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Thirty To Net Zero | |
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‘Net Zero’ means achieving a balance between the amount of emissions produced and those removed from the atmosphere in order to reduce global warming.
Science has shown that human production of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, determines the overall extent of global warming. Reducing these greenhouse gas emissions is key in preventing catastrophic climate change. As a result, governments across the world have agreed to try and achieve net zero emissions by 2050 as part of the Paris Agreement, which was signed in 2016. We have THIRTY years to the deadline.
We are at a critical milestone of our journey from Thirty To Net Zero. The goal post is changing. And it is not in our favor.
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We have 30 years to reach the net-zero deadline in sustainable living. This was the assumption in days leading to our planned launch on 15th August 2021.
Then on 9th August 2021 UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its report. The situation is alarming. Much more alarming than what was expected. The rise in temperatures is a certainty. The rise in sea levels is a certainty. The unfortunate fact is it is all happening very very fast. All regions will be affected.
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We saw devastating bush fires in Australia last year. As we were forgetting the horrifying images of those fires while fighting and surviving the Covid-19 pandemic, this year we are experiencing more climate horror stories. The extreme heatwave in Western Americas, the raging fires caused by the heatwave, the floods of Europe followed by extreme heat in Greece and adjoining regions followed by devastating fires never seen before.
These are our realities - that of our generation. So how bleak will it be for our children and grand children?
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All hope is not lost. The Working Group report is the first instalment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which will be completed in 2022. It shows that human actions still have the potential to determine the future course of climate. The evidence is clear that carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main driver of climate change, even as other greenhouse gases and air pollutants also affect the climate. “Stabilizing the climate will require strong, rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and reaching net zero CO2 emissions. Limiting other greenhouse gases and air pollutants, especially methane, could have benefits both for health and the climate,” said IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Panmao Zhai.