Scientists Release 10 New Climate Insights for 2024/2025
If you’ve ever tried to research climate change, you’ll know that finding accurate information can be a nightmare. Everyone has an opinion, and unfortunately, fiction often infiltrates fact. Statistics become outdated and spotting misinformation becomes more and more difficult.
In 2017, three leading scientific organisations – The Earth League, Future Earth, and the World Climate Research Programme – decided to make things easier for everyone. Together, they created an official list called The 10 New Insights in Climate Science, which they release annually. This list presents a summary of the most prominent scientific findings from the past year.
A Quick Look at This Year’s Climate Insights
Methane levels are rising.
Methane emissions from livestock, landfills, and burning fossil fuels rose faster in the past five years than ever before. Methane plumes have been discovered near some coal mines and oil and gas pipelines.- Tackling air pollution is tricky.
Thousands of children under five years old die because of air pollution in South Africa. Yet what most of us don’t know is that smoke, dust, and other particulate matter in the air actually help cool the planet. - More areas are becoming uninhabitable.
Human beings can only exist comfortably in a small range of temperatures known as the human climate niche. Climate scientists say 2024 was the hottest year on record, increasing the risk of deadly heat waves in many regions. - Heat hurts pregnant women and newborns.
Rising temperatures are threatening maternal and reproductive health. Heat stress has been shown to increase the risk of miscarriages and birth complications and delay a mother’s recovery after pregnancy. - Hot oceans cause extreme weather.
Ocean currents like the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could be disrupted by rising water temperatures. The effects of these currents (wildfires, droughts, etc.) are exacerbated by a warmer sea. - Biocultural diversity could save the Amazon.
The only way to save the Amazon Rainforest from total collapse is for humans to live in harmony with nature. Preserving the traditional knowledge of Indigenous People in the region is crucial to developing sustainable farming and forestry practices. - Extreme weather threatens infrastructure.
Floods, wildfires, and natural disasters are becoming more prevalent due to climate change. These events are threatening our food and water supply, electricity and communication systems, and transport networks. - Sustainable development needed in cities.
Most of the world’s fastest-growing cities are situated in developing countries. These nations must prioritise green and blue infrastructure that brings nature back into urban spaces if they hope to build sustainable cities. - Green energy needs an equitable mineral trade.
To burn less fossil fuel, we must build a battery-powered electricity system. This increases the demand for energy transition minerals like lithium and cobalt. We must make sure that extracting these minerals does not cause further environmental or social harm. - Climate policies must be fair.
New research shows that the public is more likely to support policies related to climate change if they believe they are being treated fairly. When there is corruption or increased costs for citizens, they will likely resist government proposals.
How We Can Use These Climate Insights to Guide Policy-Making
When the 10 New Insights in Climate Science series was created, the idea was to help policymakers stay up to date on the latest climate research. Today, nearly 200 countries use this list to guide their work under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Understanding what is happening in the world of climate science helps lawmakers develop more impactful policies and ensure they are going after the right problems. Although the list is not exhaustive, it does provide a snapshot of the current state of the climate crisis.
Extracting Knowledge for the Waste Sector
The 10 Climate Insights are supposed to cover a broad range of areas and fields of study. This year, two of the insights hold particular significance for the waste industry, which we will discuss below.
Insight 1: Rising Methane Levels
Methane is a greenhouse gas that traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Organic waste releases methane as it degrades and as such, landfills that contain food scraps and garden trimmings become methane hotspots. By diverting organic waste away from landfills and into composting facilities, we can reduce waste-related methane emissions.
Alternatively, methane can be captured from landfills and converted into electricity as part of a waste-to-energy scheme. Once considered an expensive and impractical idea, this solution is finally taking off in South Africa. The first large-scale waste-to-energy plant was launched in the Western Cape in 2017 a new facility near Pretoria is currently under construction.
Insight 9: Energy Transition Minerals
As we transition away from fossil fuels and towards cleaner energy sources, we will rely more heavily on rechargeable batteries. Such batteries contain valuable metals like copper, nickel, lithium, and cobalt. Economic forecasts show that demand for these so-called “energy transition minerals” will soon exceed supply.
Mining them can also cause further environmental distress and social inequality. However, there is a silver lining. Energy transition minerals are recyclable, so we won’t always need to extract them from the earth. By developing strong e-waste recycling systems and battery recycling infrastructure, we can develop a circular economy for these crucial minerals.
eWASA is a registered Producer Responsibility Organisation for portable batteries, packaging, paper, and e-waste. Become a member to set up an eco-friendly recycling programme for your business, school, or municipality, and be part of the climate solution.
