Happy December! As 2022 wraps up, here are some exciting climate headlines from around the world to end the year on a high note.
Week of 2 December
U.S to Pay Millions to Move Tribes Threatened by Climate Change
In one of its biggest actions to help relocate communities impacted by climate change, the United States will give two Native tribes in Alaska and another in Washington a total of $25 million each to relocate to safer areas. Read more here.
Promising Technology: The Floating Solar Panels that Track the Sun
In the Netherlands, new solar technology is utilizing floating systems in order to create more space for solar fields. These floating arrays move to follow the sun, maximizing energy. Read more here.
Fishers in Flores Sea Opt to Limit Harvest of Overexploited Sea Cucumbers
In Indonesia’s Sapuka island, fishers have added regulations to their sea cucumber harvests to help decrease overexploitation from decades of intense harvest. The sea cucumbers play a vital role in the area’s marine ecosystem. Read more here.
Floating Wetlands Are Helping to Clean Up Urban Waters
Researchers are installing new artificial islands in cities to help with water pollution levels. The islands, filled with various plants, help attract more wildlife while absorbing contaminants in the water. Read more here.
Week of 9 December
Fish Eggs Return to Bangladesh’s Halda River Following Conservation Efforts
The river serves as an important marine ecosystem and has now made a comeback after nearly all fish eggs disappeared from the area years ago. Efforts to prevent overfishing have allowed fish to breed in the area again. Read more here.
Once Devastated Pacific Reefs See Amazing Recovery and Rebirth
In the Southern Line Islands, previously destroyed corals have now made a shocking recover, in part due to “crustose coralline algae” that help coral larvae attach to build new reefs. Read more here.
Trudeau Announces $800M for Indigenous-led Conservation Initiatives
The Canadian Prime Minister announced the funds would be distributed over seven years for a number of Indigenous-led projects to help protect large amounts of lands and water. Read more here.
Expanding offshore wind power would have ‘multitude of benefits,’ report suggests
A new report from Maryland analyzing the economic and environmental benefits of offshore wind has found a wide range of benefits to adding wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City in the Atlantic. Read more here.
Week of 23 December
Nearly Every Country Signs On to a Sweeping Deal to Protect Nature
Roughly 190 nations, aiming to halt a dangerous decline in biodiversity, agreed to preserve 30 percent of the plant’s land and seas. The United States is not officially a participant. Read more here.
U.S Bans Shark Fin Sales
The Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act represents a multiyear effort by lawmakers, under pressure from animal-rights and ecological organizations such as the Animal Welfare Institute and Oceana, to ban the trade of shark fins. Read more here.
Freezing Great Barrier Reef Coral Could be a ‘Game-Changer’ Against the Threat of Climate Change
A successful trial by scientists working on the Great Barrier Reef to freeze and store coral larvae could help rewild reefs threatened by climate change. Read more here.
We hope that 2023 will be full of continued action towards protecting our oceans. If you’re interested in making this a possibility, sign the 30×30 petition or subscribe to our monthly newsletter! Or if you’d like to see more posts like this, check us out on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook!