This video is exactly what is says on the tin. This is footage from when Judy asked the president of the UNFCCC Yves De Boer why there has been such little action on climate change.
The president gives a very holistic response taking into account the fact we have 400million people in India alone that do not have access to electricity. There is a still a massive amount of co2 being put into the atmosphere and this is the number one thing that we need to avoid.
Judy puts it that a state of emergency should be declared as there is still so much environmental impact coming from things we could actually avoid. The president agree’ s with Judy in principal however the reality of it is quite difficult. To supply the energy needed to continue economic growth along with reducing emissions there will be trillions of dollars invested.
Scientists have told us there is only a 10-15 year period for us to actually begin to create a long term cooling of the planet. The question is how you can create a long term climate change routine that allows you to alter that emissions trend through industrialised countries taking more stringent emission reduction obligations and then gradually though international cooperation lowering emissions in developing countries while at the same time continuing economic growth. This is a massive question and demand and one that won’t be easy to satisfy.
We are confronted with a humungous situation with conflicting objectives. The techniques used to grow economies use principals that are opposite to that of reducing co2 emissions. How on earth can you grow an economy while reducing co2 emissions?
According to a document by Fred Perice “Surprising new statistics show that the world economy is expanding while global carbon emissions remain at the same level. Is it possible that the elusive “decoupling” of emissions and economic growth could be happening?
Even if decoupling cannot limit warming to two degrees, it could deliver three or four degrees, after which the world might find ways to draw down CO2 from the atmosphere. But all agree the bottom line is that, as le Quere puts it, “we need to bring emissions down to zero. The faster we decrease the emissions, the less risk we take.”
So even if we do not meet the global target of 1.5degrees then we may just surpass it and then combat the co2 after it’s happened. All of this will happen alongside growing the lesser developed economies and improving the lives of those that need it most.
It seems like Judy Soles dream of cooling down the planet is actually economically viable because of technological advances. We can blame technology for a lot of things but we can also thank it in equal measure. Let’s hope the good trends continue.
Links: https://e360.yale.edu/features/can_we_reduce_co2_emissions_and_grow_global_economy , https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101 , https://citizensclimatelobby.org/can-grow-economy-reducing-emissions-research-says-yes/
By Alex Mitchison
