The 10 Biggest Environmental Wins of 2024

2024 has been a year full of hope and change for our planet. We've seen incredible wins for the environment, and you might have missed them with everything else that's going on. From a law that protects the world's third largest rainforest from exploitation, to the largest dam removal in the United States. Hey, I'm your host Regis, and in this video, we want to focus on the 10 biggest environmental victories of the year. The United Kingdom was one of the main drivers of the Industrial Revolution, an epic shifting technological leap that gave rise to large-scale industry and manufacturing. One of the most important innovations was the discovery that coal could act as a potent source of power, leading to the opening of the world's first coal power plant in London way back in 1882. Up until 2012, coal still made up about 39% of the nation's energy supply. A few years later, the British government vowed to replace it entirely with renewable energy by 2025. To achieve this, they raised the price of coal, invested heavily in clean energy, and took measures to improve the delivery of clean energy across the national power grid. The strategy worked so well that by 2019, only 2% of the country's power came from coal. The gap left behind by coal was largely filled by wind and solar without increasing reliance on gas. True to form, the British were right on time, because the last coal power plant, the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power plant in Nottinghamshire, was closed for good in September of this year. The UK's success here is part of a wider goal set by the OECD countries to completely get rid of coal by 2030. Okay, we now want to take a look at environmental restoration, as the largest dam removal project in the United States has recently been completed. For generations, the Yurok tribe of Northern California has considered the salmon in the Known as the Salmon People, they believe that the spirit that gave birth to humans also created the salmon. In the early 1900s, however, the spawning grounds of these important fish were blocked off when four dams were built to meet a growing demand for electricity. Over the next century or so, the salmon experienced a major dip in population because of disruption to their breeding patterns. About two decades after the last dam was completed in 1965, the Yurok tribe commenced a major legal campaign to have them removed, but they were largely unsuccessful. Back in 2002, somewhere between 34,000 and 70,000 salmon died because of a disease brought on by warmer water and low river flow. This devastating event became a turning point in their fight, sparking the creation of a campaign called Bring the Salmon Home, along with years of renewed protests, lawsuits, and negotiations. In the end, they won the battle. All four dams were demolished by August of this year. The river has returned to its natural state, and this is a big win for the fish, as they finally have uninterrupted access to their spawning grounds for the first time in 100 years. I bet there are some very happy salmon there right now. For our third win, we go from rivers to rainforest protection, as the world's third-largest rainforest is now officially protected. Spread over a vast 76 million hectares, which is roughly the size of Turkey, the rainforest of Papua New Guinea is the third-largest rainforest in the world. About 7% of the globe's species live there, with many of them classified as rare and critically endangered. In recent years, though, large portions of this vital wildlife sanctuary have been destroyed by mining, logging, and industrial farming. This convinced the government of Papua New Guinea in March to press ahead with a historic bill that's been in the pipeline for 14 years. The Protected Areas Act will make it impossible for companies to move in and exploit the rainforest for commercial purposes. Now, importantly, this law takes into account the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea. More specifically, they'll benefit from improvements in basic services and infrastructure, and a lot of them will be given the opportunity to be trained up as rangers to help safeguard their homes. Next up, we take a look at renewable energy. India's announced a massive new renewable energy park the size of Singapore. India is not only the world's most populous country, but also the fastest-growing major economy on the planet. The knock-on effect of higher salaries and improved living standards is a rise in demand for new homes, shops, and other buildings. And this, in turn, leads to an increased demand for electricity. Now, currently, 70% of the nation's electricity comes from fossil fuels like coal, and only 10% is from renewable sources. However, India has pledged to lessen its long-term dependence on non-renewables when it promised to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. The result is an enormous move towards wind and solar energy, which is where the Kavda Renewable Energy Park comes in. Set to be constructed in the barren salt desert that separates India from Pakistan, it'll be a solar and wind farm the size of Singapore. Once finished, it'll supply enough energy to power about 18 million households, playing a crucial part in the country's transition to clean energy. Another win for renewables brings us to China, where the largest wind turbines ever have been built. Wind power is much better for the environment than coal and gas. The thing is, though, normal-sized wind turbines just don't produce a whole lot of energy. On average, they have a power output of 2 to 3 megawatts, which produces enough to meet the electrical needs of around 2,000 homes. So how do we improve on that? Well, we scale them up, of course. This is exactly what China's Sany Renewable Energy have done as they unveiled the world's largest onshore wind turbine back in October. With a whopping 15 megawatt output, a single one of these machines can power around 12,000 households. But wait, it gets even bigger. Offshore wind turbines can produce even more, since they're pummeled with stronger and more consistent winds. This is why Mingyang Smart Energy revealed an immense 20-megawatt offshore wind turbine in September. If that wasn't impressive enough, the company's already working on a 22-megawatt prototype, so it looks like there's still a lot of room for improvement. For our next big win, we're staying in China, but heading to Western China, where the world's largest solar farm has just come online. One of the most potent renewable sources of energy that we can tap into are the rays from our sun. In recent times, China has emerged as a global leader in the solar power field. It's estimated that the nation has the potential to produce one-third of the globe's total solar output, thanks in part to the fact that it boasts the two largest operational solar facilities in the entire world. In June, they took that a step further. When they switched on a farm that's so mind-bogglingly huge, it now holds the world record. Located in the sun-drenched desert in Xinjiang, Western China, the Ordo facility stretches across 809 square kilometers, which is bigger than New York City. Annually, it'll be able to generate over 6 terawatt-hours of electricity. That's enough to supply over half a million people with power. Now, after the last two entries, you might not be too surprised to hear that wind and solar have overtaken coal in China in a historic first. As of November, wind and solar now produce 1.38 terawatts of electricity, which is 151 gigawatts more than coal. Last year was a particularly important year in this regard. Solar and wind added 293 gigawatts to the country's total power, while coal only supplemented it with 40 gigawatts. Continuing the downward trend, during the first half of this year, coal has slumped to just 8 gigawatts. If they keep this up, it's been predicted that in two years' time, the country's total solar capacity alone could be larger than coal. And that would be quite the achievement. But it's also important to note that China is still the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter. So reducing fossil fuel use is crucial, and this hasn't been fully achieved across the country yet. But before we go on, we'd really appreciate it if you would subscribe to Good News. We can't believe it, but we're actually closing in on 100,000 subscribers. So thank you all so much for your support. OK, next up, we look at marine conservation. And this year, California has scored a major victory. They're creating the third-largest marine sanctuary in the United States. Back in 2022, the Biden administration launched the America the Beautiful initiative, with the aim of preserving and restoring at least 30% of the nation's land and sea ecosystems by 2030. Now, so far, they've created 17 protected sanctuaries, with the latest encompassing over 186 kilometers of the picturesque California coastline. Kelp forests, reefs, beaches, underwater mountains, and over 200 shipwrecks are just some of the natural and unnatural wonders that will become part of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Looks like I found my next vacation destination. I'm gonna go get my sunscreen real quick. The indigenous Chumash people will play an integral role in its management. This is because the sanctuary is spread across a particularly holy stretch of their traditional lands called Point Conception, a place where the souls of the dead are believed to travel over into the afterlife. The boundaries of the reserve are planned to come into effect in the middle of December. On to Australia now, which also made waves this year by declaring that 52% of its oceans are protected zones. In 2022, the Australian government landed themselves in hot water when a national environmental report criticized them for letting at least 19 land and sea ecosystems deteriorate to dangerous levels. This was caused by climate change, habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, and mining. In response, a promise was made to protect 30% of their land and ocean territories by 2030. As part of this, in August, the government began a multi-million dollar effort to remove pesticide runoff and improve water quality in the ocean around the Great Barrier Reef. Then, in October, they upped the 30% goal to 52%, the most of any country on Earth. This will be achieved through the expansion of a marine reserve centered around the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, a remote overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. It'll be extended by 300 square kilometers, which is about the size of Italy. Some have expressed concerns that fishing may still be allowed in high conservation areas, so in the future they may crack down on this, in a similar manner to what Greece did for its own marine reserves earlier this year. In April, the Greek prime minister announced a total ban on bottom trawling. Now, this is a fishing method that destroys underwater habitats by scraping nets across the ocean floor. Government projects can help solve our environmental problems, but sometimes they just don't get the job done, so other people have to step in. Well, when we take a look at our final environmental win for this video, this is precisely what happened in Hawaii. This summer, a historic climate settlement was reached with young activists. Over the past decade, Hawaii has been viewed as a national leader on climate policy. In 2015, it became the first state to promise 100% clean energy by 2045. An example of how they're doing this comes from January of this year, when an enormous battery replaced and matched the power of the state's last coal power plant, which was shut down two years ago. On the other hand, though, the overall picture isn't so rosy. Between 2020 and 2021, encouraged by projects such as highway expansion, carbon emissions actually increased by 16%. This compelled a group of mostly native Hawaiians between the ages of 9 and 18 to act. In a lawsuit filed in June 2022, they accused the government of not doing enough to reach their climate goals. They pointed to the fact that every year since 2008, the Department of Transportation had failed to reach their environmental targets. In June of this year, the young plaintiffs emerged victorious, which will pave the way for more youth-led climate legal action. The result is that Hawaiian officials are now compelled by law to release a detailed plan outlining how they'll achieve zero emissions in the transportation sector by 2045. This is definitely a step in the right direction when it comes to Hawaii meeting its climate goals. But what do you think? Are these laws and regulations enough to protect our environment? And which of our 10 news stories is the most important? We're kind of excited to read your answers in the comments below on this one. It's a little bit of a different video, so please let us know what you think. As always, thank you so much for watching, and we'll see you next weekend with another monthly dose of good news.