The past year has given many of us reason to pause. We are losing in a race to prevent planetary tipping points — the climate is changing faster than expected, and humanity has already breached six of the nine sustainable planetary boundaries (for biodiversity loss; climate, freshwater and land-system change; biogeochemical flows; and novel entities). Summer Antarctic sea ice shrank to its lowest recorded extent in 2023, a year that is on track to be the warmest on record.

But, looking to 2024, [we're] hopeful that the world can turn in a better direction...