Here Are All the Positive Climate Stories From 2022

Renewables are set to produce more energy than coal in the US. It was predicted that more than a fifth of all electricity by the end of 2022 will come from hydropower, wind and solar.

Brazil’s President-Elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as “Lula”, pledged to end deforestation in the Amazon after his election victory over Jair Bolsonaro, who oversaw mass destruction of the rainforest. Experts say the policies could cut deforestation in the Amazon by 89 per cent over the next decade. 

China announced it’s building the world’s largest wind farm, which could power 13 million homes. Chaozhou – a city in China’s Guangdong province – has revealed ambitious plans for a 43.3 gigawatt facility in the Taiwan Strait.

Renewables saved 230 million tonnes of CO2 emissions around the world so far in 2022, according to London-based think tank Ember which took data from 75 countries that make up around 90 percent of the world’s electricity demand. 

Australia's Great Barrier Reef showed its best signs of coral recovery in 36 years. The reef still remains vulnerable to increasingly frequent mass bleaching, but it’s displaying the most extensive coral cover seen in decades. 

A South African court revoked Shell’s gas and oil exploration rights along the country’s Wild Coast, a decision hailed by campaigners as a “massive victory” for the planet.

France banned short-haul domestic flights in favour of train travel for journeys that take less than 2.5 hours by rail. It also became the first European country to ban adverts for fossil fuels under a new climate law.

Denmark became the first country to pay for “loss and damage” from climate change, providing compensation for those in the most climate vulnerable regions of the world.

Canada imposed a new “luxury tax” on importing high value cars, yachts and private jets, to ensure those who can afford to buy expensive goods are “contributing a little more”.

There was also a “radical” new scientific breakthrough, which found a way to store solar energy for up to 18 years. Researchers in Sweden say that this new method of producing electricity from solar energy could one day make it a big part of our everyday lives. 

A man living in France who won €200 million on the EuroMillions said he’ll use his winnings to create an environmental charity. “My dream has never been to acquire boats, castles or other sports cars, it is to be useful and to give meaning to this money, with maximum positive impact,” the man, known as Guy, said in an open letter.