Climate change has two speeds: one at which the disastrous consequences on ecosystems, human beings and natural resources develop; and another, to which the negotiations to stop this effect on the world climate are being developed.
Since it is necessary an ecological and energy transition To stop climate change, what changes must we observe as soon as possible, if we want the tragedy not to come?
A world of transition
In prehistory, humans abandoned stone to advance to metals and, precisely, did not do so because stone was scarce. In other words, nowadays, humans do not have to wait for fossil fuels to run out to switch to renewable energy. The energy transition towards clean energies that help in the reduction of greenhouse gases it must be immediate, or at best, in a matter of a few years, since, otherwise, humanity will be plunged into irreversible and unpredictable problems.
The technological changes that humans carry out are not always due to the depletion of raw materials, but because the alternative is better and cheaper. The era of combustion must end as soon as possible if we want to see a future. Many scientists say that a significant part of fossil fuel reserves must remain underground if we want to prevent the effects of climate change from being even more catastrophic.
In places like France oil and gas exploration has already been vetoed, which is a breakthrough in this energy transition. However, getting rid of fossil fuels is not easy. Practically, fossil fuels are the basis of the energy that moves the world and modifying this is quite complex and a challenge.
Why is fossil energy so harmful if it is created by nature itself? Well, when this fuel is burned, large amounts of carbon dioxide are generated that is emitted into the atmosphere. This gas is capable of retaining heat in the atmosphere and preventing the planet from releasing said heat, increasing the planet's average temperatures. Once this meteorological variable is altered, the functioning of the ecosystems varies and is not the same. In this way, the patterns of operation of many meteorological phenomena such as rain, wind and hurricanes are altered.
Renewable energies to combat climate change
The good news is that, fortunately, nature also provides unlimited energy and does not pollute the environment. It is about renewable energy. Fundamentally, wind and solar energy are those that are capable of having an alternative in the markets, since they can develop electricity storage systems that, in the future, may replace fossil fuels.
The delegations of almost 200 countries have discussed for two weeks how the Paris Agreement should be developed, which was closed in 2015 and is already in force, but whose measures will not be applied until 2021, when the Protocol of Kyoto In this last climate summit in Bonn progress has been made with the regulations of the Paris Agreement. However, the rate at which it is doing so is slower than the rate at which the weather alarms are triggered. That is, everything that has been agreed in Bonn will not be approved until the next climate summit.
The advance of climate change
As mentioned before, there are two speeds at which climate change progresses. The fastest is that of the changes that occur in the climate on a global scale due to the effects of human beings on our ecosystems. The slowness with which these negotiations have been progressing for more than two decades contrasts with the strength and urgency of the alarms about the effects of climate change.
In the reports issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) New records have been set in global CO2 concentration, however, the rate at which negotiations attempt to halt such emissions is much slower.
We must urgently increase the speed and ambition at which the objectives have to be met if we want to stop climate change in time and for this race not to win us.