2022 has been the biggest reality check on climate change and the urgency to prioritize climate action with no further delays. The world cannot escape the reality of the climate crisis- droughts, fires, extreme heat and unprecedented weather events happen daily the world over. Additionally, the unsustainable nature of our energy, food, and agriculture systems was also exposed by the Russia- Ukraine crisis.
Rather than implement climate action, we have consistently seen leaders back sliding in the commitments made in Paris and in Glasgow. Here is a recap of 2022 in climate events captured in tweets.
IPCC
The IPCC report cited governments’ commitments as “critically insufficient and urged countries to ramp up their NDCs, indicating that the world is heading for 2.4C by 2100 on current targets.
The latest @IPCC_CH report is a litany of broken climate promises.
Some government & business leaders are saying one thing, but doing another.
They are lying.
It is time to stop burning our planet. https://t.co/xzccxqwvhE
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 4, 2022
Russia Invasion
The Russian invasion on Ukraine resulted in a global food and energy crisis that countries are still struggling to recover from, due to the over-reliance on dirty fossil fuels .
Consequently, protestors called on the governments of the world to stop funding the war with over a quarter of the EU’s oil coming from Russia.
Russia’s whole economy depends on oil and gas exports. So the more the world relies on fossil fuels, the more power we put in the hands of Putin.
We need more clean energy for the sake of our planet and for the sake of democracy and freedom around the globe.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 5, 2022
G7
On the heels of the IPCC report, the global food, and energy crisis instigated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and climate impacts displacing communities and impacting economies, the G7 meeting came with hope and anticipation of key climate action ahead of COP27.
However, G7 leaders struggled to stay on the climate track and the Bonn climate talks resulted in a disappointing stalemate with no real progress.
About the #G7, and how the fossil and climate finance debates are connected:
Developed countries have failed to meet the goal of delivering $100bn/yr in #climatefinance for developing countries between 2020-25.
Funding reached ~$80bn in 2019, of which ~$66bn was public. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/Kez8ZQIYhl
— Joe Thwaites (@joethw8s) June 27, 2022
EU Taxonomy
Meanwhile, the EU risked major setbacks in climate action progress by proposing to label “gas” green in the EU taxonomy.
Tomorrow the European Parliament will decide whether fossil gas and nuclear will be considered “sustainable” in the EU taxonomy. But no amount of lobbyism and greenwashing will ever make it “green”.
We desperately need real renewable energy, not false solutions. #NotMyTaxonomy— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) July 5, 2022
Climate Impacts
While leaders continued to delay on climate action, extreme weather devastation continued, with Pakistan paying a high price. Over a thousand people died, 1,600 injured, 33 million displaced, two million acres of crops gone and a third of the country under water.
Europe experienced the hottest summer in recorded history with extreme heatwaves, droughts, and fires reported in many parts of the continent.
I have never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan.
As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt.
This is a global crisis. It demands a global response. pic.twitter.com/5nqcJIMoIA
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 10, 2022
G20
Global leaders continued to delay action and backslide on their commitments, as the G20 talks held in Bali on August 31st, concluded without a joint communique, ahead of COP27
G20 climate talks in Indonesia fail to agree communique, with some countries, including China, objecting to previously agreed language in the #Glasgow #climate pact and past #G20 agreements on efforts to limit global average temperature rises to 1.5C https://t.co/dWYp7v0zdw
— UNCS News (@UNClimateSummit) September 1, 2022
