Hi, Everyone! 

I’m Amanda Magnani, a Brazilian (photo)journalist and OptOut News’ climate editor. Every other week, I bring you the most important climate news from our network—with an extra serving of decolonial perspectives. ✨🌿

The hottest year on record, 2024 was a big one for the climate crisis—and most of the time, not for good reasons. Over the past 12 months, we saw hurricanes Helene and Milton, the dangers of climate disinformation, a failed agreement on global climate finance, and the election of a climate denialist as the President of the United States. 

As this year has illustrated, there is a clear need for hard-hitting, honest reporting. Independent media plays a critical role in holding power to account. As the year comes to an end, we urge you to consider donating to OptOut, so we can continue doing our work. 

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The year kicked off with Biden’s freeze of all new LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) projects across the U.S. in January. Gas Outlook reported that the pause was meant to last while the Department of Energy reviewed how to regulate new LNG exports, weighing in the climate impacts before any new approval. 

But it didn’t take long for the GOP to challenge the decision. In February, House members called a hearing, arguing that the move would undercut the economy, Colorado Newsline reported. That same month, EOS reported that the one-to-five hurricane intensity scale was no longer enough to categorize the worst cyclones the world is experiencing.

In March, however, we received some good news. Solar energy in the U.S. hit a milestone not seen since WWII: for the first time in decades, renewable energy made up more than half of the country’s added energy, accounting for 23.6 of the 32.4 gigawatts added in 2023, Grist reported. 

In April, the Biden administration raced to approve as many climate rules as possible, with announcements on a near-daily basis, Gas Outlook reported. Regulations included blocking oil and gas in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPRA); fuel-economy standards for passenger vehicles; funding for residential solar programmes; and requiring chemical companies to pay for the clean-up of PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals”.

In May, another win: small island nations succeeded in obligating all state parties of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Grist reported. 

In June, however, The Lever reported on how fossil fuel companies used legal gymnastics to criminalize protests against pipelines, trying to widen the definition and punishment for attacks on pipelines by using vague language that could lead to the understanding of protests as a form of attack criminally punishable by up to 20 years in prison. 

July was a big month, with curtains closing on both Biden’s pause to LNG exports–as reported by Grist–and his announced candidacy for a second term as President of the United States was ending following a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump.

In August, climate activists and lefty green groups officially endorsed the candidacy of Kamala Harris for president, HEATED reported. That same month, Grist reported on how, after a series of heat-related deaths, workers across the country rallied to demand on-the-job heat protection. 

Hurricane Helene arrived in September, devastating five states across the Southeastern United States and leaving over a hundred dead. In Georgia, more than 1 million lost power and in Tennessee, more than 50 people were stranded on the roof of a hospital and in Western North Carolina all roads were closed. All that was worsened and made more likely by climate change, Grist reported. 

A few weeks later, in October, Grist reported that hurricane Milton hit Florida, leaving at least six deaths and over 80.000 people in shelters, which was still not the worst-case scenario. Also in October, lies and disinformation surrounding hurricane Helene, including from then Republican candidate Donald Trump, were so extreme that FEMA’s chief Deanne Criswell publicly begged for the lies to stop, The Ring of Fire reported.

November was probably the most consequential month of 2024 for the climate crisis. The U.S. elected Donald Trump for a second term and gave his party a trifecta—with grave implications for the planet, The New Republic reported. It was also the month when COP 29, the U.N. climate conference took place, with the mission of  agreeing on the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). That too was a major failure, as the final deal promised US$ 300 billion a year, much less than the necessary US$ 1 trillion, Grist reported. 

I wrote a story for OptOut’s investigative newsletter, Important Context, about the representation of fossil fuel interests at the conference.

The Climate Disinformation Machine at Work at COP29

Beyond the 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists currently in Baku, COP29 is attended by over a hundred members of climate disinformation organizations across all levels.

Important ContextAmanda Magnani

To end the year with a bang, in December, petro-states managed to spoil the international plastics treaty negotiations Yale Environment 360 reported. Finally, President-elect Donald Trump nominated fracking ally Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency and pledged to slash climate regulations and weaken environmental protections, Alabama Reflector reported.

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That’s all for now, folks! Thank you for accompanying and supporting us throughout 2024. If you have any questions or suggestions, hit me up at amanda@optout.news. 

Obrigada and a happy new year to us all!

The OptOut Media Foundation (EIN: 85-2348079) is a nonprofit charity with a mission to educate the public about current events and help sustain a diverse media ecosystem by promoting and assisting independent news outlets and, in doing so, advance democracy and social justice.

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