Earth Today | ‘Climate action now’
Published:Thursday | January 7, 2021 | 12:26 AM
LOCAL PUNDITS have added their voices to the call for bold actions to face down climate change, following news that the world is hurtling towards a more than three degrees rise in temperature by the end of the century.
This follows the publication of the 2020 Emissions Gap Report of the United Nations Environment Programme, which shows, among other things, that ‘the opening for using fiscal rescue and recovery measures to stimulate the economy, while simultaneously accelerating a low-carbon transition, has largely been missed’.
Climate scientist Professor Michael Taylor insists the time for complacency is over.
“Here we have yet another document which speaks to the urgency of responding to the climate change challenge. It makes, again, the now-familiar case that the world is not on the right track and that bold, urgent action is needed now to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,” he told The Gleaner.
“As an aside, the fact that this is yet again the narrative of another global report is a strong warning to all that we are either not getting the message, or we are becoming complacent about what ignoring it means for the present and future generation. Either way, it is very worrying,” Taylor added.
Certainly, the scientist said, the Caribbean, which has, over recent years, been hard hit by several extreme hurricanes – one of the many projected impacts of a changing climate – must take notice and respond.
PANDEMIC DIP
“One of the interesting things about this document is that it is one of the first to analyse emissions since the onset of the pandemic. It makes some interesting points. For example, it suggests that although the pandemic will cause a dip in emissions for 2020, the dip is not sufficient to bring the world close to either the Paris Agreement goal of two degrees or the Caribbean goal of 1.5 degrees. In fact, 2020, it suggests, is on track to becoming one of the warmest years on records, with the evidence also suggesting an increase in impacts such as droughts, intense storms and wildfires,” he noted.
“The report also suggests that notwithstanding government pledges to decrease emissions, that is, the nationally determined contributions (NDCs), plus the temporary decrease in emissions due to the pandemic, the world is still on a path to achieve greater than three degrees by the end of the century. All this suggests that the Caribbean must take some immediate action to ensure its viability as a region in the near future,” noted the physicist, who is also the dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology at The University of the West Indies.
The Caribbean, he said, must “significantly ramp up advocacy at the global level for immediate reduction in emissions such that net-zero emissions are achieved for every country sooner than later”.
Net-zero emissions is realised when the amount of emissions is no more than the amount removed.
“This will provide for a chance of achieving the 1.5 degree target which is absolutely essential if Caribbean economies are to stand a chance against the ravages of climate change,” explained Taylor.
“Second, the Caribbean has to look on the decisions it is making with respect to its own emissions and its attitude to the environment, to ensure that regional emissions do not contribute to the runaway global warming that is being seen,” he added.
Taylor suggested that the region put in place adaptation plans for a“significantly warmer world, especially if its advocacy for reduced emissions fails at the global level”. This is while also giving attention to recovery from COVID-19.
“If recovery efforts prioritise things like the environment, use of technologies that minimise emissions, including renewable energy, and appropriate transportation and energy policies, then there is an opportunity to achieve greater emissions reductions than even that, possibly due to pre-COVID NDCs,” said the physicist, who was a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report on 1.5 degrees of global warming.
NDCs are country commitments to reduce their GHG emissions toward limiting the fallout from climate change.
“In other words,” Taylor explained, “how we engineer our post-COVID-19 recovery will be a significant determinant of the extent of future global warming that we experience. The Caribbean, by example and advocacy, must lead the ‘green pandemic recovery’, especially because it will be essential to our survival in the near future,” he said.
RIPE FOR ACTION
Head of Change Communications and herself a long-time advocate of civil society involvement in decision-making for climate change and the environment, Indi Mclymont-Lafayette, said the time is ripe for action.
“This information in this report comes at a strategic time; it’s the start of a new year and in the midst of societal reshaping. ‘The COVID-19 crisis offers only a short-term reduction in global emissions and will not contribute significantly to emissions reductions by 2030 unless countries pursue an economic recovery that incorporates strong decarbonisation’. This statement is particularly striking for me against the context of the report that says we are on track for a 3.2 degree level by the end of the century if we don’t do things differently,” she said.
“A 3.2 means that small islands will sink ... . So small-island developing states have to keep their voices strong, encouraging larger countries to take the opportunity that the COVID-19 recovery offers to do national and global development differently. This may look like much more virtual meetings and conferences, for example, to reduce emissions,” Mclymont-Lafayette added.