The scientific body that advises the United Nations on climate change such as rising global temperatures and rising sea levels has just released a new report that summarizes several studies on the current state of the planet's geography and climate. The report urges the swift implementation of a global net-zero plan and proposes that clean energy can be harnessed to avert growing climate change.
Conclusions of the research in the report
First, the bad news is that the chances of stopping the world from warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius are slim, even though countries around the world have agreed to take action to avoid it. But the truth is that the world has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius, and it is inevitable and irreversible to continue warming.
Global warming could exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030, so the most important thing now is not to stop the planet from warming, but to fall back as soon as possible after exceeding this mark. Second, the report mentions that coal, oil and gas are increasingly futureless, and renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are now cheaper.
In many places, sticking with fossil fuels can be more expensive than switching to low-carbon systems. In the end, it's important to act, and the results may not be immediate, but the decisions people make now will affect life centuries from now. The report also warns that as warming continues to rise by 2 to 3 degrees Celsius, the ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica will all disappear.
To halt this runaway warming trend, countries need to commit to net-zero emissions by 2050 by 2030 so that warming can be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius or around by 2100. In addition, the report urges countries to reform their transport, industrial and energy systems to make low-carbon choices easier and cheaper for individuals.
What is Net Zero?
The window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all is rapidly closing, the report notes. In response to this outcome, all countries should advance by a decade with their net-zero plans, which aim to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions that warm the Earth's atmosphere.
Net zero means not increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and achieving it means reducing emissions as much as possible and balancing the remaining emissions by removing the same amount. Greenhouse gases come from every aspect of our lives, such as the release of carbon dioxide from car exhaust and factory construction, and methane from agricultural production and landfills.
These gases, known as greenhouse gases, contribute to global warming, while faster deforestation around the world means fewer trees and plants absorbing carbon dioxide. For now, small islands in the Pacific are some of the countries most affected by climate change and rising sea levels, and their inhabitants could soon face a future of displacement.
But at the same time, the global fossil fuel industry is enjoying billions of dollars in profits. Climate change and net-zero plans are not simply environmental issues, but multifaceted issues that require the joint efforts of all.
Net zero does not mean that there are no CO2 or greenhouse gas emissions at all, which is also unrealistic, so the emissions must be compensated or offset, for example by planting more trees. Planting trees is a very cheap but effective way to reduce carbon, although this may require a longer time period and requires area.
There are other, more technical solutions, such as carbon capture and storage, similar to Continental's offshore carbon dioxide reinjection wells, which bury carbon dioxide in the ground. However, the technology is still under research and is too expensive for some developing countries.
Problems with net-zero targets
The net-zero goal sounds good, but there are still many problems in the promotion process, on the one hand, it involves technological innovation and the large use of new energy, and the cost will only increase. On the other hand, some countries are still debating how to achieve net zero.
For example, if the U.S. were to shut down energy-intensive industries such as steel production, that would be one of the important steps toward achieving its net-zero goal, and the country's emissions would indeed be reduced. But the U.S. still needs steel, so that steel needs to be imported from other countries.
In this way, the actual situation is that the United States passes on its carbon emissions to other countries, rather than reducing the total amount of greenhouse gases. So there are concerns that net-zero schemes are actually designed for rich countries, with rich countries paying for them and poor countries paying for their greenhouse emissions.
But it is still poor and backward countries that suffer in the end, and the foreign exchange they exchange may not be able to compensate for the losses caused by climate change. This is irrational in terms of both climate and economy, and can also be called climate colonization.