By any measure, the world isn’t reducing greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to stay in line with climate targets and avoid dangerous levels of global warming. Emissions rose by 1.3 per cent in 2023 and have continued at record levels through 2024. Despite the profusion of companies and countries pledging to cut emissions to , we have seen precious little sign of the action required to hit these targets.
However, the world has made important progress to speed up the deployment of clean energy technologies and a range of other climate solutions that will help bend the curve towards net zero. Limiting warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels may no longer be on the cards, but the most catastrophic scenarios are far less likely than they once were, and every sliver of avoided warming will make a difference.
One of the brightest spots is another unprecedented year of growth in renewable energy. In 2023, countries added 510 gigawatts of wind and solar energy capacity. This year is expected to see 666 gigawatts added, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest The agency now expects global renewable energy capacity to increase 2.7 times by 2030 – a rate behind the tripling target agreed at the United Nations COP28 summit in Dubai, but another jump up from last year’s predictions. Sixty per cent of that growth is set to occur in the world’s largest emitter, China, which may have already hit peak emissions.
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Part of the reason why emissions haven’t declined elsewhere is that from data centres and other users has meant that growth in renewables largely hasn’t displaced demand for fossil fuels. 2024 saw record consumption of coal, gas and oil, as well as wind and solar energy. But the mix of electricity generation sources is getting cleaner in many countries. That means the electric vehicles and heat pumps people are increasingly buying aren’t just more efficient than fossil-powered devices, they also generate fewer emissions. Some analyses that global emissions from energy may hit a peak in 2024 (although they said the same about 2023).
2024 has also seen researchers and companies develop a head-spinning range of technologies to help cut emissions from activities that are more challenging to power with electricity than cars or home heating. Two studies demonstrated new processes to make low-carbon or even carbon-negative cement, for instance – cement is currently responsible for 7.5 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. The shipping industry is exploring new sources of low-emission fuel, onboard carbon capture and the radical idea of raising sails to improve fuel efficiency. The world’s largest sailing cargo ship, named Anemos, made its first Atlantic crossing in August.
Others are making progress in pursuit of new sources of carbon-free hydrogen fuel, whether by splitting seawater with clean electricity or tapping newly discovered natural reserves underground. A large supply of clean hydrogen could, in turn, help decarbonise an array of high-emitting industries, from aviation to fertiliser production.
Researchers are also making strides with efforts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Only a vanishingly small fraction of the billions of tonnes of CO2 removal needed have actually been delivered by efforts so far, but numbers are growing. So, too, is the range of methods of performing CO2 removal, from making seawater less acidic to developing more efficient ways to pull the gas directly out of the atmosphere with giant fans.
The popularity of spreading crushed rocks that absorb CO2 on farms has also grown this year, aided by the finding that the rocks can also boost crop yields. One company is even using these crushed rocks to simultaneously remove CO2 and collect nickel, a vital ingredient in batteries, which are needed for the transition to clean energy.
