The solutions are already there
Good news: solutions already exist! According to the president of the GIEC, the energy specialist Hoesung Lee“ If we act now, we can still secure a livable future for all. » And this, without having to rely on uncertain inventions.
Renewable energy costs less and less, the rise of agroforestry and agroecology, crop diversification and ecological restoration of wetlands are effective adaptation strategies, as are green city efforts, writes the IPCC.
We’ll spoil the rest of the article a bit, but (surprise!): solving gender inequalities is an important part of the solutionjust like all other efforts for a more inclusive society (especially for racialized people and indigenous peoples…).
The world has already warmed by 1.1 degrees
The more time passes, the greater the challenge. In 2022, our greenhouse gas emissions were still up by about 321 million tons, compared to the previous year, according to the International Energy Agency. However, if we are to have a chance of staying in planetary balance, they should start declining very rapidly.
The IPCC is categorical. Our efforts are currently insufficient to limit warming to below 2 degrees and, if possible, to 1.5 degrees, as almost all the countries of the world have undertaken, with the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015.
The world has already warmed by about 1.1 degrees since pre-industrial times (between 1850 and 1900). If nothing is done to change things, worst-case scenario could reach 4.4 degrees before the end of the century, while 1.5 degrees could be exceeded by 2035, too, at the end of our decade. In an intermediate scenario, we would reach 2.7 degrees in 2100, and only 1.4 degrees in the most optimistic projections.
Limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees requires swift action. Our emissions are expected to decrease now and halve by 2030.
The consequences are already visible
With climate change, increasingly intense heat waves are expected, rains will be increasingly important and more extreme weather events are likely to occur, putting our health and ecosystems at risk.
All over the world, the consequences are already visible. In Pakistan, researchers are investigating links between record floods that killed more than 1,700 people last year and climate change. Also in 2022, at least 1,000 people in Europe died from heatwaves, according to the World Health Organization.
Women are more likely to die during heatwaves
Valérie Masson-Delmotte explains that during these episodes we observe a ” particular vulnerability of children and pregnant women in particular”. Second a dutch study, women are more likely to die during heatwaves, for example.
1.5 and 4 degrees are not the same thing at all
Every tenth of a degree counts, especially since thenbeyond certain thresholds, the consequences of climate change are interconnected and become difficult to predict. Above 1.5 degrees, for example, carbon sinks from oceans and forests will become less and less effective.
Water resources will become limited for small islands and glacier-dependent regionswhile the decline of biodiversity will deplete our food resources, threatening indigenous peoples in the first place.
Women, the most exposed precarious and racialized people
Not all countries have the same responsibility, historically, and not all have the same means to fight climate change. This is why the IPCC refers to “different responsibilities and opportunities”.
“Climate justice is key, because those who have contributed the least to climate change are the hardest hit,” says researcher Aditi Mukherji, one of the report’s 93 authors.
Between 3.3 and 3.6 billion of the world’s population (just over half!) live in regions highly vulnerable to climate change.
And this is where things get increasingly unfair: vulnerability increases based on economic inequalities, discrimination based on our gender or the color of our skin.
Women are particularly affected. According to another United Nations report, they represent 80% of the people displaced in the world by climate change.
Fighting climate change has many other benefits
It limits the increase in temperatures to many other cascading benefits. For example, “Access to clean energy and technology is good for our health, especially for women and children. Low-carbon electricity generation, walking, cycling and public transport improve air quality, provide jobs and help achieve equity, writes the IPCC. Gold, “the economic health benefits of improved air quality would roughly equal, if not exceed, the costs associated with reducing our emissions”, climate experts continue.
A very simple example: “In many countries of the world we cook with polluting fuels”, explains Valérie Masson-Delmotte. “Changing the system has a direct impact on the health of exposed people, especially women”.
Investments need to be increased
According to the IPCC, there is enough money on earth to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The problem is that investments are far from insufficient. Governments have a role to play by ramping up funding, as do investors, central banks and financial regulators.
Tackling climate change requires inclusive societies
Effective climate solutions are those that include “businesses, civil society, women, youth, workers, media, indigenous peoples and local communities”, writes the IPCC. This is the only way to implement fair and equitable solutions for all.
Especially since, when women are in power, they make much better decisions for the climate: according to one study, countries where women are at the head of power or represented in governing bodies have a lower carbon footprint than other countries. A reality that is sufficiently narrating to also stir mentalities?
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
