2022: The year of rolling polycrisis, but with a few glimmers of hope

This year, there were the lows of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, soaring prices and extreme weather, and the highs of an accelerating shift to green energy and space wonders from the James Webb Space Telescope

Earth

| Leader

14 December 2022

Protesters hold placards during a "Look up" march, to call on the presidential candidates to take into account the climate emergency, which protesters say is largely absent from the election campaign, less than two weeks after a warning from UN climate experts and a month before the presidential election, in Paris on March 12, 2022. - According to the organisers, nearly 150 marches are expected to take place across France, supported by NGOs, associations or other groups. The protests are dubbed "Look up" in reference to the film "Don't look up", a metaphor for the climate crisis that has been a hit on Netflix. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images) — ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images

WHAT a year. At the start of 2022, many were hoping for a return to normality as vaccines allowed countries to end covid-19 measures. Instead, Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering or exacerbating many other global crises in addition to the terrible things happening in Ukraine itself.

Russia attempted to blackmail Europe by withholding gas, sending energy prices soaring. It also prevented the export of grain and sunflower oil from Ukraine’s ports, sharply hiking food prices. Along with the supply chain disruptions resulting from the pandemic – and from Brexit in the UK – this led to the cost-of-living crisis that …

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