This was a year of extremes for Northern Ireland but there are seeds of hope can we take away from 2023

Blue-green algae sludge on the shores of Lough Neagh at Cranfield point in September 2023

Rosalind Skillen

Globally, 2023 was the hottest year on record, with Canada, Rhodes, and Hawaii ablaze. Locally, 2023 was a year of extremes for Northern Ireland. We saw some of our highest temperatures recorded, withstood our wettest ever July, and experienced an Autumn heatwave. Are there any grounds for optimism in 2023? What seeds of hope can we take away from this year?

In terms of energy, the case for moving away from fossil fuels has never been stronger. Worldwide policies and investments have accelerated the trend towards renewables, with solar the cheapest source of electricity.