In 2100, climate scientists all around the world finally have a reason to celebrate. After decades in which average temperatures regularly broke measurement records, the trend seems to be beginning to change. For the time being, climate change has been stabilized thanks to the actions implemented over the previous decades. Massive investments, good taxation, good rule-setting and regulation have all helped to reverse the trend of rising socio-economic inequalities. The quality of land and forests has also improved, which has contributed to better health, higher quality food and the fact that no one in the world is suffering from hunger anymore.

The world’s scientists have come up with a number of ways to effectively remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The IPCC predicts that reversing the rise in global temperature could not be achieved unless, alongside industry decarbonization, countries start investing in ways to remove emitted greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and store them permanently underground. Technological developments have made carbon capture sustainable, low-cost and easily reproducible. Countries hope to remove 100 to 200 gigatons of CO2 from the atmosphere. They are also paying equal attention to the protection of forests and areas of wilderness, which will effectively perform this service for centuries to come.

The lifelong climate justice campaigner turns 50. Greta Thunberg celebrated her anniversary with her closest family at a cottage in Sweden. Later, she appeared in front of the Swedish Parliament, where she joined a public celebration organized by her colleagues in the climate movement. In a public speech that was broadcast all around the world, Greta spoke of the beginnings of her campaign when, as a 16-year-old schoolgirl, she refused to go to school and went to the Swedish Parliament with a banner calling for an urgent climate change action instead. She recounted the obstacles she faced not only in trying to avert the climate crisis, but also personally, in her communication with climate change deniers, corporate leaders and politicians.

After China and the US successfully launched the test operation of the first two fusion-powered power plants, the EU and India also announced the start of construction of new powerful reactors. It has been 30 years since the first attempt was made to create a nuclear fusion reaction that led to a net energy gain (USA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility). Fusion can provide an almost unlimited, safe and clean source of carbon-free energy. While the launch of the plants comes at a time when the world has already achieved carbon neutrality, it will also allow replacing the last decommissioned nuclear power plants with energy that is much safer and with a significantly lower environmental burden. Nuclear fusion will also be used to operate facilities to pull CO2 out of the atmosphere, speeding up the return to global temperatures below the 1.5°C warming threshold. The development of fusion-powered plants has been a result of international cooperation between all of the abovementioned countries. Knowledge sharing and international support have accelerated the research and implementation of a breakthrough technology which, a few decades ago, seemed to be a pure utopia.

January 1 celebration will be unusual this year as it will mark the beginning of a new era. People across the globe will celebrate together the greatest achievement in the history of mankind – tackling of the greatest challenge, achieving of global carbon neutrality. In thirty years, this effort has required a transformation of the global economy, a transformation of industry, information, energy production and a change in lifestyles, particularly those in developed countries. The Earth and the environment are healthier and a joint effort has brought people all over the planet together. In order to achieve the common goal, competition between individuals and countries had to be replaced by cooperation. The Earth’s global temperature is not yet falling, but it is beginning to stabilize. And, most importantly, after a long time, PPM carbon value in the atmosphere has fallen below the safe level of 350.

In 2020, the world was at the edge of the sixth mass extinction of species. Unlike the previous ones, it was not caused by a meteorite fall, a volcanic eruption or other natural causes. It was brought about by human activity – by urbanization, massive deforestation, industrial agriculture, livestock farming, fossil fuel burning, overfishing, the use of chemical sprays and other types of human doing. Man has drastically affected almost everything on the planet. There is a reason why this period is referred to as the Anthropocene, the era which has replaced the Holocene – a period in which human civilization evolved steadily in good climatic conditions.

China and the US came to the brink of war over the South China Sea rift. Following great international pressure and the major discontent of the citizens of both countries, who strongly opposed further armaments and called for these resources to be used to complete the transition to a carbon-neutral economy and to mitigate the effects of climate change instead, the powers concluded a major agreement on disarmament and on the reduction of arms spending worldwide.

Many conservationists’ dream has become a reality. After long battles which took place on boats, in the media, in courtrooms, in conference rooms and in front of headquarters of large corporations and ports, half of the marine coastal area has finally been put under protection. As of this year, commercial fishing has been banned in these areas. This gives the fish sufficient time to recover from the brutal decimation of their stocks over the last hundred years. Many species have been driven to the brink of extinction, which has meant not only smaller catches for fishermen who, subsequently, had to be subsidized by the states, but also the forced relocation of many of the people for whom fishing was the main subsistence-securing activity. This deadly trend has been halted, and experts say that within twenty years the areas will once again boast rich fish populations which would allow for regulated, controlled and sustainable fishing.

In 2017, 75% of the planet’s landmass was threatened by land degradation. Scientists have predicted that by 2050 it could be as high as 90% due to massive deforestation, conventional agriculture methods, use of chemicals, resource extraction and urbanization. This trend seemed irreversible and was set to cause the migration of 750 million people, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, India and China. Fortunately, it has been stopped. Massive logging has been discontinued, trees and shrubs have been planted, the use of chemicals in agriculture has been altered, ploughing has been stopped and, above all, a fairly significant proportion of the planet’s population has taken to a plant-based diet and has cut down on the consumption of meat and meat products. Global initiatives to conserve, create and use compost from bio-waste from restaurants and households, which have previously been rotting in landfills or incinerated have been a major game changer in this effort, too. Since the introduction of circular economy, nutrients from the soil have started to return to the soil again.

Najbohatší ľudia si vo veľkej miere kupujú obrovské pozemky, kde si budujú bunkre s vlastnými adaptačnými opatreniami voči dôsledkom klímy. Obľúbené lokality sú Nový Zéland a Kanada. Tento proces poistenia sa pre obdobie najväčších kríz sa začal už pred desaťročiami, v tomto období sa však majitelia do spomínaných bunkrov už skutočne sťahujú nastálo. Finanční a priemyselní magnáti sa tak chránia nielen voči následkom požiarov, povodní, tornád a ďalších výkyvov počasia, ale zároveň je to spôsob ako uniknúť hnevu občanov. Pretože tí si už uvedomujú, že žijú na sociálne rozdelenej planéte, kde následky klimatickej krízy nedopadajú na všetkých rovnako a poväčšinou najmenej práve na tie národy a jednotlivcov, ktorí ju v najväčšej miere spôsobili. 

After decades of fighting for their rights, the indigenous peoples have successfully claimed their ancestral lands. The UN has agreed with its Member States that the management of the natural areas of the Amazon, Indonesia, the Siberian taiga and other important natural areas will be handed over to the descendants of indigenous peoples. Their task will be to take care of these lands in a way that is sustainable, contributes to the maintenance and development of species diversity, and stores carbon from the atmosphere in the ground. This unprecedented step has been prompted by the revelation that mining and agricultural companies are behind the huge fires that have destroyed large parts of these areas and caused hundreds of deaths. They were trying to use the burnt parts of the forests for animal farming and precious metals extraction.

Based on the motion of the Government of the SR, the Slovak Parliament has adopted the law introducing the previously approved European tax on fossil fuels. The tax will apply to all products the use of which directly contradicts the climate commitments. The list of the affected products and services and the relevant tax amounts are available in the app prepared by the Slovak Financial Administration. Primarily, the tax applied to cars with internal combustion engines, fossil fuels, airline tickets, meat products, air conditioners, but also skydiving or sports car racing and truck racing. The increased costs of the acquisition of said products and services is in turn offset by lower taxes on climate-neutral products. These include locally grown food, bicycles, train transportation, rainwater barrels, plants and trees purchases, sporting goods rental, cross-country skiing races and local agro-tourism.

One can no longer drive a combustion engine car in the second most populous country in the world. Over the past 15 years, India has managed to build an infrastructure for electric vehicles powered by renewable – primarily solar and wind – energy. The process has been helped by the energy infrastructure decentralization, which allowed for the participation of even small producers in the provision of electricity. As a part of the plan, combustion engine vehicles had been bought back by the state at a symbolic price, their recycled raw materials later used in sustainable industry. In this way, India not only made a significant contribution to achieving its climate commitments, but also succeeded in tackling the huge problem of air pollution, which was causing the premature deaths of millions of people every year.

The project which started as a volunteer initiative took on enormous proportions when the ASEAN countries agreed to jointly support the planting and cultivation of mangroves. These trees, or rather the forest communities, are nothing short of miraculous. Not only do they store carbon from the atmosphere and provide a safe space where animal and plant species diversity flourishes and secures livelihood for the people living in their vicinity, but they also create a natural barrier to rising sea levels and extreme adverse weather events such as storms and tsunamis. The excellent results of the project serve as an inspiration to other countries in South and Central America which are also starting to revive their mangrove forests.

Symbolically, it was in Detroit, USA, where the Model-T started the mass-production of cars in 1908, that the last combustion engine car rolled off the production line. Transformation of the automotive industry and passenger transport, however, has been underway for a decade already. Internal combustion engines are only still used in trucks. Passenger transport is already globally electrified. The number of cars has fallen significantly compared to the previous decade: owning a car has become costly and rather inconvenient. Around the world, public transport has improved and individual transport usually takes the form of car-sharing systems – small, interconnected cooperatives and social enterprises. Thanks to the switch to electric and hydrogen engines, petrol and diesel are disappearing from petrol stations.

The two industrialized countries have decided to tackle decarbonization of the economy by shortening the working week, among other measures. While workers’ wages remain the same, employees will work shorter hours than the current 35 hour- week, which will allow them to spend more time with their families, doing hobbies or enjoying their personal lives. Apart from the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, legislators also expect a reduction in the previously growing levels of mental stress, which is also a great financial burden on the health care system. As the German President declared, “By shortening working hours, we have helped to solve two major challenges – the climate crisis and the mental health crisis”.

Over the last century, tax havens have been widely used as a way to export financial resources generated in one country to a completely different country, making it possible to avoid giving back to the countries which made generating those funds possible in the first place. For instance, this practice was popular among Silicon Valley billionaires, actors, members of royal families or athletes. The tax evasion of the wealthiest often meant that those who have contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions have often contributed the least to the state budgets of the countries that struggled to address the consequences of their activities. Tax havens exacerbated socio-economic inequalities, which has led to massive protests and strikes and affected electoral outcomes in many countries. As a result, the conditions were right for the creation of the UN-led Global Compact on Tax Havens. In it, the signatory states pledged to prevent the use of tax havens as a means of tax evasion for the wealthy. The resources of around EUR 500 billion a year will flow into the national budgets of the signatory states and will be used, in line with the agreement, to support the equitable transformation of industrial regions to carbon-free economies all around the world.

Although with delay, the 8,000 km long unique natural barrier, which stretches from Senegal to Djibouti, has been completed. One hundred million hectares of degraded land in one of the most inhospitable parts of the world have been restored, allowing millions of people to lead dignified lives in the Sahel region. Not only will the Great Green Barrier help to reduce poverty, migration rates and the level of insecurity, it will also help to tackle climate change, as it will contribute to reducing CO2 in the atmosphere by 250 million tons per year. The Pan-African Movement of 20 countries behind the project was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year. In his acceptance speech, the representative of Mali uttered the now legendary phrase: “Africa has taken its share of the responsibility. It is now time for the rest of the world to do the same”.

Thousands of volunteers are spending the last weekend in October in forests, fields and meadows. Their aim is to kick-start the regeneration of the landscape which has been plundered by intensive agriculture, logging and heavy industry over the last century. Volunteers help foresters and farmers with essential measures: they restore wetlands, plant trees, create copses, build fences, clear forest roads and carry out other necessary works. These activities are important for mitigating the effects of climate change, which is still manifesting itself through extreme weather, be it severe droughts or torrential rains that cause local flooding and huge damage to property. The coordinator of the whole Government Office-led project said the following in the evening news: “Climate crisis has had a very serious impact on our country. That is why we have decided wait no more and help our precious country adapt to its impacts such as droughts, torrential rains, strong winds or heatwaves. In doing so, we are remedying the mistakes of previous generations that have crippled nature’s ability to cope with the consequences of human actions. Our today’s activity is just the beginning of a long, regular process in which we will be happy to participate.”

Representatives of the most developed countries of the world met on 12 December in Paris to make a symbolic statement twenty years after the signing of the Paris Agreement. The joint statement of the states is as follows: “The era of material growth in our countries is over. We are entering the era of sustainable education-based societies, caring economies, reduced working hours and cooperation instead of competition.” This declaration is the outcome of the long-term transformation process in our society. Through the declaration, the states have symbolically accepted their share of responsibility for the CO2 emissions emitted since the Industrial Revolution, caused by the accumulation of wealth and unsustainably growing materialism and consumption.

The region with a strong mining heritage and a history of heavy reliance on coal mining and burning has been recognized by a special UN commission as a “model region for equitable transition”. The Upper Nitra region has become a success story because, in five years, it has not only managed to close all its mines, but also retrain their employees, reclaim and remediate the environmental damage and increase the attractiveness of the region for tourists and energy experts. It is they who come here to learn how to implement fair transformation of coal regions. The Innovation and Energy Centre in Prievidza trains people from abroad but also uses the acquired know-how pertaining to the development of infrastructure and the transition to climate neutrality in Slovakia.

The US has introduced the fairest system yet for taxing high-emitting products and services. The products and services are taxed in direct proportion to the emissions generated during their production as well as during their use. The money raised by through this tax is distributed equally among all citizens as so-called unconditional climate income. Citizens are delighted: the tax does not reduce their family budget and, if they buy and consume responsibly, they can actually make more money.

Following the unprecedented fires in Siberia and the Amazon, the UN Climate Security Council has decided to designate these areas as sites of fundamental importance to humanity, the protection of which cannot rest solely on national states. Therefore, the UN is calling on the UN Peacekeeping Force to protect these critically important areas from illegal logging, poaching, arson and other threats. The UN Peacekeeping Force will work closely with indigenous peoples who will provide the necessary know-how. The deployment of peacekeeping forces has long been resisted by Indonesia and Russia, but both countries eventually agreed with the deployment in exchange for financial and technological assistance from the rest of the world, particularly in the field of transition to renewable energy sources.

Costa Rica, a country similar in size and population to Slovakia, has been continuously generating electricity from renewable sources only for the last ten years. It is the first country in the world to do so. Many other countries are following suit, including Slovakia, which is nourishing relations with Costa Rica within the ‘Climate Partnership’ framework. Established by smaller countries which are trying to use their example to highlight solutions to the climate crisis, such as Iceland, Norway, Botswana, New Zealand or Nepal, the network does not aspire to achieve 100% of energy generated from renewable sources immediately (since the founding countries are aware of their natural conditions), but to move towards this goal gradually and with a long-term plan.

Poland has closed Bełchatów, a coal-fired power plant and the largest CO2 emitter in the European Union. Following public pressure, the gradual closure of the plant units has been accelerated (full closure was originally planned between 2040-45).Decision of the mine’s owner, PGE, is based on more than just environmental reasons – in the long term, burning of Polish lignite is economically unviable. The closure comes after a major strike by the mine’s employees, climate activists and residents of the region, who are demanding a clear transformation plan. The employees refused to be the bargaining chip of the coal mine and power plant owners. We could see a similar move in Germany, where the government has reached an agreement with coal mine and power plant owners to end coal mining and burning before the envisaged deadline in 2038. 2033 will thus be the year when the two largest mines in Europe were put out of operation.

The New Zealand Government is assisting its citizens to adapt to a more modest lifestyle: using a mobile app, educational videos, school instruction or community work carried out by dedicated assistants and volunteers, they communicate with the public. Changing the long-term habits is not easy, but after a transition period, citizens are happy and enjoying the effort. Their lives are simpler and they are also saving by cutting down the unnecessary expenses. Instead of over-consuming, they devote their energy to quality time with their families and friends, culture and education. The successful program has inspired Botswana, and eventually the US, too. “Here in the U.S., in the 1960w we were living happily on half the energy per capita than what we consumed in 2020. Today, we’re back to frugality again.” declared the program coordinator for Massachusetts, USA. European countries are intensively discussing this option, too.

The European Union and its Member States have together committed themselves to protecting bees, bumblebees and other pollinators. Based on massive protests after an alarming report from scientists on the threat to bees and the imminent collapse of ecosystems with an impact on food security, political representatives have agreed on the protection and support of pollinators with a special focus on bees. EU Member States received recommendations and financial resources for better management of meadows, fields, forests and game refuges, but also for measures in the urban environment. In the interest of preserving important pollinators, the bell has finally tolled for monocultures in agriculture as well as chemical spraying.

Oil, gas and coal will be more expensive from now on. The USA, the European Union, China and Russia have agreed to end subsidies for the extraction, burning and exploration of oil, coal and natural gas. Fossil fuels, which have enjoyed huge state support for the last century, have thus found themselves with no support in the market and are now unable to compete with renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower. The ending of subsidies de facto means the end of the dominance of fossil fuels, thus opening the way to the decarburization of the world economy.

Despite the fact that global greenhouse gas emissions have begun to decline, decades of greenhouse gas production continue to manifest themselves. Economically wealthy nations have assumed their (not only historical) responsibility and are significantly financing the Global Climate Fund. Thanks to international efforts, the worst social impacts of climate change in the form of drought, fires, crop failures or floods that destroy livelihoods have been avoided. Residents of countries affected by climate change are guaranteed a special climate migrant status and a guaranteed safe place to live in a different country until the situation in the region stabilizes.

The European Parliament has approved the introduction of a European fossil fuel tax. This will relate to products whose use is in direct conflict with climate commitments. You can see the specific list of products and services and the amount of tax in the app of the Slovak Financial Administration. First and foremost, however, this relates to cars with a combustion engine, fossil fuels, airline tickets, meat products and air conditioning units, but also parachute jumps, sports car races or truck transport. Increased expenses for the procurement of these products and services are balanced by a lower tax for climate-neutral products. These include, for example, locally grown food, bicycles, train transport, rainwater barrels, the purchase of plants and trees, as well as sports equipment rentals, cross-country races, or local agritourism. 

The Member States of the European Union introduced a radical transformation that limited waste, stimulated composting and, in particular, introduced legislation aimed at preventing waste. The responsibility thus passed mainly to the manufacturers, who must design their products such that they last as long as possible and that, in the event of a malfunction, defective parts can be easily replaced and upgraded. Construction waste is used as a secondary raw material; the states also support local material processors and recyclers. Product manufacturers are engaged in ensuring the operation of sorted waste collection and secondary processing of waste. The ban on landfilling is in place, and special attention is paid to electrical waste and compost.

As part of a European-wide initiative to protect wilderness, Member States, including Slovakia, have committed to supporting biodiversity by leaving certain parts of their territory free of human intervention. Therefore, it will no longer be possible to cut down trees, build roads, hunt game or interfere with the landscape through construction in national parks and protected areas of NATURA 2000. These areas will continue to be accessible for light tourism, but their added value will be the opportunity to observe how natural processes take place when people do not significantly interfere with them with their activities. They will at the same time serve as a living laboratory for researchers, who will be able to monitor how natural processes adapt to climate changes, e.g. in the species composition of plants, trees, birds and animals. All the countries of the European Union have adopted similar measures.

As part of the new reform of the tax system, the Ministry of Finance looked at advertising taxes. After many years, the opportunity for companies to increase their expenditures by including advertising expenses and thus reduce their tax by this amount was abolished. Not only can they not apply this procedure from this year, but even companies whose advertising activity is in direct conflict with climate commitments (e.g. car companies, refineries, airlines, gas power plants) must pay 40% of the value of the advertising to a special climate fund for the restoration of Slovakia. The government promises not only an increase in income from this measure, but also a reduction in emissions that contribute to climate change. Further, an Ethics Commission for Greenwashing and the Punishment of Misleading Advertising was established, which consists of representatives of the government, the non-profit sector, business and the media.

The global initiative, led by the UK’s newspaper The Guardian and Cambodia’s Phonm Penh Post, have gained momentum after influential television stations joined in. In a special issue, they jointly identified climate change as the most serious problem for humanity, while regretfully recognizing their own part in the inadequate naming of the problem. On Earth Day, 22 April, they symbolically published an overview of the last 30 years of advertising financial income from fossil fuel companies and committed to reject any further resources from companies that contribute significantly to climate change. As part of steps to correct and restore their users’ trust, these media are introducing special broadcasts on climate change and including information about the current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the weather forecast, explaining what we can all do as consumers and citizens.

The President of the Slovak Republic has committed to operate its entire office as carbon neutral in 2020 and other Slovak institutions are making the same commitment. The Office of the Government, the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Finance are leading by example. In the second wave, not only ministries and their institutions are taking part, but also some self-government administrations. In Slovakia and around the world, universities and cultural institutions, such as theatres, galleries and libraries, are moving towards carbon neutrality. The European Parliament and the institutions of countries across Europe have also committed themselves to carbon neutrality as an institution, with the installation of photovoltaic panels and green roofs, the reduction of energy consumption and restoration of gardens. Furthermore, buildings are being insulated, green office principles are being adopted, flights minimized and training organized on how to behave in a friendly way to nature.

Most ski resorts in Slovakia have not opened their lifts for the third winter in a row. Due to the excessively warm winters and the absence of a longer period below freezing, the conditions have simply not been suitable for them. As a result, hundreds of people have lost their jobs. A situation is occurring in the neighboring Czech Republic. The popular sport of skiing has thus become a sport for the rich, who can afford to go skiing in high alpine resorts or in more distant destinations. Not even the Alps are as they once were: in response to the lack of natural snow and frost, technological procedures are used that have dramatically increased the prices of lift tickets. The Slovak Olympic Committee and the Slovak Skiing Association issued a strong opinion that if the warming continues so rapidly, Slovak representatives will disappear from the winter disciplines. In addition, the number of world ski resorts capable of organizing an Olympic event with sufficient quality snow has also significantly decreased.

The Constitutional Court in Brno, Czech Republic, issued a landmark judgment. As a result, a class-action lawsuit by citizens against Czech state authorities for insufficient protection of citizens’ rights guaranteed by the constitution and international obligations in climate protection was successful. Based on the court decision, the Czech government must cease subsidizing fossil fuel projects, stop granting emission permits to the biggest polluters, and must re-evaluate the setting of subsidy programs with regard to its constitutional and international commitments. The climate-based legal action in the Czech Republic is currently one of hundreds of other such petitions across the planet; in the past a similar lawsuit was successful in the Netherlands. The court decision in the Czech Republic may also have a positive influence on the European Court of Human Rights, whose decision is being awaited by a group of young people from Portugal who, , fearing for their own future due to the climate crisis, filed a lawsuit against 33 European states. 

After the most massive worldwide protests in modern history, the participants of the COP30 conference admitted that if a just transformation does not begin immediately, the advancing climate change will no longer be reversible, and all countries of the world will suffer enormous damages. Therefore, they followed up on the Paris Agreement of 2015, and this time not only set better goals but also introduced sanctioning mechanisms for countries that do not meet them. A special commission comprising representatives of 15 states, including Slovakia, was established to monitor and assess the fulfillment of climate goals. Commentators have named the commission the “Climate Security Council”. The return of Brazil and the USA to the carrying out of the Paris Agreement has also had a significant impact on the binding goals resulting from the conference. The conference is organized in a country whose policies have a significant impact on the global climate and which after the change of government in 2022 has become a visible climate leader. COP 30 thus represents a political turnaround after a series of less successful conferences dominated by polluting industry lobby groups, which was not helped by the choice of host countries, whose economies are heavily based on the export and production of fossil fuels.

On Earth Day, a worldwide “Teach-in” – an educational protest that saw traditional teaching in schools cancelled for one day – was organized. The issue of climate change was taught and discussed instead. The Teach-in took place not only in primary and secondary schools and at universities, but some businesses also interrupted operations so that employees and employers could discuss the climate crisis and solutions within the company. Governments around the world joined in with special coverage of the climate crisis on state television. The discussions had an impact on changing students’ lifestyles, on consumer behavior in their families, on changes in the teaching process and school management, so that they become sustainable and more motivating for cooperation. The Ministries of Education of the countries involved declared that the transformation that society must undergo in order to tackle the climate crisis demands a thorough transformation of thinking, and that this begins specifically in schools.

The start of the new school year brought with it signs of a green renewal. Hundreds of schools have introduced lessons on climate change and are reducing their carbon footprint; many have installed solar panels on their roofs, completed insulation work and are setting up fields where pupils and students learn to grow vegetables and compost. School canteens have modified their menus, decreasing the amount of meat and increasing the use of fruits, vegetables and healthy foods. Sustainable development coordinators were trained with the cooperation of experts to help facilitate this process in schools. Some schools have even gone so far as to educate adults on the issue of climate change after classes are over.

The popularity of energy cooperatives is growing worldwide. Energy production is being decentralized and is getting into the hands of small owners at the expense of large state or private companies, thanks in part to changes in legislation. Members of cooperatives as well as consumers of energy now have direct control over the forms of electricity and heat production, thanks to which the production of energy and heat is becoming truly sustainable. The model of small energy cooperatives linked to the national electricity grid is also becoming highly popular in the countries of the global south. The quality of life of the inhabitants is thus improving, but not at the expense of increasing CO2 emissions. The role of the state lies in creating infrastructure for energy transmission using intelligent technologies, also known as “smart grids”.

The Slovak Parliament has ratified a climate law, which lays out a clear plan for reducing emissions and especially control systems. Slovakia will finally start fulfilling specific aims shared within the EU and will also guide the country with a fair and sustainable transformation of society. The objectives set out in the law are a combination of long-term and short-term measures set each economy sector. It is now possible to elicit political responsibility for their non-fulfilment, meaning Slovakia joined the path of precisely planned and ambitious decarbonization. The ratifying of this law is also perceived positively abroad – after a period of political instability, this is a step in which some political interests in the parliament have taken the responsibility away from future generations.

With great interest from both the media and the public, miners symbolically extracted the last ton of coal. Coal mining and its subsequent burning – economically unprofitable in the long term – have damaged the environment, reduced the quality of life to people in the region and burdened the state budget. The roughly two thousand people employed in mines are waiting for retraining in the near future; some will take early retirement; others will work on reclamation of the environment or pass smoothly to successor companies. This major step also garnered a great response in the world media, as Slovakia became the first country from the former Eastern Bloc to stop the mining of coal.