2024 has been a busy year for Opportunity Green. We’ve turned three, doubled our staff from 12 to 24 and moved office to keep up with our size! So, as we head towards the end of the year, our team is reflecting on some of the year’s highlights, along with a few of the videos we’ve made along the way.

I cannot believe that Opportunity Green turned three years old in October! It's been a whirlwind and we’ve already achieved so much, so I wanted to mark the occasion with something really special. Our celebration at Somerset House surpassed all my expectations of how we would celebrate this milestone. The venue was incredible, but it was the people who came to share it with us that blew my mind. Not only did we have an impressive panel of speakers to thrash out a lively discussion on how should shipping and aviation pay for their environmental impacts in climate vulnerable countries, but we also had over 90 family, friends and supporters from across the OG network come to help us celebrate! We had such a great night – watch some of the highlights in the video we made of the event here:

2024 marked an eventful year for our climate diplomacy team. We attended several major International Maritime Organisation meetings, seeing negotiations unfold first-hand and playing our part to support climate vulnerable countries. Another major highlight was having our team attend COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the first time. It was inspiring to connect with so many climate activists and experts from around the world, reaffirming our commitment to addressing the climate crisis.

Finally, one most memorable moment for me was organising our 3rd birthday event. From the early days of planning and setting everything up, all the way to the special day itself – it was amazing to see everything come together and having so many attendees from across the field connect throughout the night. 

Since joining OG in August, I've been grateful for the opportunities to contribute meaningfully. One of my highlights has been playing a key role in the successful relocation to our new office, which we will be working in from January 2025. This project involved an intense search, coordinating logistics, IT setup, furniture sourcing and adapting to the needs of each colleague. We wanted to find an office in London that reflects OG's values and mission while ensuring a seamless transition for the team.

I've really appreciated OG's flexible four-day working week arrangement, which has profoundly impacted my work experience. Feeling trusted and empowered to manage my workload has boosted my confidence, allowing me to deliver high-quality results while maintaining a positive work-life balance. Overall, my experience at OG has been rewarding, and I'm proud to be part of an organisation that prioritises its team's wellbeing.

The year kicked off with Opportunity Green launching a legal challenge (along with four other NGOs: Fossielvrij, Protect our Winters, Dryade and CLAW) against the EU Commission, requesting it to review its green investment rules on aviation and shipping. The coalition argued that the EU Taxonomy is allowing fossil fuel ships and planes to be eligible for green finance and asked the Commission to review its criteria. When it refused, we ramped things up a gear – and in August we took the EU Commission to the European Court of Justice (General Court).   

This marked a huge moment for OG – the filing of our first court case – and one that we worked on closely with partners across Europe. As my role is in communications, it was especially exciting to see how much media support the case generated, with coverage in the Financial Times, Reuters, Euractiv, many climate, shipping and aviation titles and across many of the biggest European media. My colleagues in the legal team have also been asked to talk about the case at a wide range of webinars and events. The whole process may take around 1.5 to 2 years from filing to court judgment, but in the meantime, we hope that this action will positively influence the development of other taxonomies, including the UK Taxonomy, which the Government is currently consulting on.

The legal team had cause to celebrate the advisory opinion from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). The opinion, which clarified that States must take proactive measures to reduce emissions from all sources, notably compels more stringent action in slow-moving sectors like international aviation and shipping. It was a highlight to hear the judges agree with the legal arguments OG put forward – and what this means regarding these sectors. The Commission of Small Island States and other climate vulnerable countries now have a strengthened legal basis to advocate for more ambitious climate action.

On a related note, it was great to see Aotearoa New Zealand's Climate Change Commission advise their government to include international aviation and shipping emissions in its revised 2050 climate target, in line with OG's consultation response. The Commission acknowledged its responsibility as a developed nation to set strong, economy-wide targets and to urgently implement corresponding emissions reductions measures. This has set the tone for what climate ambition looks like in regard to these sectors.

The Labour Party Conference was such a highlight for the SASHA Coalition team in 2024. Our brilliant comms team made some beautiful posters for our stand (and a brilliant video, below), and my colleagues Nuala, Emma and I braved an early Sunday train to travel to the Conference. We connected with members, introduced SASHA to policymakers and networked with other climate NGOs, and it was great to spend some time on the ground, learning about the priorities of the new government.

Our biodiversity report, written with the help of the brilliant Cerulogy, is also a highlight for me. It outlines that using biofuels to decarbonise EU shipping and aviation puts biodiversity at serious risk, and that e-fuels are the only solution compatible with both climate and biodiversity targets. The report solidifies the need for the uptake in e-fuels by providing reliable scientific modelling to back up just how crucial e-fuels are in the decarbonisation journey of shipping and aviation.

Want to know more about Opportunity Green’s achievements and impact? Read our annual report here.

OG’s top 2024 highlights

Celebrating one year at OG with our Communications Assistant, Daniel