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piqer for: Climate and Environment Global finds Globalization and politics
I'm a freelance journalist, currently based in Madrid. I used to be a News Producer at CNBC in London before, but I thought a little bit more sun might do me good. Now I write for several news organizations, covering a range of topics, from Spanish politics and human rights for Deutsche Welle to climate change for La Marea.
Want To Talk Climate Action? This Is What It Really Takes
Taking action against a problem of planetary dimensions, such as climate change, is not easy. It takes global coordination, compromise and quite a bit of sacrifice. Even those of us who read a lot of about it usually focus on smaller parts of the big picture. It's really hard to wrap our heads around what it would really take to stop climate change in its tracks.
In this article, David Roberts (who does excellent work covering climate science for Vox, and whose Twitter account is also full of wisdom) asks the final question:
What would it take to really tackle climate change? No delays, no gimmicks, no loopholes, no shirking of responsibility — the real thing. What would it look like?
Let's say we're not precisely on the good track. Countries are not even close to the level of ambition necessary to achieve 2ºC of warming over pre-industrial levels, and that's already difficult enough even if we were trying our best. Imagine if we aim at 1.5ºC.
1.5 is only possible if we get started, with boosters on, immediately, and we get lucky. Time is not running out — it’s out.
Roberts studies three roadmaps with some core similarities. These are some of the strategies he highlights:
- Radically increase energy efficiency: Starting right now, all over the world, and overhauling each and every single economic sector.
- Radically increase renewable energy: By 2050, they should provide, at the very least, 80% of electricity.
- Electrify everything: So the point above makes sense, we can't go running around in diesel cars.
- Negative emissions: Roberts tried to stay away from carbon capture technologies. Two of the three papers he studied relied on them, although not too heavily.
But that's not all! Huge changes in lifestyle and economic systems, and low population growth will be necessary too.
Read on. The article is great. And the last sentence is gold:
So the only rule of climate policy that really matters is: go as hard and fast as possible, forever and ever, amen.
