In 2021, World Continued to Move Forward

The world has changed a lot in the last year. In my two consecutive articles, I’ve rounded up a list of crucial issues the world has already witnessed in the recent year; in addition to several significant topics that have received particular attention at that time that are addressed below.

Here are some scenes from 2021 you may never have expected to see:

For the last 12 months, the novel coronavirus has paralyzed some global economies, killed thousands of young and elderly people, and confined 4 billion people to their homes, although the number of people who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 has decreased substantially compared to the number of victims in 2020.

Another year into the pandemic of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, many well-known international laboratories developed vaccines and countries began to understand how viruses are transmitted and how this varies in different settings and environments.

In my view, the global effort to develop and distribute an effective vaccine produced several safe and effective options, but this doesn't mean that they succeeded in eliminating the virus threat and the job is done, obviously.

2021 was a year when the downward spiral of world political willingness accelerated.

Actually, I always wonder, as one who has followed the international climate process for a long time, it has been concerning to hear that 2021 was the year that human beings are “unequivocally” to blame.

Commenting on a recently released report on climate change by the United Nations, the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, described it as a "code red for humanity", saying "The alarm bells are deafening."

In the same spirit, Guterres pointed out that this crucial report must sound like a death knell for coal and fossil fuels, before these reserves destroy the Earth.

To combat the effects of fossil fuel pollution on the planet, more governments and world leaders have stepped up to ban oil, coal, and gas explorations. They also acknowledged the need for heightened measures to combat the climate issue.

Similarly, U.S. President Joe Biden is convinced that the world can't wait to tackle the climate crisis. Thus, he called for urgent action, including investing in a Clean Energy Revolution and ending subsidies for fossil fuels.

In 2021, the share of renewable energy sources in the 27 EU countries' gross final energy consumption reached 40%, and the EU remains on track to meet its new renewable energy target.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, people could be forgiven if they had forgotten about another threat to humanity's way of life - the rise of robots that specialized in different fields like home delivery and medical smart services.

According to analysts, smart technology approaches are expected to replace many humans in their positions, and the coronavirus outbreak is speeding up the process.

The year 2021 also saw some powerful moments that together signified much hope for countless persons from afflicted states who had just witnessed decades of ugly occupations wielded in different names and under various slogans.

In Afghanistan and Mali, people witnessed an unprecedented number of military evacuation operations from French and American military bases.

Since he took his new position as the US president, Biden decided to end this war.  As part of that decision, the US set the date of August 31st for American troops to withdraw.

It's worth mentioning that the United States’ relationship with France today is the worst since the UK, US, and Australia announced, in September 2021, a historic security pact in the Asia-Pacific.