As we leave another year behind, let’s keep alive the tradition of taking a look back at what has taken place in the past year.
Alongside civil wars, violence, poverty, political instability, natural disasters and a refugee crisis, 2015 saw many environmental developments.
In 2015, again, large amounts of glacial ice were lost, ocean temperatures rose, drought became more widespread and climate change-related occurrences grew, both in speed and intensity. Again, we warmed up the planet, eradicated species, destroyed forests, dried up rivers, polluted seas, soil and air, and doomed ourselves to suffocating in smoke generated from coal. We have seen many people displaced because of poverty, hunger and natural disasters related to climate change.
While all these things happened, we took few precautions regarding the long-term future of the planet. We have again failed to curb our greed for economic growth and development. We weren’t able to acknowledge that we are not entitled to contaminate the planet or that we have nowhere else to go.
2015 set a record as the warmest year of all time. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere passed 400 parts per million (ppm), sea levels rose and we observed the strongest ever impacts of El Nino.
Let us now take a look at a summary of the global environmental events of 2015 in 10 bullet points:
Paris Climate Agreement: The COP21 climate summit in Paris resulted in a deal that will lead the whole world as one in taking action to combat climate change. However, the agreement, which included a commitment to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius, limiting it to 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible, was not as much of a success as many environmentalists had hoped.
Obama’s veto of Keystone XL: The Keystone XL pipeline system, which was intended to move tar-sand oil from Alberta, Canada, to the US state of Nebraska, was vetoed by US President Barack Obama. Environmentalists had long opposed the project because it would contribute to climate change and negatively affect the economy.
Pope Francis’ climate encyclical: Pope Francis, spiritual leader of the Catholic world, issued an encyclical of around 200 pages regarding the harm caused by capitalism, climate change and a need for conservation. It was a meticulously drafted text with significant and strict messages.
Record setting for the warmest year: 2015 became the hottest year in modern history. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that 2015 and July 2015 were the warmest year and month, respectively, since records began in 1880.
Censorship of documentary “Under the Dome”: A documentary film by journalist Chai Jing tackled air pollution in China, which has reached disastrous levels. The movie became a big hit, being watched by more than 200 million Chinese people on the Internet within a week. The release of the documentary prompted more public awareness on the issue, but it was censored two weeks after it had opened in theaters and removed from the Internet. However, its censorship did not diminish the issue of air pollution in China; two red alerts were issued in the country in December.
Climate inquiry on Exxon: Inside Climate News carried out a great example of investigative journalism when it documented that American oil giant Exxon had since the 1970s been aware of the man-made nature of climate change through the work of its own scientists, but made great efforts to conceal this knowledge. The story also included supporting accounts of former employees of the company.
Volkswagen’s emission scandal: This news shook the whole world when it broke. The US Environmental Protection Agency announced that tests conducted on exhaust pipe emissions of Volkswagen’s diesel vehicles were flawed, and the company admitted it had intentionally fixed exhaust pipe emission tests to appear as though they contained less pollutants.
BP receives record-breaking fine: The lengthy legal battle against oil firm BP concerning 2010’s month-long oil spill from its Deepwater Horizon platform into the Gulf of Mexico finally came to an end. The company agreed to pay $20 billion in compensation.
Success of divestment campaign: A divestment movement against fossil fuel companies saw massive expansion during the Paris COP21 climate summit. Over 500 entities, with assets totaling $3.4 trillion, committed to not invest in fossil fuel companies and to divest their existing shares.
The Pacific’s problem child El Nino: The world experienced the most destructive El Nino to date in the fall of 2015. It was announced that climate change, combined with the impact of El Nino, is expected to increase the average global temperature of 2016 to above the values of 2015.