by Bright Ewuru | Dec 12, 2024 | Articles
As the final days of the year rush by, it’s the perfect time to reflect on this passing year. Undoubtedly, 2024 was an eventful year. And while it can be tempting to reflect on the challenges, it’s also a great time to look back on the successes.
For example, the year has borne witness to remarkable victories for our planet, outstanding innovations that will reshape life as we know it and events that have connected humans from all ends of the world.
Below are some triumphant moments that defined 2024, the impact of which will be felt in years to come.
One of the top moments of 2024 was a historic victory for climate activism and human rights. In April, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Switzerland violated the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to address climate change adequately.
The case was originally filed in domestic courts by an association of elderly women called Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland (KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz). They argued that Switzerland’s insufficient climate policies put them at risk of dying during heatwaves and violated their rights to life, among other rights, under Articles 2 and 8 of the Convention.
Multiple Swiss courts dismissed their complaints, ruling that the women’s rights were not impacted.
The association took their complaints to the ECHR which has jurisdiction across the member states of the Council of Europe. The court’s Grand Chamber ruled in favour of the association, having found that Switzerland failed to comply with its obligations under the Convention and lacked a thorough domestic regulatory framework to deal with global warming.
As the first decision from an international court emphasising climate change endangers human rights, this landmark ruling has been lauded as “a victory for all generations”.
The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games were the biggest event ever organised in France. By bringing together people to participate in sporting activities, it doubled as a multicultural festival, uniting people from diverse backgrounds. However, the major win of this event goes beyond the buzz, medals and trophies.
It aligned with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and focused on halving the carbon footprint of the event compared to previous events. Sustainability strategies implemented to achieve this environmental responsibility goal include:
The 2024 Olympics’ application of circular economy principles demonstrates that large-scale sustainable events management is achievable.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun are winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine. They discovered microRNA, a new class of RNA molecules that are proving to be crucial in how organisms develop and function. Their findings have also opened up a new dimension to understanding genetic control and disease mechanisms.
This medical advancement can enhance diagnostics, personalised treatments and regenerative medicine.
Similarly, the Nobel Chemistry Prize for the year goes to David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for their computational protein research. While David Baker developed formulae to design new proteins, Hassabis and Jumper predicted protein structure using Artificial Intelligence.
The protein-prediction framework can facilitate drug design by identifying drug targets faster while the new protein design can power the creation of custom proteins to treat previously untreatable diseases.
The skies have spread good news in 2024, bringing much joy and wonder to people through ethereal displays of the Aurora Borealis. The awe-inspiring Northern Lights have been more visible and more frequent this year, thanks to the solar maximum—a period when solar activity increases tremendously causing more interaction between our planet’s magnetosphere and bursts of solar wind and magnetic fields.
The outcome is powerful geomagnetic storms which fill the skies with colours as solar particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. This elusive phenomenon is normally witnessed only in high-latitude regions such as Norway and Canada. However, this year, regions such as Texas, Florida, New Zealand, northern India and the UK have witnessed the dance of colours.
The breathtaking views have been a source of thrill to astronomers, scientists, airline passengers and simple skywatchers, fostering a sense of connection across the globe.
With these historic decisions in climate activism, occurrences in nature, advancements in science and blueprints in environmental responsibility, 2024 is sure to remain evergreen in our memories.
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