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This article documents notable events, research findings, effects, and responses related to global warming and climate change during the year 2022.
Summaries
Nearly half of humanity is living in the danger zone—now. Many ecosystems are at the point of no return—now. Unchecked carbon pollution is forcing the world's most vulnerable on a frog march to destruction—now. The facts are undeniable. This abdication of leadership is criminal. The world's biggest polluters are guilty of arson of our only home. ... Today's report underscores two core truths. First, coal and other fossil fuels are choking humanity. (Second,) investments in adaptation work. ... Delay means death.
—António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations[1]
28 February 2022
- ~22 January: the International Monetary Fund stated that "Much larger coordinated global policies—including carbon price floors—will be needed to meet the new goals laid out at the (Nov 2021) Glasgow climate conference and stave off catastrophic global climate change. ... Such national-level measures will need to be reinforced with adequately resourced multilateral climate finance initiatives to ensure that all countries can invest in needed mitigation and adaptation measures."[2]
Measurements and statistics
- 13 January: Australia matched its hottest reliably recorded temperature near the West Australian town of Onslow, registering 50.7 °C (123.3 °F).[3]
- February: the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing was the first to rely 100% on artificial snow, exceeding Pyeongchang (2018, 90%) and Sochi (2014, 80%).[4] If global warming continue the trajectory of the preceding two decades, by 2100 the winter games were predicted to be unviable at 20 of 21 former host venues.[5]
- 1 February: a study published in PLOS Climate reported that, in 2019, 57% of the global ocean surface recorded extreme heat, compared to 2% during the second industrial revolution, and that, between the 1980s and 2010s, the global mean normalized heat index increased by 68.23%.[6] Researchers stated that "many parts of the subtropical and midlatitude regions have reached a near-permanent extreme warming state".[6]
- 14 February: a study published in Nature Climate Change concluded that the southwestern North American megadrought that began in 2000 was the driest 22-year period in southwestern North America since at least 800 CE, and forecast that this megadrought would very likely persist through 2022, matching the duration of a late-1500s megadrought.[7]
- 15 March: a Global Energy Monitor report based on mine-level data and modeling determined that coal mining emits 52.3 million tonnes of methane per year, rivaling oil (39 million tonnes) and gas (45 million tonnes), and comparable to the climate impact of the CO2 emissions of all coal plants in China.[8]
- 30 March: Ember's Global Electricity Review reported that in 2021, wind and solar power reached a record 10% of global electricity, with clean power being 38% of supply, more than coal's 36%.[9] However, demand growth rebounded, leading to a record rise in coal power and emissions.[9]
- 7 April: NOAA reported an annual increase in global atmospheric methane of 17 parts per billion (ppb) in 2021—averaging 1,895.7 ppb in that year—the largest annual increase recorded since systematic measurements began in 1983. The increase during 2020 was 15.3 ppb, itself a record increase.[10]
- 27 April: the second edition of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification's Global Land Outlook concluded that "humans have already transformed more than 70% of the Earth’s land area from its natural state, causing unparalleled environmental degradation and contributing significantly to global warming".[11]
- May: the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority reported that a March 2022 aerial survey of the park indicated that 91% of the coral reefs showed "some bleaching", with bleaching patterns "largely consistent with the spatial distribution of heat stress accumulation".[12]
Natural events and phenomena
- 10 March: results of a 22-month study reported in Nature Portfolio's Scientific Reports indicated that several species of coral can survive and cope with future ocean conditions (temperature and acidity) consistent with then-current (late 2021) commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, "provid(ing) hope for future reef ecosystem function globally".[13]
- Reported in March: a coral bleaching event caused severe bleaching in 60 percent of the corals in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, in the reef's first such event occurring in a La Niña (cooling) year.[14]
Actions, and goal statements
Science and technology
- 17 January: researchers published in WIREs Climate Change an argument against solar geoengineering, saying it "is not governable in a globally inclusive and just manner within the current international political system", and advocating for an International Non-Use Agreement.[15]
- 21 January: a transport ship set sail from Australia to Japan with liquid hydrogen in its insulated hold, in what project participants claim is the first time the non-CO2-emitting fuel has been transported by sea to an international market.[16] However, the project producing the hydrogen used brown coal (lignite), a high-emitting energy source.[16]
- March: the first wind farm in the Mediterranean Sea is being constructed near Taranto, Italy, and is designed to power 21,000 homes.[17]
Political, economic, legal, and cultural actions
- 24 January: BBC Science Focus reported that "well over 100" countries had constitutions recognizing a human right to a healthy environment, leading to legal actions and petitions to governments.[18]
- March: The World Bank issued the world's first wildlife conservation bond, raising $150 million and paying investors returns based on the rate of growth of black rhinoceros populations in South Africa's Addo Elephant National Park and Great Fish River Nature Reserve.[19]
- 31 March: The first Middle East and North Africa Climate Week (MENACW 2022) concluded in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, after hosting about 4000 participants, 200 sessions, and 500 speakers from 147 countries.[20]
- 8 April: the World Economic Forum reported that for the first time, wind and solar generated more than 10% of electricity globally in 2021, with fifty countries having crossed the 10% threshold.[21] However, power from coal rose 9% to a new record high.[21]
- 6 May: the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines issued a non-binding "National Inquiry on Climate Change" stating that countries have a special duty to protect human rights in the context of climate change, and business enterprises have a responsibility, distinct from legal liability, to respect human rights.[22]
- November: The 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) is scheduled to take place in Cairo.[23]
Mitigation goal statements
Adaptation goal statements
- February: The U.S. Army's Climate Strategy includes providing 100% carbon-pollution-free electricity for Army installations' needs by 2030, achieving 50% reduction from 2005 levels in GHG emissions from all Army buildings by 2032, attaining net-zero GHG emissions from Army installations by 2045, fielding an all-electric light-duty non-tactical vehicle fleet by 2027, fielding purpose-built hybrid-drive tactical vehicles by 2035 and fully electric tactical vehicles by 2050, achieving carbon-pollution free contingency basing by 2050, and attaining net-zero GHG emissions from all Army procurements by 2050.[24]
Consensus
- 12 January: a survey conducted by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication indicated that Americans are "alarmed" (33%), "concerned" (25%), "cautious" (17%), "disengaged" (5%), "doubtful" (10%), and "dismissive" (9%) about climate change.[25]
Projections
- January: Deloitte published a report forecasting that failing to take sufficient action on climate change could result in economic losses to the US economy of $14.5 trillion(in present-value terms) over the next 50 years, and that decarbonization could catalyze transformational growth in the US economy that could result in $3 trillion added to the economy over that time period.[26]
- 1 February: a study published in PLOS Climate projected a decline in global thermal refugia for coral reefs from 84% (2022) to 0.2% (at 1.5 °C of global warming), and 0% (at 2.0 °C of global warming), stating that management efforts on thermal refugia may only be effective in the short term.[27]
- 15 February: NOAA's Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios said that relative sea level along the contiguous U.S. coastline is expected to rise on average as much over the next 30 years—25 to 30 centimetres (9.8 to 11.8 in)—as it has over the preceding 100 years.[28]
- 23 February: the United Nations Environment Programme projected that climate change and land-use change will make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14% by 2030, 30% by 2050, and 50% by 2100.[29]
- 30 March: an American Lung Association report stated that a national shift to 100 percent sales of zero-emission passenger vehicles (by 2035) and medium- and heavy-duty trucks (by 2040), coupled with renewable electricity, would generate over $1.2 trillion in public health benefits and avoid up to 110,000 premature deaths.[30]
- 28 April: a study published in Science cited ocean warming and oxygen depletion, and concluded that "under business-as-usual global temperature increases, marine systems are likely to experience mass extinctions on par with past great extinctions based on ecophysiological limits alone", with polar species at highest risk.[31]
- 9 May: a World Meteorological Organization update stated that there is a 50:50 chance of the annual average global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5 °C above pre-industrial level for at least one of the ensuing five years; in 2015 that probability was estimated as "close to zero".[32]
- 16 May: a study published in GeoHealth concluded that eliminating energy-related fossil fuel emissions in the United States would prevent 46,900–59,400 premature deaths each year and provide $537–$678 billion in benefits from avoided PM2.5-related illness and death.[33]
- 20 May: a study published in One Earth concluded that rising temperatures will continue to shorten sleep, primarily through delayed onset, increasing the probability of insufficient sleep and impacting human functioning, productivity, and health.[34] Those living in warmer climates were found to lose more sleep per degree of temperature rise, and elderly, women, with residents of lower-income countries being most impacted.[34]
Significant publications
- IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group II:
- Working Group II (27 February 2022). "Climate Change 2022 / Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability / Summary for Policymakers" (PDF). IPCC.ch. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2022. (36 pages; 10 MB)
- Working Group II (27 February 2022). "Technical Summary" (PDF). IPCC.ch. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2022.
Accepted, subject to final edits
(96 pages; 20 MB) - Working Group II (27 February 2022). "Climate Change 2022 / Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability (full report)" (PDF). IPCC.ch. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2022. (3675 pages; 280 MB)
- IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Working Group III:
- Working Group III (4 April 2022). "Climate Change 2022 / Mitigation of Climate Change / Summary for Policymakers" (PDF). IPCC.ch. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2022. (64 pages; 5 MB)
- Working Group III (4 April 2022). "WG III contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report / Technical Summary" (PDF). IPCC.ch. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2022. (145 pages; 10 MB)
- Working Group III (4 April 2022). "Climate Change 2022 / Mitigation of Climate Change / Full Report" (PDF). IPCC.ch. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 April 2022. (2913 pages; 88 MB)
- "State of the Global Climate 2021". WMO.int. World Meteorological Organization (WMO-No. 1290). 18 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022.
See also
- 2021 in the environment and environmental sciences
- Climatology § History
- History of climate change policy and politics
- History of climate change science
- Politics of climate change § History
- Timeline of sustainable energy research 2020–present
References
- ^ Guterres, António (28 February 2022). "António Guterres (UN Secretary-General) to the press conference launch of IPCC report". UN.org. United Nations. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022.
- ^ "World Economic Outlook - Update". IMF.org. Climate policies: International Monetary Fund. 22 January 2022. p. 12. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. (click "PDF Full Report" download link.)
- ^ Hannam, Peter (13 January 2022). "Australia matches its hottest day on record as Western Australia town hits 50.7C". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022.
- ^ Braun, Stuart (1 February 2022). "Can the Winter Olympics survive the climate crisis". Deutsche Welt. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022.
- ^ Scott, Daniel; Knowles, Natalie L.; Ma, Siyao; Rutty, Michelle; Steiger, Robert (10 January 2022). "Climate change and the future of the Olympic Winter Games: athlete and coach perspectives". Current Issues in Tourism. doi:10.1080/13683500.2021.2023480.
- ^ a b Tanaka, Kisei R.; Van Houtan, Kyle S. (1 February 2022). "The recent normalization of historical marine heat extremes". PLOS Climate. 1 (2): e0000007. doi:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000007.
- ^ Williams, A. Park; Cook, Benjamin I.; Smerdon, Jason E. (February 2022). "Rapid intensification of the emerging southwestern North American megadrought in 2020–2021". Nature Climate Change. doi:10.1038/s41558-022-01290-z.
- ^ Tate, Ryan Driskell (15 March 2022). "Bigger Than Oil or Gas? / Sizing Up Coal Mine Methane" (PDF). GlobalEnergyMonitor.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2022.
- ^ a b Jones, Dave (30 March 2022). "Global Electricity Review 2022". Ember-climate.org. Ember (non-profit organisation). Archived from the original on 2 April 2022.
- ^ "Increase in atmospheric methane set another record during 2021 / Carbon dioxide levels also record a big jump". NOAA.gov. 7 April 2022. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022.
- ^ "Global Land Outlook, Second Edition / Land Restoration for Recovery and Resilience" (PDF). UNCCD.int. United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. 27 April 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 April 2022. Section 1.1, "Earth in the Balance".
- ^ "Reef Health / Aerial surveys of the 2022 findings". gbrmpa.gov.au. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022.
- ^ McLachlan, Rowan H.; Price, James T.; Muñoz-Garcia, Agustí; Weisleder, Noah L.; et al. (10 March 2022). "Physiological acclimatization in Hawaiian corals following a 22-month shift in baseline seawater temperature and pH". Scientific Reports. 12 (3712). doi:10.1038/s41598-022-06896-z.
- ^ Cave, Damien (25 March 2022). "'Can't Cope': Australia's Great Barrier Reef Suffers 6th Mass Bleaching Event". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022.
- ^ Biermann, Frank; Oomen, Jeroen; Gupta, Aarti; Ali, Saleem H.; et al. (17 January 2022). Hulme, Mike (ed.). "Solar geoengineering: The case for an international non-use agreement". WIREs Climate Change: e754. doi:10.1002/wcc.754. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ a b Gunia, Amy (28 January 2022). "Australia Just Exported Its First Batch of Fuel That Doesn't Emit CO2. There's Just One Catch". TIME. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. (pay wall in original link)
- ^ "The Med gets first offshore wind farm as Italy vows energy revolution". France 24. 16 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022.
- ^ Baraniuk, Chris (24 January 2022). "A human right to nature: The people suing governments for environmental damage". BBC Science Focus. No. 372. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022.
- ^ "World Bank sells first 'rhino' bond to help South Africa's conservation efforts". Reuters. 24 March 2022. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022.
- ^ "MENACW 2022 Galvanizes Regional Momentum for COP27". UNFCCC.int. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 31 March 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b Masterson, Victoria (8 April 2022). "Wind and solar generated 10% of global electricity in 2021 - a world first". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022.
- ^ "National Inquiry on Climate Change" (PDF). CHR.gov.ph. Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines. 6 May 2022. pp. 79, 89–91. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 May 2022. The 161-page PDF document applied the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, among other internationally recognized principles
- ^ Egypt Today staff (22 December 2021). "COP27 to highlight importance of integrating environmental issues into educational curricula". Egypt Today. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021.
- ^ "Climate Strategy" (PDF). army.mil. United States Army. February 2022. pp. 6, 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 February 2022.
- ^ Leiserowitz, Anthony; Maibach, Edward; Rosenthal, Seth; Kotcher, John; et al. (12 January 2022). "Global Warming's Six Americas, September 2021". climatecommunication.yale.edu. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022.
- ^ Pradeep, Philip; Ibrahim, Claire; Hodges, Cedric (January 2022). "The turning point / A new economic climate in the United States" (PDF). Deloitte.com. pp. 4–7. Archived from the original on 25 January 2022.
- ^ Dixon, Adele M.; Forster, Piers M.; Heron, Scott F.; Stoner, Anne M. K.; Beger, Maria (1 February 2022). "Future loss of local-scale thermal refugia in coral reef ecosystems". PLOS Climate. doi:10.1371/journal.pclm.0000004.
- ^ "Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States / Updated Mean Projections and Extreme Water Level Probabilities Along U.S. Coastlines / NOAA Technical Report NOS 01 / Executive Summary" (PDF). NOAA.gov. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 15 February 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2022. (Full report)
- ^ "Number of wildfires to rise by 50% by 2100 and governments are not prepared, experts warn". UNEP.org. United Nations Environment Programme. 23 February 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Download link for report itself: "Spreading like Wildfire: The Rising Threat of Extraordinary Landscape Fires".
- ^ "Zeroing in on Healthy Air / A National Assessment of Health and Climate Benefits of Zero-Emission Transportation and Electricity" (PDF). lung.org. American Lung Association. March 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 March 2022.
- ^ Penn, Justin L.; Deutsch, Curtis (28 April 2022). "Avoiding ocean mass extinction from climate warming". Science. 376 (6592): 524–526. doi:10.1126/science.abe9039.
- ^ "WMO update: 50:50 chance of global temperature temporarily reaching 1.5°C threshold in next five years". World Meteorological Organization (WMO). 9 May 2022. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022.
- ^ Mailloux, Nicholas A.; Abel, David W.; Holloway, Tracey; Patz, Jonathan A. (16 May 2022). "Nationwide and Regional PM2.5-Related Air Quality Health Benefits From the Removal of Energy-Related Emissions in the United States". GeoHealth. 6 (5). doi:10.1029/2022GH000603.
- ^ a b Minor, Kelton; Bjerre-Nielsen, Andreas; Jonasdotti, Sigga Svala; Lehmann, Sune; Obradovich, Nick (20 May 2022). "Rising temperatures erode human sleep globally". One Earth. Cell Press. doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2022.04.008.
External links
Organizations
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- Climate indicators at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency