect Europe’s carbon-intensive industries that are forced to comply with the region’s increasingly strict rules. Once it takes effect, there will be additional costs imposed on imported goods from countries without the EU’s restrictions on planet-warming pollution.

A separate milestone from 2022 which still falls under our #5 spot, saw the biggest overhaul of the EU carbon market that will extend it to road transport, shipping and heating. This expansion of the policy will also accelerate the pace at which companies — from energy producers to steelmakers — are required to reduce pollution. The accord provided certainty to companies and investors, sending European carbon prices to a record high for the year. And that’s why this news matters to us.

MORE TOP TEN POSITIVE ACTION CLIMATE MOMENTS OF 2022

#4, EU solar power soars by almost 50% in 2022: Which country installed the most? Solar power in Europe has soared by almost 50 per cent in 2022, according to a new report from industry group SolarPower Europe. It reveals that the EU installed a record-breaking 41.4 GW of solar this year – enough to power the equivalent of 12.4 million homes. That is a 47 per cent increase from the 28.1 GW installed in 2021. In one year, the bloc’s capacity to generate power from this renewable source has increased by 25 per cent. And 

#3 is plant power: Scientists generate electricity from a shrub in renewables breakthrough. Could we one day harness plants – as well as wind and solar – to generate clean power? It might seem like the stuff of sci-fi, but scientists have successfully used a succulent plant to create a living ‘bio-solar cell’ that runs on photosynthesis. How?  In a statement from the American Chemistry Society wrote, “During [photosynthesis], light drives a flow of electrons from water that ultimately results in the generation of oxygen and sugar.” “This means that living photosynthetic cells are constantly producing a flow of electrons that can be pulled away as a ‘photocurrent’ and used to power an external circuit, just like a solar cell.”

Why does this matter to us? This (literal) green energy could enable the development of future sustainable technologies, researchers hope.

THE #2 AND #1 TOP CLIMATE POSITIVE ACTION MOMENTS OF 2022!

And speaking of EarthShot prize, we believe the 2nd annual Earth Shot Prizes, awarded in Boston, MA in late 2022 was the #2 most noteworthy climate action moment of 2022. Why? The five folks awarded.

1.   Kheyti—an Indian-based company offering a Greenhouse-in-a-box: Plants grown in it require 98% less water while providing 7x the normal yield.
2.   Mukuru Clean Stoves—this Kenya-based company uses processed biomass to provide a cleaner burning portable stove, solving the problem of pollution, and harmful health effects that 700 million Africans suffer from while using traditional cookstoves.
3.   Queensland Indigenous Women Rangers—This Australia-based network of ranger trainers exists to train indigenous women, encouraging new conservation approaches by sharing knowledge giving critical insight into one of the most important ecosystems on the planet.
4.   44.01—the Oman-based company removes CO2 permanently by mineralizing it in peridotite, a rock found in abundance in Oman. 44.01 also aims to provide new employment to engineers and geologists working in the fossil fuel industry, thus providing the post-fossil fuel transition for those workers.
5.   NotPla—the UK-based company’s product Notpla is an alternative to plastic made from seaweed and plants. It’s always totally natural and entirely biodegradable, and can be used to create a range of packaging products, such as a bubble to hold liquids, a coating for food containers, and a paper for the cosmetic and fashion industry.

AND THE #1 Top Climate moments 2022, for us, are all those moments our thousands of listeners spent with us! You are helping power positive climate action everyday. You are our inspiration, our motivation and the reason we’ve made it to this show, show number five hundred two!