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With just over half a month to go before the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) on October 31, the World Health Organization released a new special report on climate change and health, accompanied by an open letter signed by at least 300 organizations. The report describes climate change as "the greatest health threat facing humanity" and calls on governments and policymakers to "develop urgent measures" to address climate change as soon as possible. As governments and organisations speed up preparations for COP26, Prince Charles in the UK also revealed a series of efforts to reduce carbon emissions, including replacing car fuel with a mixture of red wine and cheese. The move was described by British environmentalists as "not going to do much and not worth promoting".
Prince Charles of the United Kingdom will be present at cop26 and expressed deep concern about the meeting. "I'm afraid world leaders will only talk on paper, but they won't really take action."
He has long believed that involving business leaders in COP26 is critical to tackling climate change. "Cop26 is the last chance, and if the world doesn't unite, it will be 'a disaster.'"
The prince also told BBC reporters that he had made some efforts to reduce carbon emissions. For example, solar panels were installed at Clarence Palace, London's residence, heating in the royal villa Birkhall was converted into a biomass boiler, and hydroelectric turbines were installed in the adjacent river. Two days a week you don't eat meat and fish, and one day you don't eat any dairy products. He also modified his car, Aston Martin, into an e85-fueled car. E85 typically refers to a blend of 85% bioethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline, with Charles replacing bioethanol with a mixture of "excess white wine and whey from cheese processing."
Bioethanol, or simply "ethanol", is a renewable energy source made by fermenting sugar and starch components from plant by-products. Ethanol is usually derived from crops such as sugar cane and grains and is made using yeast, but can also be made using a combination of wine and cheese.
"This fuel makes the car run better and more powerful than using gasoline," he says, "and it smells good when you're driving." ”
While Prince Charles's approach has garnered some applause, according to The Guardian, this particular niche approach has not played much globally. In fact, if it is copied in large quantities in some way, it can even cause significant harm. First, Charles's car is a modified "boutique" that costs a certain amount of renovation costs; second, Charles's eating and wearing is in the UK's leading position, "bioethanol fuel made from cheese and wine blends should not be mistaken for a serious solution to decarbonization of vehicles." ”
"On a large scale, biofuels do more harm than good, and excessive use of biofuels and deforestation can even exacerbate the climate change crisis." Greg Archer, UK director of t&e, a European green energy organisation, said: "We are actively developing more technologies, such as using other raw materials instead of fuel instead of food. In three cities, Bournemouth, Barberg and Middle Suffolk, government authorities are considering replacing diesel with vegetable oil fuels to reduce CO2 emissions.
At the same time, environmentalists are calling for less frequent use of vehicles, and if existing motorists want to make a green retrofit of a gasoline car, they can buy a brand new car specifically designed to use bioethanol, or buy a device that converts gasoline into bioethanol. While converting equipment can cost a lot of money, it's an investment-saving option in the long run. In addition, buying a battery electric vehicle that uses renewable energy is also a good solution.
The new WHO report and open letter come at a time of unprecedented extreme weather events, where heat waves, storms and floods have claimed or are killing thousands of people and are weighing heavily on health systems with communicable diseases.
Who Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates a close and delicate link between humans, animals and the environment. Some options that are not conducive to sustainable development harm humanity and destroy the planet. WHO calls on every country to commit to decisive action at cop26 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. Not only because it is the right thing to do, but also for the sake of humanity's own self-interest. ”
In response to the United Nations, the European Commission on the Environment adopted a resolution on October 12 calling on all EU countries to implement a "green recovery" plan and phase out all fossil fuel-related programs and subsidies by 2025.
U.S. President Joe Biden's climate envoy, John Kerry, gave an optimistic estimate of cop26 in an interview with The Guardian. He said China had made it very clear that it would work with the United States to meet its emissions reduction targets as soon as possible, and that rich countries would provide $100 billion (about 644.7 billion yuan) of financial aid to poor countries each year to help them reduce emissions and cope with the effects of extreme weather. The U.S. is also phasing out the use of fossil fuels in power generation and reducing vehicle emissions, and is expected to be carbon-free in the power sector after 2035.
Sources: CNN, BBC, The Guardian, Euronews, actualité parlement européen, some of the images are from the Internet
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